Fairy Folklore in Unwelcome

 Today I'd like to take a look at the fairy folklore in the 2023 horror film 'Unwelcome'. This movie differs slightly from some of the previous ones we've looked at in this series; because it is folk horror the folklore elements are more pronounced and pivotal to the wider story. This is both a benefit and a weakness of the movie, as it openly incorporates beings from fairy belief but also radically changes those beings for plot purposes, in contrast to other films which are inspired by folk belief but don't claim to share those beliefs, only to springboard off of them. 

As with previous discussions we'll approach this bullet point style and talk about what we find in the movie versus what we'd expect in folklore. 
Spoilers ahead!

-This is going to be a more thorough summary than I usually offer, as the folklore is so layered into the entire plot- 
***Massive spoilers ahead***
Plot summary: The movie opens with an old woman collapsed on the ground outside near a stone wall with a short door. Another woman stands by and watches as an ambulance tends the first woman, her gaze lingering ominously on the wall and door.
The film then cuts to Maya and Jamie, a young couple living in London. Maya finds out she's pregnant and Jamie goes out to the shop to buy some alcohol free prosecco to celebrate but crosses paths with a group of men hanging out on the street who start harassing him; there is a verbal altercation between Jamie and the men then he goes back to their apartment. Maya is in the bathroom when Jamie comes back, quickly followed by the group who begin assaulting him before dragging her out and attacking her as well. She manages to grab a knife and tries to hold off the men during which the leader of the group taunts her for being unwilling to actually hurt anybody. She was able to call the police before being found and the couple are quickly rescued but are clearly traumatized. Months later, with Maya heavily pregnant, they arrive at a house in Ireland which they have inherited from Jamie's aunt Meave, the woman who was shown collapsed at the start. The house is in the middle of nowhere, with only a small town nearby. Niamh, the other woman from the opening scene, greets them and reminiscences about Meave briefly with Jamie who had spent his summers as a child at the house. Later she walks them back through their garden to the wall with the door, and explains that Maeve had a pact with a group of fairy beings who she calls both Fir Darrig and Red Caps, and explains that a piece of raw liver needs to be left at the wall every day for them. She offers to do it herself but Maya refuses, not wanting to have a stranger wandering in their yard. Niamh makes Maya promise to leave this offering every day, but Maya forgets.
The couple try to find a contractor to fix their roof but can't find anyone available, then stumble across the Whelan family who take the job. Later at the pub, where Niamh works, when the couple says they've hired the Whelans the whole place falls silent due to that family's bad reputation.  Maya confesses to Niamh that she forgot the offering but promises to remember going forward. A local later begins warning the couple about the area's history but Niamh throws him out of the pub and explains he's just a local drunk. While walking home with his dog the man is attacked in the woods. Later as people search for him Niamh tells Maya thet Maeve had made a deal with the Red Caps to heal her dying husband (who still died) and her 2 year old daughter disappeared, but Maya assumes that Maeve had killed her child in a fit of postpartum psychosis. 
The Whelans begin work on the house but are all causing trouble. The father insists on being called Daddy and is abusive to his three children, Eoin, Cillian and Aisling; Eoin is clumsy and breaks things, while Cillian and Aisling steal from the home. 
Maya makes the liver offering the next day. Walking in the woods Maya finds Molly, the missing man's dog, who leads her to a clochán* lit by candles. The dog enters and Maya starts to follow, only to realize that the inside is a spiralling staircase and looking down she sees human bones. She leaves and then runs into Eoin in the woods who assaults her; she screams for help and the Red Caps appear [off camera] and drag Eoin away. She tries to tell Jamie but he doesn't believe her. Later while home alone a Red Cap visits and gives her a plastic bag which contains Eoin's head. The Red Cap is a small goblin like creature with sharp teeth, wearing a dark reddish-brown tunic with a hood. Jamie returns and tells Maya to hide the head as the Whelans arrive to find out what happened to the missing Eoin. As Maya tries to escape she is confronted by Aisling who grabs the bag and realises her brother has been killed. Maya flees into the woods as the trio break into the house to attack Jamie in retribution for Eoin's death. Maya runs to the clochán, begging for help and offers to give the Red Caps anything if they will intervene. The Red Caps then go to the house; two are killed but the group of Red Caps manage to kill the two younger Whelans. 'Daddy' Whelan retrieves a rifle from his car and injures Jamie but is attacked by Molly [the dog] and drops the gun which Maya picks up. She shoots Daddy Whelan and kills him. 
The couple retreat to their house where Maya gives birth to a daughter. The next night the Red Caps return and take the child while Jamie is out. Maya chases them back to the clochán and goes down the stairs into an area with various smaller rooms where she finds an old human woman with her baby; she realizes the woman is Maeve's daughter. She begs for the Red Caps to give her back the baby and take her instead, but Maeve's daughter says she is too old. Maya kills a Red Cap then the old woman and takes her child. Jamie returns home and follows his daughter's cries out to the garden where he finds the Red Caps dancing around Maya chanting 'mother Red Cap' and he watches in horror as a floating human skull pours blood over Maya's head and face as she smiles. 

