The Cryptid Zoo: Fairies in Cryptozoology

What are fairies doing in a website devoted to cryptozoology? Most cryptozoologists are not interested in fairies. Fairies are more of a preoccupation of nineteenth-century fringe science, rather than a subject suitable for inclusion in the science of cryptozoology. However, this does not mean that all cryptozoologists scoff at fairies. Nearly every creature from folklore or mythology has drawn at least a bit of speculation in the field of cryptozoology, and fairies are no exception to that rule.

For those who believe, fairies are often lumped into a group with aliens, demons and angels. All four of these creatures are supposed to be basically the same thing. After reclassifying fairies in this fashion, cryptozoologists regard them as a variety of humanoid that is probably related to us.

Sometimes fairy legends are seen as based on a primitive variety of human (perhaps even a hairy humanoid), maybe Homo erectus. The legends about the Menehune, the legendary original inhabitants of Hawaii, would fit in this category. Other times, fairies are seen as a high-tech race that retreated underground ages ago. Their technology is supposed to be so advanced that it resembles magic. This is a variant of the popular "ancient astronaut" theory, except that it doesn't need aliens. Other theories get even weirder and are based on the quantum physics idea that there are other dimensions of reality that might sometimes bleed over into our reality. According to this idea, fairies are some kind of quantum reflection of earthly humans, one that sometimes gets energized into a seeming reality.

You can find out more about Fairies from the following sources:

Blackman, W. Haden. The Field Guide to North American Monsters New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Pages 115-119, 123

Clark, Jerome. Unexplained!. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1999. Pages 151-152, 390-392, 415-426, 442-445, 540-544

Eason, Cassandra. A Complete Guide to Faeries & Magical Beings. Boston: Weiser, 2002.

Finnigan, Joan. Witches, Ghosts & Loup-Garous: Scary Tales from Canada's Ottawa Valley. Kingston, Ontario: Quarry Press, 1994. Pages 24-27

Gale, Thomson. Wee Folk and Their Friends
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Kossy, Donna. Strange Creations: Aberrant Ideas of Human Origins from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes.

Lenihan, Eddie, ed. Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland. New York: Penguin Putnam, 2003.

Moran, Mark & Sceurman, Mark. Weird N.J.: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Page 71

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 132, 291-292, 384-385, 462-463, 475, 484, 489, 497, 499, 504, 506

Steiger, Brad. Out of the Dark: The Complete Guide to Beings from Beyond. New York: Kensington Books, 2001. Pages 161-188, 235-237

Wikipedia, The. Ancient Astronaut Theory

Wikipedia, The. Fairy

Wikipedia, The. Menehune

Woodyard, Chris. Haunted Ohio II: More Ghostly Tales from the Buckeye State. Beavercreek, Ohio: Kestrel Publications, 1992. Pages 69-70

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The text on this page is copyright 2006 by Jamie Hall. Please use proper citation if you are using this website for research.