 Pixies playing on the skeleton of a cow, drawn by John D. Batten c.1894 | |
| Grouping | Legendary creature Fairy Sprite |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Region | Devon and Cornwall |
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[1] and Cornwall,[2] suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. However, the word 'pixie' (under various forms) also appears in Dorset, Somerset and to a lesser extent in Sussex, Wiltshire and Hampshire.[3]
Similar to the Irish and Scottish Aos Sí (also spelled Aos Sidhe), pixies are believed to inhabit ancient underground sites such as stone circles, barrows, dolmens, ringforts, or menhirs.[4] 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.
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.[5] In other depictions, their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the outer end. These, however, are Victorian era conventions and not part of the older mythology.[citation needed]
- ^ R. Totnea: "Pixies", Once a Week, 25 May 1867, page 608, notes the prevalence of belief in Pixies in Devon.
- ^ "The Folk-Lore of Devon", Fraser's Magazine, December 1875, page 773ff.
- ^ Wright, Joseph (1903). The English Dialect Dictionary. Vol. 4. London: Frowde and Son. pp. 530–531.
- ^ Imagined Landscapes:Archaeology, Perception and Folklore in the Study of Medieval Devon, Lucy Franklin , 2006.
- ^ English forests and forest trees, historical, legendary, and descriptive, Ingram, Cooke, and co., 1853.