The Paranormal Database

R Doyle, The Fairy Queen's Messenger.

Kidnapping

Location: Aberfoyle (Stirling) - Fairy Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1692
Further Comments: The Rev Robert Kirk is said to have been kidnapped by fairies here. He appeared in ethereal form a couple of times after the event, begging for help in escaping from the fairy world.

Fairy Funeral

Location: Aberystruth (Gwent) - Church Lane
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small procession of fairies was reported travelling along the lane towards the church to bury one of their own. Another version of the story says the funeral was ghostly in nature, and when a living man reached out to help carry the coffin, everything vanished, with the man only left holding a horse's skull.

Goblins

Location: Advent (Cornwall) - Parkwalls area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The same is supposed to have been derived from 'Puck walls' and is speculated to come from long-gone haunted ruins.

Coffin Makers

Location: Aghacashlaun (County Leitrim) - Corargeen (fort)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies which lived at this fort were said to have borrowed a man's hatchet to make a coffin for a neighbour's child two weeks prior to his death.

Dwarves, while not common in the UK, pop up occasionally.

Dwarf with Pointed Hat

Location: Alderwasley (Derbyshire) - Hill just past Alderwasley
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The witness to this encounter stated that they once bumped into a four foot high figure wearing a green pointed hat feeding the plants.

Little Folk

Location: Alfriston (Sussex) - Burlough (or Burlow) Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: Fairies once made their home here and rewarded a local man with food after he helped one of their kind repair a kitchen utensil.

Dancing within Limits

Location: Alnwick (Northumberland) - Fairy ring at Chathill Farm (ring may no longer exist)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Children would dance around a fairy circle here, although it was said if they circled the site more than nine times, fairies would spirit the offending child away.

Fairy Hill

Location: Alva (Clackmannanshire) - Alva Glen
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Famed for its fairies, these pesky fellows kidnapped a local baker's wife - she was only returned after her husband broke the fairy spell by accidentally standing on one leg.

Secret Fairies

Location: Andreas (Isle of Man) - Shan Cashtal barrow
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies here once travelled to and from the barrow using underground passageways leading to a nearby churchyard (at Maughold).

Sinister fairies at dusk.

Evil Fairies

Location: Annandale (Dumfries and Galloway) - Burnwark Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A palace concealed within this hill was run by an army of evil fairies - they would kidnap anyone foolish enough to venture close to their land.

Trolls or just pareidolia?

Trolls

Location: Appletreewick (Yorkshire) - Trollers Gill (or Ghyll)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Living beneath the ravine, the trolls are said to emerge at night and track down their prey - humans. At least one farmer was lured to his death by their ability to trick people into straying from the road.

Short Men in Green

Location: Aran Island (County Galway) - Exact location not known
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1992
Further Comments: A fifteen year old boy spotted two figures sea fishing, each just over a metre tall, dressed in green and wearing brown shoes. The figures chattered to each other in Irish before jumping up and vanishing. One of the figures left a small pipe behind which the witness took, although it later disappeared when 'safely' locked away.

Tree

Location: Ardagh (County Longford) - Jim Sweeney's land
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1983 (story covered by press)
Further Comments: Jim Sweeney appeared on national television sharing the story of the fairy tree on his land. Sweeney claimed that when the tree fell, he would be dead within a week, and as the last remaining member of the family, Jim worked tirelessly to keep the dying tree propped up to ensure his survival.

Leprechaun's Shoe

Location: Ardrah (County Cork) - Field in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small shoe said to belong to a leprechaun was found near the village by a cow herder. Unfortunately, the man forgot to take the shoe home, and when he went to retrieve it the following day, the shoe had gone.

Pooka

Location: Ashby de la Zouch (Leicestershire) - Private residence
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1990
Further Comments: A witness who awoke in the middle of the night encountered what she believed to be a fairy entity known as a Pooka, sleeping over the pelmet of a landing window. The creature resembled a little piglet, but with a longer, pointy nose and no visible tail. The part of the house where the sighting happened is on the path of a ley line.

A fairy playing the bagpipes, surrounded by glowing lights.

Bagpipes

Location: Athgreany (County Wicklow) - Stone circle, aka Piper's Stones
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Played by the fairy folk, the sound of bagpipes could once be heard emerging from the stones. A tree in the centre of the stone circle is considered to belong to the fairies.

Robin's Well

Location: Aynho (Northamptonshire) - Spring known as Puck Well
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Nineteenth century, current status unknown
Further Comments: Robin Goodfellow and his friends were thought to frequent this spring.

Red Cow

Location: Balephuil, Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Farm in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dugald Campbell noticed a strange little red cow being attacked by the rest of his herd. The red cow ran off with the rest of the herd giving chase. Campbell followed and watched as the red cow entered a solid piece of rock, closely followed by one of his cows. The rest of the herd, intercepted by Campbell, were prevented from vanishing into the rock.

Phynnodderee

Location: Ballasalla (Isle of Man) - Rushen Abbey
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This fairy creature would be observed digging around the ruins, although when the area was examined, there was never any evidence of soil disturbance.

Fairy Home

Location: Ballevulin, Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Large sandbank (no longer exists)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large sandbank was once thought to be home to fairies that borrowed the local blacksmith's cauldron every night, returning it in the morning.

Beiceacan

Location: Ballinagree (aka Ballynagree) (County Cork) - Marshland in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Described as sounding like a calf at slaughter, this entity would prey on lone travellers at night, throwing them into the marsh to drown. One man tracked down Beiceacan, and while wearing spurs, mounted the beast and kicked at its flanks. Beiceacan tossed the man onto the roadside and ran off, never to be see again.

Sprites & Pixies

Location: Ballona (Isle of Man) - Ballona Bridge
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 20 June (reoccurring)
Further Comments: On this day, the fairy population comes out in force. If they are not acknowledged by anyone crossing the bridge, the fairy folk have no hesitation in making their presence felt.

Bankruptcy

Location: Ballyconnell (County Cavan) - Aughrim Wedge Tomb
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: November 2011
Further Comments: According to the Belfast Telegraph, former billionaire Sean Quinn moved the Aughrim Wedge Tomb in 1992, which was home to fairy folk. These little entities cursed the man responsible for the relocation - Sean was at one point worth just under five billion euros, and as of November 2011, he only had eleven thousand euros in the bank.

Bagpipers

Location: Ballyedmond (County Cork) - Fort Field
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fort in this field was home to four fairy bagpipers dressed in red.

Tiny Footballers

Location: Ballyroan (County Laois) - Marshy field west of village
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A worker returning home took a shortcut across a marshy field and watched several tiny men playing football. The worker was told to kick the ball, but he was unable to touch it. When he finally did kick the ball, the worker was knocked to the ground. When he recovered, the tiny footballers had vanished.