The Paranormal Database

Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Sightings of Fairies & Their Kin


An old sketch of Cader Idris.

Idris

Location: Barmouth (Gwynedd) - Cader Idris (aka Caldair Idris)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Idris was said to be a wise giant, who may have had links with King Arthur. People would avoid the area at night, convinced that fairies would drive them mad. Another legend says that the site was the hunting ground of Gwyn ap Nudd (Ruler of the Otherworld) who searched the area with a pack of Cwn Annwn, looking for souls to take back home. Finally. Strange lights are said to appear around the summit for the first few days of a new year.

Tiny Green People

Location: Bassenthwaite (Cumbria) - Piel Wyke
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Two children digging on the mound said they unearthed a small cottage with a slate roof, though when they returned a short time later, the construction had vanished. A few days later their father saw two small people in green standing on the hill - they vanished into it.

Fighting Fairies

Location: Battlebridge (County Roscommon) - Bridge
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farmer from Sheemore (Co Leitrim) who once helped the fairies had his cattle taken by bailiffs. The bailiffs drove the cattle for a few miles before being intercepted by the fairies at a bridge, where the bailiffs were beaten by invisible foes and scared away. Legend says this is how Battlebridge received its name.

Butter Makers

Location: Baysdale (Yorkshire) - Unidentified spring or well in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little folk would use water in this area in the creation of their butter.

Fairy Home

Location: Beanley (Northumberland) - Moors in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The moorland in his region was considered a place where the little people could hide.

Moving Fairies

Location: Beary Mountain (aka Bearey Mountain) (Isle of Man) - Upper part of the site
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early 1800s
Further Comments: A group of fairies carrying household items were observed walking up the mountain, disappearing into the mists which circled the top. It was thought they moved home to escape the sound of a newly built mill.


An old postcard of Aberglaslyn Pass at Beddgelert.

Water Fairies

Location: Beddgelert (Gwynedd) - Aberglaslyn Pass
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A witness watched the little people playing merrily in the water at the pass. Nearby is the grave of Gelert (the dog that was mistakenly killed by its master after saving a child from a wolf) where the hound's ghost has been reported. Finally, the ghostly woman in white who haunts the area is an ill omen, with death said to follow a sighting.


An old postcard of Bedruthan, Cornwall.

Knockers

Location: Bedruthan (Cornwall) - Beach, cliff top, & Bedruthan Steps
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Some believe these creatures to resemble mutant dwarfs (two foot high, large eyes with deformed and twisted heads), while others call them the ghosts of those killed while being forced to work for the Romans... Either way, they can be heard mining and picking away at the rocks underground in these areas.

Flying Pigs

Location: Bedwellty (Gwent) - Field known as Y Weirglodd Fawr Dafolog
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: Six people watched a flock of fairies flying in the sky - two people said they resembled sheep, two people said greyhounds, and the other two said pigs.

Sounds of Hunters

Location: Bedwellty (Gwent) - Mountain in the area, close to Ebbw Fawr
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Evan Thomas claimed to have scared away invisible fairy hunters by drawing his knife (it was said that fairies were afraid of knives and iron).


An old woodcut showing a tiny fairy riding a small horse.

Helpful Fairies

Location: Beedon (Berkshire) - Burrow Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people here are traditionally helpful in nature, and once fixed a plough for a farmer. When archaeologists tried to dig up the barrow in 1850, a storm blew up and drove them away. A golden coffin is said to be buried in the area.

Red Caps

Location: Beelsby (Lincolnshire) - Unnamed field in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: In an unnamed field in this area treasure is reputedly buried. Two fairy-like entities wearing red caps are said to occasionally appear, searching for the hoard.

Small Staircase

Location: Beetham (Cumbria) - The Fairy Steps
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Too small for normal human use, the stairs are believed to have been designed for fairy use. A local legend says if you can climb them without touching the stone cliffs on either side, you will be granted a wish.

Home

Location: Beinn a' Ghlo (mountain) (Perth and Kinross) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This mountain was home to fairies, one of many sites in Scotland.

Apologise to the Tree

Location: Belfast (County Dublin) - Ormeau Golf Club
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Tree still present
Further Comments: If the fairy tree found near the course is hit by an errant golf ball, the player is advised to apologise to avoid the wrath of the little people. Even if not struck, it is said that golfers nod at the tree as they pass. Just in case.

Young Girl

Location: Ben Alder (Highland) - Below the mountain, en route for Loch Ossian
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: April / May 2011
Further Comments: Having traversed old drover track on western shoulder of Ben Alder, a walker was looking for a suitable spot to cross a stream. The walker noticed the image of a smiling young girl, dressed in blue/green watery outfit, sitting on a slab of rock amidst the fast moving water. She was pointing to the water, enticing the walker to cross. The walker panicked and moved further downstream, crossing at a point where the water was calmer.

Grinding

Location: Ben Feall, Coll (Argyll and Bute) - General area of the hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This hill was home to fairies who could be heard grinding their corn and singing deep within.

Dyeing Fairies

Location: Ben Lomond (Highland) - Green Loch (An Lochan Uaine)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies would be happy to dye wool or cloth left by the side of the loch. Unfortunately, one person left unclear instructions on what colour to dye some thread, resulting in the fairies permanently ceasing their work.


A Welsh fairy queen sighting.

Gathering

Location: Berriew (Powys) - Field between Hafodafel and Pen-y-Llwyn
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A child walking this path with his aunt watched many people moving around a sheep pen, including a pale woman wearing a red jacket and a crown. When the child mentioned it to his aunt a little later, she said he must have been dreaming, as only ruins stood in that field.

Fairy Song

Location: Bincombe (Dorset) - Singing Barrows, Bincombe Down
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Midday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Local superstition states that if you place your ear to the ground here at midday, you can hear the soft singing of fairy folk.

Fairy Rings

Location: Birstall (Leicestershire) - Mill Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This area was widely believed to be the haunt of fairy folk, where they would come and dance in the pale moonlight.

Fairy Guardians

Location: Bishopton (Durham) - Castle Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Though the castle is long gone, the area is still a place where fairies hide - anyone trying to steal earth or soil from the land is warned off by whispering voices.

Fairy Fair

Location: Black Down Hills (Somerset) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Seventeenth century?
Further Comments: Fairies were once believed to hold annual fairs on the hills, singing and dancing throughout the night.

Little Man

Location: Bottlehill (County Cork) - Road heading towards Cork
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Farmer Mick Purcell was forced to take his cow to Cork to sell. While on the road Purcell met a little man and swopped the cow for a small bottle. Understandably, returning home with a bottle instead of money upset Purcell's wife, until he opened it - out sprang two figures which covered the table with gold and silver dishes.

Figures in Brown

Location: Bournemouth (Dorset) - Branksome Park estate
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen in a garden on this estate, several little people dressed in brown played in and around the bushes before being scared off.

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