So first let's look at what is actually folklore in all of that:

• The idea of a promise made to the Fir Darrig having to be kept or there will be terrible consequences is inline with wider folk belief about fairies.
• The Red Caps are not averse to iron, which is true to folk belief that they are a type of fairy being who actually uses iron weapons themselves, and may wear iron shoes. 
• Help gotten from fairies, especially help that's asked for, has a cost. The Red Caps first intervention on Maya's behalf comes after she gives them the liver offering and the second only after she promises them 'anything'.
• The clochán opening up into a large space underground does seem to reflect ideas of the sidhe as entries into the Otherworld, with the beehive shape of the clochán echoing the shape of a hill and the floor actually being stairs leading down into the earth. 
• The gate and door as offering site is an interesting nod to the liminality of fairies and their preference for such spaces which exist in borders between contrasting things, in this case the civilization of the back garden and the wildness of the woods
• Fairies of various types stealing a human child is a common trope in fairy folklore, particularly seen in stories of changelings.

Now let's untangle what isn't folklore but is presented as such:

• While Niamh is quick to differentiate the Fir Darrig from Leprechauns she falsely conflates them with the Scottish Red Caps [see: here]
• Fir Darrig are known to be malicious pranksters but not murderous as such, and Fear Darrig means 'red man' not red cap. In some accounts they are said to have that name because they wear red clothes, while in one other the Fear Darrig is described with red hair. Some accounts say that Fir Darrig are smaller, around two feet tall, but more depict them as human sized or even larger.
• The Red Caps of the movie eat their human victims, but in folklore they are only said to kill and use the blood as dye.
• Fir Darrig and Red Caps are solitary beings and are not known to live or act in groups.
• There is no 'mother Red Cap' in folklore about either Red Caps or Fir Darrig, that is entirely a conceit of the movie
• The Red Caps take Maeve's child, apparently as payment after she requests her husband be healed, but he isn't healed, he still died. In folklore generally when such deals are made and the fairies take their payment they follow through and give what was requested. 
• It's also a bit muddled that the implication is if the offering isn't made the Red Caps will hurt people - which they do when Maya misses the first offering - yet the offering also means they will help Maya when asked to, one act of assistance in exchange for one offering. Usually in folk lore we find either the offering is done to keep the danger at bay or in payment for help but not both at the same time. The bulk of the Red Caps' actions in the movie are not reactions to missed offerings - as the tagline 'break a promise, pay the price' implies - but rather are actions taken in response to Maya's requests. Even the ending with her as the Mother Red Cap was a response to her plea that they take her instead of her newborn (and probably also her murdering the previous Mother). 

Ultimately the movie is definitely folk horror but the Red Caps might be better described as folkloresque than as actual folk beings. They are very loosely based on an amalgamation of Scottish Red Caps, Irish Fir Darrig, and trooping fairies (in that they live in a group), rather than showing a single type of being. It makes for an interesting, if sometimes confusing, movie but shouldn't generally be viewed as reflecting folk beliefs; it definitely isn't going on my list of media to watch to better understand fairies as the differences are too many and muddling the Scottish Red Caps and Irish Fir Darrig leans into watering down and homogenizing culturally differentiated folk beliefs. 

