What Are the Irish Superstitions About Fairies with People Homes, Fairy Homes and Music?

I like fairies because they're cute, fun, and whimsical. From the numbers of searches, articles, and activities listed on Google, so do millions of other people. Screenplay writers for movies, television, and theater have a passion for this mischievous group of mythical people.

The Irish folklore has a different set of ideas about fairies and what they can do. The superstitions passed along in folklore from Ireland have fairies or the good people giving their own version of trick or treating when not pleased.

What are the Irish superstitions about fairies with people homes, fairy homes and music?

Fairies have been known to hitch a ride with Irish immigrants when they traveled to the United States.

Turlough O'Carolan received the gift of fairy music after falling asleep on a fairy mound. A fairy mound is where they live during the summer months before moving along ley lines to their winter homes which are called barrows.

Their mounds and burrows should never be messed with or there will be a price to pay for disturbing their homes. One tale of superstition tells of three Irish lads digging up a mound for bury treasure. Each young man contracted tuberculosis from the fairies for this misdeed.

Hawthorne trees are where Irish fairies love to gather and have a circle of fairy flowers. There are some of the trees that are sacred and if ripped from their grounds can cause bad luck to anyone who goes into the area where the tree once lived.

If living in Ireland, you should never build a house on a fairy path because you wouldn't be a peace since you parked your house on their paths. Another thing about fairy paths is they can make one right through your home and the residents can become ill. To remove the illness from the family, board the doors so the fairies have to go around the home. You are also supposed to build a new house on another side of the house to help rid the family of their illness.

Fairies like to make themselves look like beggars and travel from home to home. This could be similar to today's trick or treating. Give the fairy beggars a treat; receive a reward. Don't give the fairy beggars a treat; get a trick or repercussion for not sharing.

Fairies would rather be called by their Gaelic name if you must talk about them. Their nickname is Daoine Maithe, which means the good people.

Are their more Irish superstitions involving fairies?

Yes, there are more Irish superstitions involving fairies. I am going to break those superstitions down further in different articles. There are more that fit into the brief ones I have touched on in this article and you will find a reference back to this one from time to time in future articles.

More by this Contributor:

5 Old Wives Tales About Money

Chupacabra Myth Debunked on 'Bones'

Sources

Irish Fairy Superstitions; The-irish-path.com

Julie Bismark; Halloween Fairies; Celticanamcara.blogspot.com