Pixies
A pixie (also called pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, piskie, or pigsie in parts of Cornwall and Devon) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. In the modern era, they are usually depicted with pointed ears, often wearing a green outfit and pointed hat. Traditional stories describe them as wearing dirty, ragged bundles of rags, which they discard for gifts containing new clothes. In other depictions, their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the outer end. In traditional regional lore, pixies are generally benign, mischievous, short of stature, and childlike; they are fond of dancing and wrestling outdoors, of which they perform through the night.
The origin of the word pixie is uncertain and could have come from the Swedish dialectal pyske, meaning 'small fairy'. This has been disputed as there are no Nordic dialectal records in southwest Britain, claiming instead it may be of Cornish origin of the piskie—that the term is more Celtic in origin, though no clear ancestor of the word is known. Pixie folklore is believed to pre-date the Christian presence in Britain. In the Christian era, they were sometimes said to be the souls of children who had died unbaptized. Some pixies are said to steal children or lead travelers astray. This act of leading people astray gave rise to the term pixilated to describe a person who becomes lost on a known road. It was later converted to mean any state of bewilderment or misperception.
Normally Pixies are very small and, in some tales, they are so minute that they can sit in your palm or rest under the shade of a mushroom. In other accounts, they are larger, but they rarely reach the height of a human’s knee. Their skin tone may be flesh-colored, blue, or green, eyes and ears are slightly pointed, and they have attractive wings, resembling a butterfly or dragonfly. These little people aren’t particularly good at making clothing and they do love fine things, and they will seize upon any gift of beautiful clothing that is offered to them. The little people have a special talent for casting charms that affect human behavior. They can enchant children and attractive maidens into joining one of their dances, or they can confuse travelers and cause them to wander for miles in the wrong direction.I
The origin of the word pixie is uncertain and could have come from the Swedish dialectal pyske, meaning 'small fairy'. This has been disputed as there are no Nordic dialectal records in southwest Britain, claiming instead it may be of Cornish origin of the piskie—that the term is more Celtic in origin, though no clear ancestor of the word is known. Pixie folklore is believed to pre-date the Christian presence in Britain. In the Christian era, they were sometimes said to be the souls of children who had died unbaptized. Some pixies are said to steal children or lead travelers astray. This act of leading people astray gave rise to the term pixilated to describe a person who becomes lost on a known road. It was later converted to mean any state of bewilderment or misperception.
Normally Pixies are very small and, in some tales, they are so minute that they can sit in your palm or rest under the shade of a mushroom. In other accounts, they are larger, but they rarely reach the height of a human’s knee. Their skin tone may be flesh-colored, blue, or green, eyes and ears are slightly pointed, and they have attractive wings, resembling a butterfly or dragonfly. These little people aren’t particularly good at making clothing and they do love fine things, and they will seize upon any gift of beautiful clothing that is offered to them. The little people have a special talent for casting charms that affect human behavior. They can enchant children and attractive maidens into joining one of their dances, or they can confuse travelers and cause them to wander for miles in the wrong direction.I
