The Scottish Highlands & Lowlands
What is a Scottish Highlander? You would assume that someone called a Scottish Highlander lives in mountainous or at least hilly terrain of Scotland. Right! However… When I was at university one of my lecturers told a story about his…
What Good are the Fairies?
The fairies can be useful and kind to human beings. They bring food when a family is poor, build houses or barns overnight, and reward favours with gold. However, if they aren’t treated with respect, the food will not nourish anyone,…
The Dark Side of the Fairies
Sìtheach – A Fairy The fairy folk, sometimes called am fuath in Scotland, could be kind to people, but they could steal and maim and even kill. So how did Highlanders deal with the dark side? Most daoine-sìth, another word for fairies, lived…
Just what is a fairy?
Broadly speaking, a fairy is a being of human form with magical powers, a being who loves to intervene in human affairs. They are good, mischievous or evil. Fairies are often thought to be tiny, and that’s why you don’t…
Finding Stories Among the Fairies
Gaelic Scotland and Ireland are the lands of my heritage, and the stories I tell concern those countries. I love to peruse books of Celtic fairy tales for good stories. There are many different names for entities which are considered…
