The real Fae of Europe: separating folklore from fantasy

The modern English word "Fae" derives from the Old French fae, which in turn was said to derive from the Latin "Fāta".  There are also many other variations that mean the same thing - fay, fēe, fey and so on.

The related term "Faerie" comes from the Old French faierie.

In folklore, these terms are now used to describe a broad category of supernatural beings that share a set of core characteristics:

• Otherworld connection: The Fae are believed to live in a parallel realm, often referred to as the Otherworld or Faerie. This realm isn't on a different planet as such, but co-exists with the human world, accessible through liminal - or transitional - places like ancient burial mounds, caves, stone circles and bodies of water.
   
  
• Amoral nature: Folkloric Fae don't operate on a human-centric moral axis of "good" and "evil." Their behaviour is better understood as amoral, governed by a strict and alien code of conduct. They can be helpful or hostile depending on circumstances and whether they've been shown the proper respect. An act of kindness might be rewarded, but a perceived slight could lead to ruinous retribution!
   
  
• Link to nature and place: Fae beings are often intrinsically tied to the natural landscape. They're often spirits of a specific river, forest, or mountain. This belief reflects a pre-industrial worldview where the natural world was seen as an active and often sentient force that had to be appeased.

It should be noted that the term "fae" and its synonyms, as discussed in this article, are specifically related to Celtic and Germanic lore - similar beings from other parts of the world may resemble them, but are not actually classified as fae.

• Euhemerism (Diminished Deities): Euhemerism is the theory that myths are derived from historical events and figures. In this context, it suggests that Fae are the diminished forms of older pagan gods. A primary example is the Tuatha Dé Danann from Irish mythology, a group described in medieval texts like the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland) as a supernatural race with divine attributes. According to the mythology, after being defeated by the mortal Milesians, they retreated into the hollow hills and burial mounds (sídhe). Over time, they became known in folklore as the Aos Sí (pronounced Ais Shee, meaning "the people of the mounds"), the aristocratic Fae of Ireland.

• Personification of Natural Forces: Many Fae represent the dangers and dynamics of the natural world. The Germanic Nix (or Neck) were malevolent water spirits who personified the very real risk of drowning in rivers and pools. Belief in these beings encouraged caution and respect for dangerous natural features.

• Social and Psychological Functions: Fae-related beliefs often served as a framework for understanding and coping with societal issues. The changeling myth, prevalent across Europe, involves a belief that the Fae would steal a human infant and leave a sickly Fae substitute in its place. Anthropologists and historians theorize that this belief served as a social coping mechanism to explain undiagnosed congenital disorders, developmental disabilities, or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in a pre-medical society. It provided a supernatural reason for a child's failure to thrive.
  

The Death-bringer:

These Fae are specifically associated with death, disaster or misfortune and the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and Scotland feature some of the most famous examples.

From Irish Folklore:

• The Banshee (bean sídhe, meaning "woman of the mound") is perhaps the most well-known. She's an ancestral spirit whose sorrowful wail, or keening, foretells a death within one of the old Gaelic families (like the O'Neills or O'Gradys). Her omen is auditory; she is heard, not seen.
• The Dullahan ("dark man") is a headless Fae who rides a black horse and carries his own glowing head (with many other physical variations depending on the source). The Dullahan is an active participant in death, riding to a victim's home and calling their name to summon their soul.

From Scottish Folklore:

• While Scotland also has tales of banshees, a distinct and famous harbinger is the Bean Nighe ("washing woman"). As a specific type of banshee, she is a death omen seen at lonely streams, washing the bloody clothes of a warrior who is about to fall in battle.

Also see the Ankou in Breton folklore.

• Prohibition on Fae Food: A mortal who consumes food or drink from the Otherworld is permanently bound to it and cannot return to the human world. The Fae feast is a magical trap; eating the food is the same as signing an unbreakable contract. This is a central plot point in the ballad of Tam Lin, who was captured by the Fairy Queen; he can still be rescued by his mortal lover specifically because, while living among them, he "ne'er let [their] meat nor drink come in."

• The Power of Names: It was considered extremely dangerous to tell a Fae your full name, as this would give the entity power over you. Conversely, knowing a Fae's true name could grant a mortal some measure of control. As a result, euphemisms like "The Good Folk," "The Gentry," or "The Fair Folk" were used to refer to them indirectly and avoid attracting their attention.
   
