Fairy fun ~ Fantasy Friday

Fairy. Fae. Faerie. Wee Folk. Hidden People. There are as many different names for them as there are interpretations in popular fiction. As I am putting together my newest book, I realized what I know about fae couldn't fill a thimble and come from authors like Karen Marie Morning, Charlaine Harris and H.P. Mallory. So I had a lot of research to do. So I've spent a few days combing the internet for facts and I've discovered some really interesting things. 

• One origin myth for fairies is that they come from humans. Supposedly a woman hod her children from  God. When she went to look for them, they were nowhere to be found. They had become "hidden people."
• One of my favorite version of the birth of fae comes from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. When the first baby laughed for the first time, his laugh broke into a million pieces, and they all went skipping about.
• The Irish Tuatha De Danann are referred to as fairies. They came from islands in the north, but were persecuted by other supernatural creatures. After being defeated in as series of battles, they retreated to sighe, or fairy mounds.
• Some lore holds that fairies are mischievous and malicious. They will steal small objects and lead travelers astray. Because of this, advice on dealing with fairies deals mostly with how to avert them.

I had no idea how much there was out there that I didn't know. I can't share any others since it would be spoiler.