Most often, fairies are portrayed as small humanoid creatures that can fly and are surrounded by sparkling halos. However, in the myths of various peoples, representatives of this small nation are not always as friendly as fairies in Disney films. In the folklore of many countries, fairies are very cruel and frightening. They will be discussed in our review.
1. Lianan-Shi
Fairy vampire
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Lianan Shi was essentially a vampire fairy who hunted men on the Isle of Man. She appeared as an attractive young woman to seduce her victim. If she succeeded, then the man became her lover. If a person managed to resist her charms, then the fairy brutally killed him and drank all the blood of the victim.
For the lover, the situation was also far from rosy - Lianan-Shi, during lovemaking, sucked the life force out of a man, until he eventually turned into an empty shell and died. This fairy kept the blood of all her victims in a cauldron and used it as needed to stay powerful and young forever. Sometimes she also gave some blood to her lover to inspire him to write romantic poetry.
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2. Gankoner
Faye Gan Ceanach
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This fairy (more precisely, fairies) literally forced women to die because of him. Gan Ceanach, which means chatterbox lover, was a tiny Don Juan who spent most of his time looking for a woman to seduce. When he succeeded, the woman remained forever hopelessly in love with him, and the fairies disappeared.
The seduced ladies became obsessed with Gankonner and faded before our eyes. Men also did not remain "deprived" when they met this unusual creature - they began to spend all their money on gifts for their women.
3. Bendit and Mamau
Fairies - kidnappers
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The name of this clan of Welsh fairies is ironically translated as "mother's blessing." The irony is that the main occupation of this clan was kidnapping. To be more precise, these fairies abducted human babies and left their own deformed offspring in their place, which they called "krimbils".
The parents of the kidnapped child often turned to witches to get their offspring back, although Bendit sometimes returned the children after teaching them how to write and appreciate good music. In addition to kidnapping children, these fairies also drove horses to death by riding them. To calm Bendit down, people left milk on the front porch.
4. Storm Witch
Fairy with greenish skin and teeth
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The Storm Witch is a fairy who once lived on Lake Erie and was believed to be responsible for many shipwrecks in the area. According to legend, she was a very ugly woman with greenish skin and teeth, jaundiced eyes and pointed features. Her nails contained a powerful paralyzing poison.
Before the Storm Witch attacked the ship, she sang a terrible song that predicted the death of all the people on board, after which she sent a terrible storm on the helpless sailors. As if that wasn't enough, the Storm Witch also rode the waves and grabbed sailors with her outstretched arms.
5. Fachan
Fairy monsters
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In Scottish tales, this type of fairies was described in such a way that one might think that they were talking about monsters. However, the fachan looked exactly like that. These creatures seemed so monstrously disgusting that only their appearance could supposedly stop the human heart.
The fachan were covered with hair from head to toe, and each part of their body had one: one eye, one arm, one leg, etc. Unlike other fairies, the fachan could not fly and hated those who could do it. They were prone to violence and simply could not tolerate people who entered their territory, beating them with clubs or chains that they always carried with them.
6. Slua
Fairies are the souls of evil people
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In Scottish stories, the sluagh were fairies, who were the souls of evil people who died unbaptized. A swarm of these evil fairies used to fly at night, fighting each other and hunting prey. A man unlucky enough to be their target was lifted to a great height and thrown to the ground.
The Slua also had a penchant for sadism and sometimes caused their victims to shoot poisoned arrows at each other. To protect themselves from the Sluagh, the people closed their west-facing windows, as their swarms usually came from that direction. Also that the sluagh was somewhere nearby was warned by their corpse stench.
7. Berberoke
Fairy of rivers and swamps
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Berberoka is a dangerous race of fairies that lived in the swamps and rivers of the Philippines and hunted mainly by the fishermen who often visited these bodies of water. They caught their victims in the following way: they drank all the water in a certain area, exposing the fish. When unsuspecting fishermen raced for a huge catch, Berberoks would spit all the water back and drown the fishermen.
8. Red hats
Fairies-cannibals
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The Red Hats also lived in Scotland and were known for their bloodthirstiness and irrepressibility. Despite the fact that they were usually portrayed as emaciated old people, the Red Caps were armed with sharp claws and teeth, and they were phenomenally strong and could easily defeat an adult. As if that was not enough, they also carried braids with them, with which they dealt with people.
After they brutally slaughtered their victims, the Red Caps soaked their hats in their blood, hence their name. These fairies were also supposed to be cannibals who ate both humans and other fairies. The only way to protect oneself from these bloodthirsty creatures was to read Bible verses, and this had to be done very quickly, since the Red Hats were not only insanely strong, but also incredibly fast.
9. Anku
Death incarnate in Celtic folklore
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The epitome of death in Celtic folklore is Anku, who in mortal life was a nameless prince who loved hunting and taking risks. One fine day while hunting, he met Death, who challenged Anka to a hunting competition, the winner of which could decide the fate of the loser. The prince lost and Death sentenced him to eternal soul-collecting. Since then, Anku has been roaming the Earth in her horse-drawn cart and collecting souls into it.
Anku is depicted as a creepy figure dressed in black robes, and Anku's face is always hidden. In some variations of the stories, Anka is accompanied by skeletons that help him load the souls into the carriage. The cold wind signals the arrival of Anku and makes it clear to the dying man that death is imminent.
10. Bannik
Fay is a grumpy old man
Photo: dolgie-leta.in.ua
This fairy, or rather the spirit, as you might guess from the name, spent most of his time in the bathhouse. Bannik in Russian folklore is depicted as a grumpy old man who patronized the baths, could change the shape of anything and knew how to foresee the future. Sometimes, just for fun, the bannik would bring other supernatural beings to the bathhouse.
If people suspected his presence in their bathhouse, then they took all Christian religious images out of the building and left soap and birch brooms to the bathhouse. If a person wanted to know his future, then he turned his back to the bathhouse: if he tapped lightly on the back, then everything would be fine, and if he scratched, then it signified something bad.