Faeries A-D

Abarta: His name means Performer of Feats. He was a member of the Irish Tuatha dé Danann.

Abhean: He was the harper of the Tuatha dé Danann.

Abundia: See Habonde

Ad-hene: These are the faeries of the Isle of Man of the United Kingdom. It means Themselves in Manx Gaelic. They were easily offended when called by the wrong name or by invoking them. They were extremely malicious when they thought themselves wronged by humans.

Aengus: A faerie in Irish lore who is one of the Sidh and a member of the Tuatha dé Danann.

Aillen Mac Midhna: A faerie musician in Ireland's Tuatha dé Danann. He is described as being dark with flaming breath, and usually carried with him a poisonous spear. He played such beautiful music with his magical tambourine or harp, that all who heard would fall to sleep. He would play to all gathered in the Celtic Samhain (Halloween), but annoyed when they fell asleep, he would take his spear and blast his fiery breath. After more than twenty years of Aillen's destruction, he was captured and died when forced to inhale the poison from his own spear.

Ainé (Aine): She is an Irish faerie queen, a member of the Tuatha dé Danann, and a woman of the Sidhe. There is much confusion as to who exactly fathered this royal faerie. One version accounts her as being the daughter of King Egogabal of the Tuatha dé Danann. Another states her as being the daughter Owel of Munster, and used her magic to kill the King of Munster, who had raped her. Legend tells that Gerald, the earl of Desmond, saw her brushing her hair by the banks of Lough Gur and instantly fell in love with her. He persuaded her to marry him after stealing her magical cloak, with the stipulation that Gerald never show surprise. They had a child named Gerald Fitzgerald, the fourth earl of Desmond, whose antics surprised his father, therefore breaking the promise. Ainé and her son were reclaimed by the Lough's waters and returned to their faerie world. Ainé's son is said to have a castle beneath the waters of the Lough, and emerges to our world on a white horse every seven years.

Ainsel: A child faerie in English (Northumberland) lore. She appeared to a young boy who refused to go to bed when his mother requested, preferring to stay by the fire. His mother warned that the faeries would come to him if he stayed up too long, and proceeded to go to bed herself. Just then, a faerie child flew down the chimney. When the boy asked for her name, her response was Ainsel, which means Ownself. Upon the fay child requesting his name, the boy teasingly answers as My Ainsel. Just then, he stoked the dying fire, inadvertently sending the embers flying at Ainsel. Upon her screams of pain, a voice, coming down the chimney, inquired as to who had hurt her. Scared, and remembering his mother's words, the child ran to bed just as the faerie mother appeared. The mother dragged her child back up the chimney in disgust after her daughter replied that My Ainsel, or My Ownself, had done it.

Alp Luachra: An evil Irish faerie. They are completely invisible except when a person falls asleep by the side of a stream. The Alp Luachra take the form of a newt and crawl down said person's mouth and feed off the food they eat. Greedy as they are, the person devours astonishing amounts of food, yet become more and more emaciated. In Beside the Fire by Douglas Hyde, he accounts of a person who got rid of the Alp Luachra be eating large amounts of salted meat without drinking anything. He then went back to the stream and fell asleep with his mouth open, in which the Alp Luachra jumped into the water in thirsty desperation.

Amadán (Stroke Lad, Amadán Mór, Amadán na bruidne): An Irish faerie that is known as the fool of the Sidhe. He is a vicious faerie that is said to live in a castle called Bruidean. He chooses his human pawns randomly, punishing them with his touch. His victims suffer through a lifetime of ridicule and shun because of their disfigurements of face, limb, or body. People are more likely to encounter him in the month of June than in any other month.

Ana: In Gypsy folklore, she is the Queen of the Faeries. She is utterly beautiful, pure of heart. She lived in an enchanted mountain castle. Unfortunately, she one day met with the king of the demons, and from then on, her children were born as demons as well.

Angus Og (Angus Óc, Ængus Mac Og, Angug Mac Og): In Ireland's Tuatha dé Danann, he was the son of Dagda and Boanna and he lived in what is know known as the New Grange mound in County Meath, Ireland. He had a magic cloak that he always wore about him, and had the power to control time and transform himself into a swan. One day, a swan maiden visited him in his sleep, and he fell instantly in love, pining away for her until he found her amongst 149 other swan maidens. Because she could only assume her human form every other year, he divulged his swan form to spend the time with her. Anyone who heard their music would fall asleep, only to awaken when Angus and his bride returned to his castle in New Grange mound.

