Good Fairies Bad Fairies, and Every Color of the Rainbow

Are fairies good or bad?

Can you tell if a fairy is benevolent by their color?

Mostly no, is the answer to both questions. Those who believe in the world of the elements, sprites and dark fairies may believe that fairies are neither good or bad except for what label them to be. What commonly referred to as “dark fairies” may simply be fairies that are going about their fairy business and their events shape their behaviors.

The world is full of fairy (or faery) lore. Some believe there are darker elements that coerce human children and sometimes male adults into following them into their watery homes or the neck of the woods where they frequent never to be seen or heard from again.

These dark fairies by some are thought to keep the children hostage and then raise them as their own. In extreme situations a dark fairy –may replace a child in its crib with their own as an explanation for deformed babies, hence the reference to “changelings.” Or they have been known to keep the adult males for entertainment. One of the best dark sprite stories is the famous “Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

Colorful fairies are the result of Hollywood, Disney, and anime. “Real” fairies are depicted as both light and dark-skinned and they dress in colorful tunics. All the winged fairy folk dress in simple transparent garb or have translucent wings. Then there are the blue fairies or purple fairies one might see on a child’s nursery walls.

As whimsical and pretty as they are, the rainbows colored fairies or purple fairies as depicted on some of the gothic-inspired websites are not particularly reflective of the lore describing true faeries.

Most fairies are thought to have a mischievous side, it’s in their nature one would say! Depending on where you live fairies can be helpful or spiteful if you are found on their wrong side. Or they may be inherently good–bright–or evil (dark fairies) if that is what one chooses to believe.

If you love fairy illustrations, you will enjoy looking through “Good Fairies Bad Fairies,” a beautiful book full of color illustrations and faery lore. Illustrations and stories of both “Good” and “Bad” faeries are included in this whimsical book along with information about these mystical characters. The book also includes information on how to name a faery, their different fairy classifications.

You usually can find fairy book resources in the fantasy section of any brick and mortar or online bookstore.