The fairies who appear so commonly in folk tales are known by different names. They are bogies, brownies, goblins, pixies, kobolds (in Germany), trolls (in Denmark), and so on. The Celts, especially, had a lively faith in fairies, and it was from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland that many stories about them became current in Europe after the tenth century. Some students have explained the belief in fairies as due to memories of an ancient pygmy people dwelling in underground homes. But most of these supernatural beings seem to be the descendants of the spirits and demons which in savage fancy haunt the world.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FAIRIES
A comparison of European folk tales shows that fairies have certain characteristics in common. They live in palaces underneath the ground, from which they emerge at twilight to dance in mystic circles. They are ruled by kings and queens and are possessed of great wealth. Though usually invisible, they may sometimes be seen, especially by people who have the faculty of perceiving spirits. To mortals the fairies are generally hostile, leading wanderers astray, often blighting crops and cattle, and shooting arrows which carry disease and death. They are constantly on the watch to carry off human beings to their realm. A prisoner must be released at the end of a certain time, unless he tastes fairy food, in which event he can never return. Children in cradles are frequently snatched away by the fairies, who leave, instead, imps of their own called "changelings." A changeling may always be recognized by its peevishness and backwardness in learning to walk and speak. If well treated, the fairies will sometimes show their gratitude by bestowing on their favorites health, wealth, and long life. Lucky the child who can count on a "fairy god-mother."
GIANTS AND OGRES
Stories of giants are common in folk tales. Giants are often represented as not only big but also stupid, and as easily overcome by keen-witted human foes like "Jack the Giant-killer." It may be that traditions of pre- historic peoples have sometimes given birth to legends of giants. Another source of stories concerning them has been the discovery of huge fossil bones, such as those of the mammoth or mastodon, which were formerly supposed to be bones of gigantic men. The ogres, who sometimes figure in folk tales, are giants with a taste for human flesh. They recall the cannibals of the savage world.
WEREWOLVES
Werewolves were persons who, by natural gift or magic art, were thought to have the power of turning themselves for a time into wild beasts (generally wolves or bears). In this animal shape they ravaged flocks and devoured young children. A werewolf was said to sleep only two nights in the month and to spend the rest of the time roaming the woods and fields. Trials of persons accused of being werewolves were held in France as late as the end of the sixteenth century. Even now the belief is found in out- of-the-way parts of Europe.
THE EVIL EYE
Another medieval superstition was that of the evil eye. According to this belief, certain persons could bewitch, injure, and kill by a glance. Children and domestic animals were thought to be particularly susceptible to the effects of "fascination." In order to guard against it charms of various sorts, including texts from the Bible, were carried about. The belief in the evil eye came into Europe from pagan antiquity. It survived the Middle Ages and lingers yet among uneducated people.