Friday Facts

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Who are "The Good People?"
"The Good People" is a term often applied to the fairies of Ireland. Up
until as late as the end of the nineteenth century, some Irish (and
others, no doubt), especially in rural areas where most residents were
illiterate, maintained a literal belief in the existence of normally
invisible beings that lived alongside mankind. Fairies were believed to
live in the air, water, and earth. They could be too tiny to see or
close to the size of human beings. They resembled humans and lived lives
parallel to theirs, with some differences. Generally, fairies left
humans alone, but they could bring disease or ill-fortune on them,
especially if provoked.

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What is the origin of fairies?

One story to explain where fairies came from says that they were
originally angels in heaven. When the rebellious Lucifer and his
followers were being expelled from heaven, God the Son is said to have
warned God the Father that soon heaven would be empty. So the expulsion
was suddenly stopped and the expelled angels falling toward hell halted
where they were: some in mid-air, some in the oceans, and some on the
earth. Because of their expulsion, they are jealous of human Christians
and sometimes do them mischief. But they are not entirely malevolent,
for they hope to be permitted to re-enter heaven one day.

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What is a "changeling"?

A "changeling" is a member of the fairy community, usually an elderly
fairy, who is left in place of a child or adult stolen by the fairies.
Some legends say that the fairy community lacks children, or even women,
and so human children and young women are stolen away. The changeling is
left in the human's place so that no one will know an abduction has
occurred. However, the changeling often looks withered, or throws temper
tantrums, or otherwise acts in a manner that is inconsistent with the
healthy human stolen away. Often, children who were born or became
deformed or sickly were suspected of being changelings. The way to get
the healthy human back was to drive out or expose the changeling, often
through violent means. Sadly, in real life, some children were actually
killed by families hoping to reclaim a "missing" healthy child. One ill
woman, Bridget Cleary, was murdered as late as 1895 by a husband who
believed (encouraged in part by family and neighbors) that she was a
changeling.

(For a fascinating account of the murder of Bridget Cleary, and more
info on fairy belief in Ireland, read Angela Bourke's "The Burning of
Bridget Cleary," published in 2000 by Viking Penguin.)