* a small beehive shaped hut built of stone

Irish Language Resources

 I had recently made a short video discussing [read:ranting] about people on social media who overly romanticize the Irish language and treat it as magical. In that video I strongly emphasized my belief that learning Irish is for everyone and that it is an amazing language, and was asked for my recommendations for learning Irish. Below I will offer my suggestions, with the understanding that other people's opinions may vary. Also note that I tend to take a wide approach to language learning and feel that multiple options work better than a single focused one; this means that I am including resources for different dialects rather than a single one. I also strongly recommend having some sort of audio component as Anglophones tend to struggle with reading and pronouncing Irish.

So to begin, finding an Irish language class is usually the best bet if that is an option. If that isn't an option however there are a range of books, programs, and online material that can be helpful.

 Books

Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail
Usborne's Irish for Beginners by Angela Wilkes
Speaking Irish an Ghaeilge Bheo (with DVD) by Siuán ní Mhaonaigh and Antain Mac Lochlainn
Irish Grammar A Basic Handbook by Noel McGonagle
Teach Yourself Irish Grammar by Éamonn Ó Dónaill
Basic Irish A Grammar Workbook by Nancy Stenson
Intermediate Irish a Grammar Workbook by Nancy Stenson

Additionally you want to invest in a good dictionary. Teanglann.ie is a great online option and I personally encourage people to buy physical copies of the books used for the website. The Concise English-Irish Dictionary is also a great choice although 'concise' is used very loosely there. 

Online Courses

Rosetta Stone (expensive but thorough)
Pimsleur also offers a course (I haven't taken this one myself)
University College Dublin has a series of Irish courses on Futurelearn 
Let's Learn Irish offers courses, in person workshops, and community conversations

Apps

Madra Teanga (the updated version of Sionnach)
Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur both have apps
Nemo Irish Gaelic 

Websites

Bitesize Irish offers a range of language learning options, including the Gaeilge Gach Lá challenge and videos 
Gaelscoil Online has a short series of videos on Youtube

This covers the range of material I am familiar with. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. 

Book Review - Fairylore

 Its difficult to find a book on global fairy belief that's solid, especially in the age of AI. I have read much of what's out there that attempts to offer a wide overview of fairies or of specific types of fairy beings, from Bane's 'Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology' to the 'Fairy Bible' and consistently find them to contain glaring errors. It was exciting and refreshing to finally read a book like this that I can actually recommend.

  Fairylore by Dr Sara Cleto and Dr Brittany Warman is an excellent option for anyone looking for a wider view of fairy beliefs that extends beyond the usual suspects. I highly recommend it as a reference and also for some fun reading on the subject. 

image of the cover of Fairylore, taken by me

The book isn't exhaustive but covers a wide range of fairylike beings from around the world, and the information is generally trustworthy. My own focus is Irish, more generally Celtic, and tangentially Norse/Germanic so those are the only entries I feel confident in judging the accuracy of, but I am comfortable assuming that if those are trustworthy then the material outside those areas will be as well. 

Fairylore opens with a foreword by Terri Windling then moves into an introduction by the authors which tackles the daunting task of defining what exactly fairies are, without flinching away from the difficulty around that definition. It covers various theories across folk belief, then segues into discussions of where fairies live, common beliefs around them, and what it is about them that may be so persistent across folk belief. After the introduction the book is divided into 6 chapters, each of which focus on a particular wider type of fairy: fairies of the home, fairies of seduction, fairies of terror, fairies of nature, fairy neighbours, and our fairies ourselves. While alphabetic entries are more common in this type of text the book has a full index which can be used to quickly find a specific entry and the division that is used instead, grouping by wider type, lends itself to cross-cultural comparisons that are very enlightening. The conclusion chapter summarizes many of the wider points in the text and offers insight into fairies in the 21st century and ends by reminding us that - as has been said since Chaucer's time - the fairies are ever vanishing yet never truly gone, persisting across time and belief. The end notes provided for each chapter are also extremely useful. 

There are a few details I would disagree with, such as the Leannán Sidhe being portrayed as vampiric, but I acknowledge that such a view is genuine to existing folklore even if it originated with WB Yeats in the late 19th century. These disagreements reflect differences of opinion around complex folk belief rather than errors in the text. Overall the research presented is thorough and reliable and the bibliography is solid. 

