Mermaids - entice human lovers with their songs of enchantment. They cause ship-wrecking storms and are most frequently seen combing their long hair whilst admiring themselves in mirrors.

Merrows - The Irish Merpeople are called Merrows and they can be distinguished from other sea-dwelling faeries in that they wear red feather caps to propel themselves down to their homes in the depths. Should their caps be stolen, they can no longer return to their watery homes. The female Merrow are very beautiful and, like other mermaids, appear before storms as an omen, but they are gentle by nature and often fall in love with mortal fishermen. This can partly be explained by the extreme ugliness of the male Merrows. Despite their alaming aspect, the males too have their redeeming features as they are generally jovial in character.

Mooinjer Veggey (moo-in-jer vegar) - The Little People is a familiar Manxman term for the faeries who dwell on the Isle of Man; see Sleigh Beggey.

Mother Holle - A crone who lives at the bottom of old wells. She dispenses justice and might aid you with guidance and divination if she likes you.

Mumiai - best known for persecuting peasants, especially those of the lowest castes, who had stolen from their neighbors or demonstrated their dirty habits. The Mumiai toss their belongings in the air, break their pottery and trample on their gardens, finally forcing them to moveout of their villages.

Muryans - Muryan is the Cornish word for ant. The Cornish belief about the fairies was that they were the souls of ancient heathen people, too good for Hell and too bad for Heaven, who had gradually declined from their natural size, and were dwindling down until they became the size of ants, after which they vanished from this state and no one knew what became of them.

Nagas - Nagas are human from the waist up and snake from the waist down and are often seen wearing hooded canopies or with seven or more heads. Both sexes are extraordinarily beautiful and several royal Indian families claim to be descended from them. They bite humans who are evil or destined to die prematurely. Buddhists regard them as minor deities and door guardians.

Nuckelavee - is surely the most awful of the Scottish sea fairies. A monstrous horse with legs that are part flipper, a huge mouth and one fiery eye and, rising from its back joined to it at the waist, a hideous torso with arms that nearly reach the ground, topped by a massive head that rolls from side to side as though its neck was too weak to hold it upright. Worse than this tho is the horrible appearance of the creatures flesh, for it has no skin. Black blood coursing through yellow veins, white sinews and powerful red muscles are exposed. The Nuckelavee has an aversion to fresh running water and the pursued have only to cross it to escape.

Nunnehi - Cherokee version of elves. They live in towns beneath the ground. Nunnehi are saddened by the suffering incurred by the Cherokee and occasionally offer assistance. Nunnehi led the Cherokee to Pilot Knob, North Carolina, where they passed through the realm of the Nunnhei and were safe.

Oannes - Fish-headed beings from another world, these were considered to be sea-gods by the ancient Chaldeans. Oannes lived among men by day, building the great Sumerian civilization and teaching art, science, and religion, while at night they returned to the Persian Gulf to swim in the ocean.

Ohdows - a race of small, well-formed people with the features of the Native Americans who live underground in North America. They use their magic to subdue the earth spirits who cause earthquakes.

Old People, the - Another Cornish name for the fairies.

Pechs, or Pehts - The Scottish Lowland names for fairies and are confused in tradition with the Picts, the mysterious people of Scotland who built the Pictish brughs and possibly also the round stone towers. The Pechs were considered tremendous castle builders and were credited with the construction of many of the ancient castles. They could not bear the light of day and so only worked at night, when they took refuge in their brughs or "sitheans" at sunrise. It seems likely that some historic memory of an aboriginal race contributed one strand to the twisted cord of fairy tradition.

Peg Powler - One of the many Green Hags with sharp teeth who drag their victims down to watery graves.

People of Peace - The Irish often refered to the Sidhe in this manner. The word sidhe means peace. See Daoine Sidhe in Faery Lineage.

People in the Hills, the - Fairies who live under the green mounds, or tumuli, all over England.

Phooka - an Irish Goblin with a variety of rough beast-like forms. He appears sometimes as a dog or a horse, or even a bull, but is generally jet-black with blazing eyes. As seemingly friendly, shaggy, sway-backed pony Phooka offers the unwary traveller a welcome lift; but once astride he is taken for a wild and terrifying gallop across the wettest and most thorny country, eventually to be dumped headlong into the mire or deposited in a ditch. The chuckle is that of the Phooka as he gallops away.

Picts - The original peoples who dwelled in the northeastern coast of Ireland. They were called the "Cruithne" and migrated down from Gaul or Galia (France). As the conquering waves of invaders arrived in Ireland, eventually the Picts retreated to the woods and lived in caves and underground forts. They were a small, dark people and became known as the classic Faery-people. See Pechs.

