Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Dark Side of Faery

Stolen In Her Sleep


The Fairies
William Allingham
1824-1889

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!

Down along the rocky shore
Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes
Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain lake,
With frogs for their watch-dogs
All night awake.

High on the hill-top
The old King sits;
He is now so old and gray
 He's nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist
Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys
From Slieveleague to Rossess;
Or going up with music
On  cold starry nights,
To sup with the Queen
Of the gay Northern Lights.

They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back,
Between the night and morrow,
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of flag-leaves,
Watching till she wake.

By the craggy hill-side,
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn-trees
For pleasure here and there.
Is any man so daring
As dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!





This poem can be found in Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W.B. Yeats.
In it you find ghost stories, faery abduction stories and tales of merrows and changelings, all with a dark twist. These tales and many others have brought me to the conclusion that the Land of Faery and the Land of the Dead are related. You can download this book for free on your Kindle. You won't be sorry.

13 comments:

  1. I will download this today! What a lovely Poem!

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  2. Hi LuLu

    I haven't read the whole book yet, but there are some pretty good ghost stories in it. I can't wait to read more.

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  3. Vivienne I don't have a kindle, so I will be purchasing this book! Wow! Thanks for sharing this ;o)

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  4. Oh, I love your witches in your banner ;o)

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  5. Love the new banner! Thanks for sharing this!
    my favorite part-
    "Between the night and morrow,
    They thought that she was fast asleep,
    But she was dead with sorrow."

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  6. You have been, selected...

    http://voodoo-ghoul.blogspot.com/2011/09/minions-of-misery.html

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  7. It's interesting how popular culture is now catching up with the idea of fairies being dark beings rather than the more whimsical, sentimental Victorian idea of the fairy. We've had vampires, then zombies... I think dark fairies will be the next big trend!

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  8. Hi Magic Love Crow

    Thank you. You can read the book for free at Sacred Texts if you want.They have some awesome books there.

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  9. Hi The Haunted Rose

    I like that part as well. I also like the part about thorns in the bed.

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  10. Hi Mantan Calaveras

    Wow! Can't believe I'm a minion of misery.
    Thank you from the darkest bottom of my heart.

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  11. Hi Little Gothic Horrors

    I see dark faeries and dark angels being the next big thing as well. when you read all the old folk tales it is clear that the faeries were nothing to laugh about. Sure they could bestow gifts upon a person, but there is always a price to pay.

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  12. Awesome new banner.

    W.B. Yeat is awesome. I'm used faeries being bright, happy--like Tinker Bell so it's kind of weird seeing them in a darker light. Not that it's a bad thing!

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  13. Hi Real Queen of Horror

    Glad you like the banner. I'm in Halloween mode. I like the sparkly faeries, I just think the dark ones need some coverage as well. Throw a little balance in the mix.

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