The book is out right now only in hardcover, but the price point given that is quite reasonable and the quality is very high. I'd go so far as to say if a paperback version ever comes out the hardcover would still be the better investment. The cover art by Annie Stegg Gerard is gorgeous and the iridescent moths are a fun, whimsical touch (I did my best to capture the shimmering effect in the picture above, but it doesn't really do it justice). The book is heavily illustrated and the artwork throughout is engaging and evocative; the chapter opening images also by Stegg Gerard and in chapter art by Kristin Kwan. Kwan's art is reminiscent of Arthur Rackham without feeling derivative. Stegg Gerard's art, as in the cover example above, is vibrant and sets the tone for both the book and each chapter. The two artists' work flows well together.

A perfect option for anyone looking to learn more about who and what fairies are or to dive into the range of beings and stories found across cultures. 

Fairylore was released on 10 February 2026 and is available online and in bookstores.

Full disclosure I received an advanced digital copy of the book and provided a pre-publication endorsement for it. I had previously met the authors at a university conference in 2023. This is an honest review and reflects my thoughts and opinions on the book without bias. 

Victorian Era's Impact on the Image of Fairies

 This article was originally written for my Patreon in 2023 and I am making it public now

Yesterday I gave a talk for the Folklore Podcast,  as part of a lecture series to raise funds for the Folklore Library. My focus was tracing the history of the Scottish fairy courts across the last 500 years, from folklore to fiction. In the Q&A which followed someone asked a question about why we envision fairies as we do today and while I answered in the moment I thought I'd also offer a more expanded answer here for my patrons.

The short answer is, of course, the Victorians.

The long answer is that prior to the mid-19th century our understanding and perception of fairies was very different. They were not imagined with wings, or pointed ears, and were generally understood as being very human like in appearance, although not always in size, ranging from slightly less than two feet tall to around 6 feet tall (about 1/2 meter to 2 meters). The height often depended on the specific culture and the type of being, so that the Welsh Tylwyth Teg were described as 'the height of an 8 or 10 year old child' while the Irish Aos Sidhe were usually described as average adult height. Outside of this however there was rarely anything that physically distinguished these beings from humans, although they usually could be identified based on their words, actions, and a general aura of otherworldliness.

17th century woodcut showing fairies dancing in a ring

Henry Fuseli, 18th century, Titania and Bottom, showing the fairy queen Titania and her retinue of fairies with the donkey-headed Bottom

This began to change at some point in the early 19th century as fairies became popular in art and artists started depicting fairies with wings, and wingless elves with pointed ears. This may have been meant as a visual cue to viewers to make it clear the subject of the art were fairies or it may have represented a merging of the older understanding of fairies with the burgeoning idea of these beings as embodiments of nature and natural things, a concept which crystalized in the late 19th century with theosophies rewriting of fairies into elementals and nature spirits.

Initially however the change from non-winged fairies to winged wasn't decisive, and we see artists using both styles of imagery. For example the two following works by Francis Danby, the first of which from 1832 'Scene From a Midsummer Night's Dream' shows Oberon and Titania with wings while the second 'Oberon and Titania' from 1837 does not:

Through the 1870's we can find examples of fairies both with and without wings in art. For example this image 'The Fairy Tree' by Richard Doyle from 1865 shows 200 different fairy figures, none with wings, including several who appear to be flying:

By the 1880s however the wings dominate and can be found in all or nearly all artistic depictions of these beings. These wings are most often butterfly wings, occasionally more general insect wings, and range from small to larger than the figure itself. We also begin to see these visual cues used to gender these beings with female winged fairies and male elves with pointed ears, although there is some crossover between the two types of imagery.

It is also at this point that Theosophy begins, both taking the visual imagery of fairies found in art and also creating - or solidifying - the idea that fairies are spirits of the natural human world who are less than and dependent on humans. The combination of these two factors, Victorian cultural depictions and Theosophical descriptions, would combine to entirely rewrite the popular culture understanding of fairies in ways that are still effecting us today.

By the late Victorian era we find the idea of winged fairies, as shown in art, starting to crossover into fiction, and during the Edwardian period and first world war the wider cultural concept of fairies as small, winged, and connected to the natural world becomes nearly ubiquitous in English and American culture so that by the late 20th century people start to describe personal encounters with small winged fairies.

