The Scary History of Fairies
Summary
Historian Diane Perkis explores the dark, human-sized fairy folklore of the British Isles, revealing a matriarchal realm where fairies prey on humans for sexual and reproductive resources. The episode examines historical witch trials, the terrifying practice of punishing "changeling" babies, and the 1895 murder of Bridget Cleary, whose husband believed she was a fairy. It also traces how Shakespeare and later literature shrank fairies into cute, winged creatures, before noting a modern resurgence of the original, sexually charged fairy narratives in contemporary fiction.
Topics discussed
Introduction and adult content warning
Debunking the myth of tiny, cute fairies
The Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer and fairy service
Fairy gifts, prophecy, and witch trials in Scotland
Presbyterian views on fairies and materialism
Rules for interacting with fairies and Elfland
Modern persistence of fairy beliefs in Celtic regions
The fairy matriarchy and returning warriors
Changelings and the Saint-Guyne-Four legend
Extreme methods to retrieve changeling children
The Catherine Fordyce saga and trowels in Shetland
Fairy sexual predation and the Goodwin Wharton story
Warding off fairies and the witch bottle
The murder of Bridget Cleary and the changeling defense
Analyzing Michael Cleary's motives and the village reaction
Capgras syndrome and the legal outcome of the Cleary case
Celtic Revival literature and Irish folklore influences
Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, and the origin of tiny fairies
From Tinkerbell to Sarah J. Maas: the return of sexy fairies
Conclusion and guest resources
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