Ankou: The ankou of Brittany in France is a tall, gaunt male faerie who drives a cart drawn by a pale, bony horse, accompanied by two silent figures who walk behind him. They appear at dusk, and their footsteps make no sound on the ground as they pass. Seeing them means that either he/she or someone they love will soon die.

Aoibhinn: The Queen of the Faeries of North Munster and a woman of the Sidhe.

Ariel: A faerie said to live in the bell of a cowslip flower, and ride on the back of a bat.

Asrai: A water faerie in England (Cheshire and Shropshire). They may sometimes appear as a very small humans. The Asrai are known to be exceptionally beautiful and gentle. They only rose from their depths once every hundred years and had to return to their homes before sunrise, else they would waste away. Legend tells of a fisherman that caught one, and despite its cries, was determined to bring it to land. By the time the fisherman made it to shore, the faeries cries had faded and all that was left was a pool of water and a welt on his hands where he had touched the Asrai to tie it up.

Aynia: A faerie queen of Ulster in nothern Ireland.

Badhbh (Badhbh Chaointe): See Bean-sidhe

Ban nighechain: See Bean Nighe

Barinthus: See Manannan Mac Lir

Banshee (Ban shee): See Bean-sidhe

Bazaloshtsh: A type of faerie from eastern Germany. Her name means God's Plaint and is described as a small, long haired woman. She will only appear to wail beneath the window of someone who is about to die.

Bean Nighe (Ban nighechain, nigheag na h-ath) : This is the Scottish version of the Bean-Sidhe whose name means Washer at the Fords. They wander around deserted streams, washing out the grave clothes of those that are about to die. They are said to be women who died during childbirth, and are made to do this until the day when they would've normally died.

Bean-sidhe (Banshee, Ban shee, Badhbh, Badhbh Chaointe): A celtic Irish faerie whose name literally means Woman of the Hill. Her name derives from bean, or woman, and Sidhe, or faerie. She looks like an old woman with deep-set, glowing red eyes, and wears a cloak over a green dress. Another description places her with wild, long, red hair and in a long white dress. Another, still, described her as a beautiful woman, veiled, with a posture conveying great sadness. She attends the old Celtic families, and her wails under a family member's window foreboded their imminent death. Many have seen her as she goes wailing and clapping her hands. The caoine, or the Irish funeral cry, is said to be an imitation of her own cry. When more than one bean-sidhe wail and cry together, it is said to be for the death of some holy or great one. Unseen, banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead, and sometimes she can be heard wailing along with the mournful cries of others. Each bean-sidhe attends her own mortal family. Her wails can be heard in either America or England, wherever the true Irish have settled. But, out of love or respect, she never forgets her blood ties.

Bediadari (Bidadari): These were the faeries in the beliefs of the Malay people of Western Malaysia. It means Good People.

Befana: An Italian faerie that is described as looking like an ugly old peasant. Lore tells that when the three wise king came by their way to visit the child Christ, she was so busy doing housework that she postponed any offer of hospitality until they came back. Some say that she was invited to go with the three king, but was so busy she declined. Other say that she accepted the offer and followed shortly thereafter, but got lost trying to follow them. Every Epiphany, having missed taking the Child Christ a gift, she goes about, filling children's shoes with candy and toys.

Béfind: A Celtic and French faerie. She is one of the three faeries that were invited to bestow gifts upon a new child and make predictions of his/her future.

Ben Socia (Bensocia): This is a French euphemism for faerie. It means Good Neighbor.

Bidadari: See Bediadari

Blue Faerie: Although she is now known as tall and blonde due to Disney's rendition of her, the Italian people only know her as the Blue Faerie. She was the faerie that helped Pinnochio become a human boy.

Boanna (Bóann): Mother of Angus Og and Dagda's lover. Wanting to be with her, Dagda sent her husband, Elcmar, on an errand that took nine months but seemed to take only one day.