We shouldn't underestimate the power of art and fiction to shape folk belief, and be aware of how the media we consume influences our understanding of these beings.

References:

Fairies in Victorian Art by Christopher Wood
Victorian Fairy Paintings edited by Jane Martineau

2025 Wrap Up

 It's been a very busy year, with less blogging and more working on bigger projects. 

1. In 2025 I wrote 5 books (4 to be released next year)

1. I had 4 books published: Paid With A Kiss, Tales of the Tuatha De Danann vol 1, Pantheon the Irish, and Dangerous Magic
2. I had four articles published in various magazines and journals
3. Contributed to two anthologies which came out this year: Fairies a Companion, and Divine Wounds
4. Wrote forwards for 2 books published this year: Defying Shadows and Divide Wounds
5. Completed my translation of the Táin Bó Cúailgne, which was started in 2023
6. Participated in 4 online pagan conferences/events
7. Presented in person at the Morrigan's Call retreat
8. Presented papers at two online academic conferences
9. Wrote a chapter for a forthcoming academic work on Green Women
10. Presented a class on the Aos Sidhe for the Irish Pagan School online
11. Travelled to Ireland for a week long tour (and got to see a bunch of castles)

I'm exhausted just reading that over but like I said it's been a busy year. Next year is looking equally busy with three books currently under contract with Moon Books, and one on changelings for an academic publisher. 

In 2026 I will also be at the following events:

Between the Worlds/Sacred Space in person

ADFs Wellspring online

The Morrigan's Call Retreat in person

Harvest Gathering in person 

Changing Times Changing Worlds in person 

I had hoped to get back to Mystic South this year but that isn't looking likely for financial reasons. I have also applied for an academic conference but won't hear back about that until spring next year. 

Fairylore in Stranger Things season1

 It's been awhile since I did a 'fairylore in popular media' article, but I thought this one would be worth digging into now. Stranger Things is a cultural phenomenon which I admit I've previously avoided. But at the urging of my 12 year old I've dived in and was pleasantly surprised to see the many echos of fairylore in the show, particularly the first two seasons, although I'm focusing just on season 1 here. I think it's worthwhile to explore the way some fairy themes crossover into this show in ways that may be subtle or obvious and how that can give the show a deeper feel. 

  In previous articles I've noted what were in most cases obviously intended to be reflections of folklore but in the case of Stranger Things I don't know for certain how many of the below listed things were intentional call backs to fairy beliefs and how much is coincidence, so my approach to this will be to simply present all of the points I've noticed as a fairy focused folklorist. Other people's opinions here might vary, and if I missed anything please suggest it in the comments. 

*Spoilers for Stranger Things season 1 Below*

https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/622/739/588/stranger-things-netflix-clouds-bicycle-wallpaper-thumb.jpg

The Upside Down - A main premise of the show is that there is an alternate reality adjacent to and reflecting the human world but which is very different in nature; this is similar to a foundational premise in fairylore, that the world or reality of Fairy exists adjacent to but separated from the human world. Fairy has neither sun nor moon but exists in a perpetual twilight and the Upside Down also has no celestial bodies illuminating it but exist in a state of endless night. The Upside Down is a distorted, nightmarish counterpart to the human world, where the architecture and wilderness is the same but exist in states of decay; Fairy is sometimes described as identical to the human world but distorted in various ways. Both worlds, Fairy and the Upside Down, have different rules to the human world.

The Stolen Human - a staple in various fairy stories is the stolen human, a person who is taken by the fairies for a range of purposes, usually malevolent. Although popular stories tend to focus on infants the range of anecdotal material includes humans of many ages, with boys being the most common children taken and women the more common older children and adults taken. In the case of Stranger Things we see both as Will, a 12 year old boy, is taken first, followed later by Barb, a teenage girl. Both are taken into the Upside Down, although they meet very different fates there. As in fairylore Will and Barb are taken when they are alone and unprotected. 

The Changeling - A common theme in many stories of stolen humans is that of the changeling, an enchanted object or ailing fairy left in the place of a stolen human in order to deceive the person's family into either believing they died or to make it seem the person hasn't been stolen at all. In Stranger Things this manifests as a body left in place of the stolen Will meant to convince his family and the town of Hawkins that he drowned. This fake is revealed when the police chief, suspicious of what has been going on and swayed by the boy's mother who swears the corpse isn't her child, cuts into the corpse only to find that it is a lifelike doll stuffed with cotton. The police Chief keeps this knowledge to himself and the false Will is buried in a public funeral, leaving most people convinced he did actually die.