Pigsies - See Pixies.

Pixies, or Pigsies, or Piskies - These are the West Country fairies belonging to Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. There are varing traditions about the size, appearance and origin of the Pixies, but all accounts agree about their being dressed in green and about their habit of misleading travelers.

Plant Rhys Dwfen (plant hree thoovn) - The family name of a tribe of fairy people who inhabited a small land which was invisible because of certain herb that grew on it. They were handsome people, rather below the average in height, and it was their custom to attend the market in Cardigan and pay such high prices for the goods there that the ordinary buyer could not compete with them. They were honest and resolute in their dealings, and grateful to people who treated them kindly.

Polevik - a Polish faerie, he appears as a two-footed goat and helps to bring in the harvest.

Portunes - Small agricultural fairies. It was their habit to labor on farms, and at night when the doors were shut they would blow up the fire, and, taking frogs from their bosoms, they would roast them on the coals and eat them. They were like very old men with wrinkled faces and wore patched coats.

Puck - Thanks to Shakespeare, the most famous of the mischievous shape-shifting hobgoblins. He is closely related to the Welsh Pwca and the Irish Phooka.

Rakshasas - shapeshifting demon-goblins. They can appear as mosters, animals, or beautiful women to seduce holy men and then eat them. They have side tusks, ugly eyes, curling awkward brows, bull's heads, bloated bellies, tangled hair, and nackward pointing hands. They can cause leprosy, raise the dead, and regenerate severed limbs.

Redcap - is one of the most evil of the old Border Goblins. He lives in old ruined towers and castles, particularly those with a history of wickedness. He re-dyes his cap in human blood.

Roane - Irish name for the Selkie.

Seelie Court - Blessed Court; Name of the kindly fairy host, or benovolent Faery of the positive polarity, and is generally used to describe the Scottish fairies. The malignant fairies were sometimes called the Unseelie Court.

Selkies - The seas around Orkney and Shetland harbor the Selkies or Seal-Faeries (known as Roane in Ireland). A female Selkie is able to discard her seal-skin and come ashore as a beautiful maiden. If a human can capture this skin, the Selkie can be forced to become a fine, if wistful, wife. However, should she ever find her skin she immediately returns to the sea, leaving the husband to pine and die. The males raise storms and upturn boats to avenge the indiscriminate slaughter of seals.

Shellycoat - A Scottish bogie who haunts fresh water streams and is festooned with shells which clatter when he moves. He takes pleasure in tricking and bewildering travelers and leading them astray.

Sidhe, Sith, or Si (shee) - The Gaelic name for fairie, both in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. Very tall beings that seem to either shine or appear opalescent. The shining beings belong to the earthly realm; while the opalescent beings belong to the heavenly world. As with any shamanic practice there are three great worlds which we can see while we are still in the body: the heavenly, the earthly, and underworldly realms.

Silent Moving Folk - The Scottish fairies who live in green knolls and in the mountain fastnesses of the Highlands. See Still-folk.

Sleigh Beggey (sleigh beargar) - The Little Folk. A name given to fairies in the Manx tongue.

Sluagh (slooa) - The most formidable of the Highland fairy people; The host of the Unforgiven Dead. By some scholars, they are regarded as the fallen angels, not the dead, but on the whole their accounts correspond closely to that given by Alexander Carmichael in 'Carmina Gadelica'

Small People of Cornwall, the - Fairies were sometimes spoken of this way in Cornwall.

Solitary Fairies - The fairies who are chiefly malignant or ominous creatures, comprise this group, although there may be a few nature spirits or dwindled gods among them. An exception is the Brownie and its variants - though there are few family groups among the

Brownies - some think that they were unacceptable in Faeryland because of their ragged, unkept appearance, and that they went off to the Seelie Court when they were properly dressed. However, this is only one school of thought on the subject. Other creatures, such as the Lepracaun, Pooka, and Bean Si, also comprise this group.

Spriggans - Grotesque and ugly in shape. Although quite small, they have the ability to inflate themselves into monstrous forms which has led humans to believe them to be the ghosts of old giants. Apart from their useful function as guardians of hill treasure, Spriggans are an infamous band of villains, skilled thieves, thoroughly destructive and often dangerous. They are capable of robbing human houses, kidnapping children (and leaving a repulsive baby Spriggan in exhange) causing whirlwinds to destroy fields of corn, blighting crops and all manner of other unpleasant mischief.

Sprites - A general name for fairies and other spirits such as Sylphs and nerieds.