Bonnes Dames (Nos Bonnes Mères): In Brittany, France, this term was interchangeable with the word faerie. It means Our Good Mothers.

Brother Mike: A faerie who makes his home in Suffolk, England.

Brown Men: Short thin male faeries that protect the wildlife in Cornwall, Scotland. They have copperish colored hair, long arms, and dress in withered foliage.

Bugul-Noz: He is a shepherd faerie that dwells among the forests. He is very ugly and longs for human companionship.

Bukura e dheut: In Albanian folklore, she is a very powerful faerie. Her name means Beauty of the Earth, lives in a wonderful castle, and has magical creatures as her guards. At time she is very benevolent, but her violent temper can make her as vindictive and destructive as a demon.

Callicantzaroi: These Italian faeries are small, thin, and always nude. They are almost always completely blind and spend their time trooping together. Pork is their favorite thing to eat, and if encountered, one should always identify himself/herself as a friend.

Candelas: The Italian faeries appear as a group of tiny twinkling lights. They can be spotted just after sunset.

Cannered Noz: Cannered Noz means Washer Woman of the Night. Though they are more often than not invisible, they are a group of French faeries that look like elderly peasant women when they are visible. By the banks of streams, they can be heard washing the linen of those who will die without absolution. Local people tend to stay away when they are heard working.

Chin Chin Kobakama: These Japanese faeries appear to be elderly but are surpassingly spry and can be either male of female. They move into human homes and bless them as long as they keep their abode clean and tidy.

Churnmilk Peg: A nature faerie that hails from Yorkshire, England. She protected the hazelnuts growing from people that might be tempted to take them before they were fully ripe. If anyone ate the nuts before they were ready, she would give them severe stomach cramps.

Cliodna (Cleena, Cliona): An Irish faerie queen of the Tuatha dé Danann, and a woman of the Sidhe. She lived in Mananan's country, the Land of Youth beyond the sea. Escaping with a mortal lover, she landed on the southern coast of Ireland, and her lover went off to hunt in the woods. Cliodna, who remained on the beach, was lulled to sleep by faerie music, when a great wave swept up and carried her back to Mananan, leaving her lover desolate.

Cloan ny Moyrn: This term is used in the Isle of Man as a euphemism for faerie. It means Children of Pride.

Corrigan: A female faerie in Brittany's lore. She was especially malicious towards Christian priests. She had a fondness for beautiful children, and was blamed for all the changelings in the area.

Couril: The Couril are faeries that can be seen darting through the ancient stone's in Brittany and Cornwall. The appeared as little people with webbed feet.

Credné: In Irish myth, he helped forge the weapons for the Tuatha dé Danann. He was a worker in bronze.

Cyhyraeth: This is the Welsh form of the Bean-sidhe. She will start her keening to foretell a death or multiple deaths which will be caused by an epidemic or an accident.

Dagda: One of the most powerful faerie of the Irish Tuatha dé Danann. He was known throughout the land for his cruelty and greed, and celebrated for his skill in battle with magic harp, club, and cauldron.

Daoine Maite: This term was used in Ireland to avoid direct reference which can cause anger in certain faeries. It means Good People.

Daoine Sidhe: Legend recounts that when the Milesians defeated the Tuatha dé Danann, they followed one of their leaders, Dagda, down under these earth mounds and became the Daoine Sidhe. They are the Trooping faeries and have their own regional kings and queens and owe allegiance to Finvarra and Onagh.

Devas: These Persian faeries are tiny that appear as small spheres of light. They are nature faeries, living in lakes, plants, or trees.

Dian Cecht: He was Nuadha's brother, who fashioned him a hand made out of silver when Nuadha lost his own. He was also the healing physician of the Tuatha dé Dannan. With his magic, he made the water of the well Slane into healing water. The Tuatha's warriors would bathe in the water and their wounds would be healed instantly.

Dormette (La Dormette de Poitou): A sleep faerie in France. She assures that children will have pleasant dreams.

Duende: These are faeries from the Iberian Peninsula, Mexico, Central and South America. They appear as middle-aged women dressed in green robes and with long icicle like fingers. They are extremely jealous of humans and are known to take over human houses, throwing things and moving furniture about.
 
 
 

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