The Gate(s)- in the show the pathways between the human world and the Upside Down are called gates, and represent tears between realities that beings may pass through. Similarly in folk belief fairies are thought to live in the world of Fairy but access the human world through specific places that act as doorways. These may be hills, caves, trees, or rocks in folk stories; for example the cave of Uaimh na gCait (Tulsk, Roscommon) is said to be an entry to the Otherworld out of which assorted monstrous beings have appeared. In the show we find that the main gate created by one of the characters is underground, in a military complex that has a cave-like aesthetic, while a smaller gate is also shown in the woods as a hole between worlds opened up in a tree. 

Inhuman Monsters - a wider trope which is admittedly shared with a range of media including science fiction is the inhuman monster. This is also found in fairy belief where some beings from Fairy may look human but others are notably inhuman and clearly monstrous. These monsters do not follow the rules of the human world, even when they are within it, for example being almost impossible to injure or kill. In both the show and fairy stories these monstrous beings are notably vicious and brutal, while also clearly being intelligent in some way. The Demogorgons of the show, like some beings in Fairy, are superior in strength and speed to humans; like fairy beings who are described missing limbs or with a deformity, the Demogorgons have no apparent eyes, often described within the show as 'faceless'. 
They are not clearly fairies, as such, but they fit into the wider range of Fairy beings that can be found in stories.

Electrical Distortions - a key aspect to the first season of the show is Will's ability to communicate with his mother from the Upside Down using lights. Through this he can convey his presence to her and later spell out messages after she creates a clever communication method using a string of lights and letters painted on the wall. Electrical distortions are common features of supernatural encounters including fairy based ones, and the idea that lights appearing indicates the presence of otherwise unseen being is inline with wider fairy beliefs. It also represents in my opinion an interesting take on communication between worlds.

Monstrous Reproduction Via Humans - Fairylore is full of stories of humans taken in order to further the fairies agenda by providing offspring for them; in some stories the stolen human themself is transformed into a fairy. In Stranger Things it is implied in several scenes that the Demogorgons are using the corpses of the humans they kill to make more of themselves, including using the still-alive Will who in a final scene is shown vomiting up a slug-like creature which is revealed in season 2 to be the initial form of the Demogorgon. Through this means the beings reproduce, and their use of humans to do so echoes older ideas of fairies using humans as breeding stock. 

The Rescue - in stories of stolen humans there are usually two ways to rescue them, all of which must be done within a very short time limit. One way is, if the changeling left was a fairy, to torment that being until it chooses to either leave - hence returning the stolen human - or admits to its nature with the same result. The second way is to actively rescue the stolen human, usually by going to a place in the human world where the fairies are known to be at a specific time, but also in a few cases by going into the Fairy realm to bring them back, such as we see in Sir Orfeo. Stranger Things echoes this later trope, with Will's mother and the police chief venturing through the gate to rescue him and return him to the human world. This is accomplished in the show and in folklore by fighting through challenges and trials to find the person and win them back to the living world. 

Saved But Never the Same - A final note would be that after being successfully rescued Will shows clear signs that his experience has changed him on a deep, preternatural level - he has flashes of vision into the Upside Down and can sense the power that rules that realm. While some people rescued from Fairy in stories do go on to live apparently normal lives we also find tales of people so changed by their experience that they cannot reconcile it and pine away or seek to return to that world. There are also stories of people who would go on to be considered a bean feasa [wise woman] or fairy doctor who were taken into the realm of Fairy for a period of time and return with new abilities beyond the norm for humans and with a connection between themselves and the Otherworld. 

Changeling Survey

 As part of a book that I am currently working on I am doing a survey of modern changeling beliefs, particularly focused on people who identify as changelings. I am hoping to gather a range of responses that will help to illustrate the diversity of modern beliefs on this topic and the value of the concept to people who identify with it.

If you are interested in taking the survey you can email me at bancumachtachsi@aol.com and I will send you the forms. One is the survey itself and the other is a consent to have your responses used in my research, either by name or anonymously.