  
• "Cold Iron": Iron was the most common and potent ward against the Fae. The two main theories for this are:
• 1) As a product of human technology and civilization, refined iron is anathema to the wild, pre-industrial magic of the Fae.
• 2) The process of smelting iron was historically seen as a powerful act of transformation, imbuing the metal itself with protective, anti-magical qualities.

• Other Aversions: Other common protections included running water, which Fae were often unable to cross, as it was seen as a pure and moving boundary between worlds; salt, a symbol of purity and preservation; and wood from the rowan tree, which has a long history in European folk magic as a protective charm.
  

• The power of a bargain: A deal with the Fae is magically binding and absolute. They can't break their word, but they are masters of loopholes and literal interpretations. This is why so many tales warn against making pacts with them. A mortal might be granted a wish, only to find the cost is something they never thought to specify, like their firstborn child or all the luck from their family line. This theme reinforces the Fae's alien morality - a deal is a deal, regardless of the emotional or human cost.

• The Teind (The Tithe to Hell): This is a darker and less-known piece of folklore, primarily from Scotland, that adds a terrifying layer to Fae interactions. The "Teind" is a tithe or tax that the Fae are forced to pay to Hell every seven years. The payment? One of their own, or more sinisterly, a stolen mortal. This belief provided a grim explanation for changelings and abductions. It wasn't always for mischief; sometimes, a beautiful human child was stolen to be the payment, sparing a Fae life.

• Liminality as a currency: I mentioned liminal spaces (thresholds, dusk, riverbanks) as gateways to the Otherworld. But in this transactional view, liminality is also the medium of exchange. Fae magic is strongest in these "in-between" places and times because they're outside the normal rules of the human world. It's on a misty morning, at a crossroads, or on Halloween night that a pact can be made, a portal can be opened, or a Fae can cross over. They operate in the cracks of our world because that is where their power is solvent. (Learn more about Halloween folklore here).
  

Physical appearance:

The popular image of the Fae as diminutive, beautiful beings with insect-like wings is a relatively recent invention. William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream was instrumental in miniaturizing Fae in the public imagination.

This trend was solidified during the Victorian era by artists like John Anster Fitzgerald and Richard Dadd, whose paintings depicted intricate fantasy scenes with tiny, winged sprites. And modern stories and sanitised fairy tales often present ethereal, "pure" kinds of fairy characters.

That's not to say the fae in old folklore couldn't be small and beautiful - some groups are described as more beautiful than any human.

But the stories are varied - some are described as (adult) human-sized and have the ability to shape-shift, others more the size of children with a hairy or grotesque appearance, so there is no one-size-fits-all here. A general consensus of folklorists suggests that fae in Celtic folklore are often depicted as the former while the Germanic (or Teutonic) fae are more the latter, though again, there are always exceptions.

In Breton (Celtic) folklore, for example, the Korrigans are described variously as beautiful women who transform and small wrinkled creatures that don't

The real difference is that the romanticized versions of "pretty" fairies, present them generally as "good" while in the authentic folklore, beautiful fairies can be benevolent but are never just "good".

The Seelie and Unseelie courts:

And on that note - the Seelie and Unseelie split or good vs. evil is very much a modern fantasy interpretation. It's not completely without basis but the authentic origin was much less binary:

Seelie from Scots seily, meaning 'blessed' or 'lucky' appears in older ballads like Allison Gross (c. 1783) or in 16th-century witch trials referring to "sillie wychtis." But, it wasn't necessarily describing a specific "good" faction. It was often used as a protective euphemism for all Fae and a way to flatter them. You didn't call them "Seelie" because they were good; you called them that so they might be good to you.

 Unseelie is an old Scots word meaning "unholy" or "unfortunate" (usually describing a time or place, like an "unseelie time" to travel), there is very little historical evidence of an organized "Unseelie Court" existing as a counter-weight to the Seelie Court in early folklore. The concept appears to be a later literary invention (likely 19th century or later). In genuine folklore, you didn't have a "bad court"; you just had individual entities who were bad, or "unseelie" times and places where it was dangerous to tread.