Still-Folk - The Scottish name for the Highland fairies. See Silent Moving Folk.

Themselves, They, or Them that's in it - The most common Manx names used in place of the word "fairy", which was generally considered an unlucky word to use. It is sometimes said that "themselves" are the souls of those drowned in Noah's flood.

Tiddy Ones, Tiddy Men, or Tiddy People - The Lincolnshire fenman's nature spirits, which are also referred to as the Yarthkins or Strangers. Most of them were undifferentiated, a drifting mass of influenced and powers rather than individuals. The one among them personally known and almost beloved was the Tiddy Mun, who was invoked in times of flood to withdraw the waters.

Tokolosh - A South African faerie; Tokolosh is a sullen spirit who lives beside streams, throwing stones into the water on still nights. He is famous for frightening lone travelers, usually by jumping on a small animal or bird and strangling it so that the poor animal's panicked cry alarms the traveler. He is described as being something like a baboon, but smaller and without a tail, and covered with black hair.

Trolls - Cave Dwellers, Scandinavian faeries who hate sunlight.

Trooping Fay or Faery - The Faery have been divided into two main classes: trooping and Solitary. It is a distinction that hold good throughout the British Isles, and is indeed valid wherever fairy beliefs are held. The trooping fay can be large or small, friendly or sinister. They tend to wear green jackets, while the Solitary Faery wear red jackets. They can range from the Heroic Faery to the dangerrous and malevolent Sluagh, or tose Diminutive Fairies who include the tiny nature spirits that make the fairy rings with their dancing and speed the growth of flowers.

Trows - Live on the Shetland Islands, similiar to the Scandinavian Trolls and like them, have an aversion to daylight. They are frequently observed performing a curious lop-sided dance called 'Henking'

Tylwyth Teg (terlooeth teig) - The Fair Family. The most unusual name for Welsh fairies, though they are sometimes called Bendith Y Mammau, in an attempt to avert their kidnapping activities by invoking a euphemistic name. They are fair-haired, and love golden hair. They dance and make fairy rings. They are like the Daoine Sidhe, and dwell underground or underwater. The fairy maidens are easily won as wives and will live with human husbands for a time. The danger of visiting them in their own country lies in the miraculous passage of time in Faeryland. They give riches totheir favourites, but these gifts vanish if they are spoken of.

Unseelie Court - Unblessed Court; They are never under any circumstances favorable to mankind. They comprise the Slaugh, or The Host, that is, the band of the unsanctified dead. The Unseelie Court are the malignant Faery of the negative polarity, made up of Solitary Faery.

Urisk - is a scttish solitary faerie who haunts lonely pools. He will often seek out human company but his peculiar appearance terrifies those he approaches.

Verry Volk - The name of the fairies in Gower of Wales; little people dressed in scarlet and green.

Virikas - Never more than eighteen inches tall, these unpleasant spectral entities can be recognized by their flaming red color and their horribly pointed, bloodstained teeth. They gather outside the homes of men soon to die and jabber excitedly. To prevent this, people can erect a small shrine in their honor and burn daily gifts of flowers and spices for them.

Water Leaper - Preys on Welsh Fishermen.

Wee Folk - One of the Scottish and Irish names for the fairies.

White Ladies, the - The use of White Ladies for both ghosts and fairies is an indication of the close connection between fairies and the dead. The White Ladies were direct descendants of the Tuatha De Danann.

Wichtlein - from Southern Germany behave in much the same way as goblins. They announce the death of a miner by tapping three times. When a disaster is about to happen they are heard digging, pounding and imitating miners work.

Will O' the Wisp - No one is quite sure what these distant floating balls of flame are, but they are generally associated with and are sometimes thought of as faeries in the British Isles. They are sometimes thought to be the souls of children who have died and like to cause mischief.

Yakshas - Benevolent nature spirits; they are the guardians of tresures hidden in the earth and the roots of trees. Their ruler is Kubera, who lives on a mountain in the Himalayas. They are deities of cities, districts, lakes, and wells, and are thought to have originated from a cult of the ancient Dravidians.

Yann-an-Od - Kindly old shepherd who tends sheep. He might have once been a faerie king. He's rather shy of humans.

Yumboes - Located on Goree Island, south of the Cape Verde Peninsula in Senegal, West Africa. They are two feet tall with pearly skin and silver hair. They are also called the "Bakhna Rakhna" which translates to "The Good People." They enjoy dancing and feasting by moonlight and live in magnificent subterranean dwellings in the Paps, groups of hills about three miles from the coast. Guests to their homes report lavishly decorated tables and servants invisible except for their hands and feet. They like to eat fish.