58 Unusual Names of Fairies, Demons, and Other Mythical and Imaginary Beings

. . . Happy Turkey Day to all! Here's a few of the more interesting fairies and demons from my large collection.

1. Abeyoyo (ah-bay-YO-yo). a ferocious giant. Africa.

2. Aughisky. a water spirit that preys on cattle. Ireland.

3. Balkin. a mountain spirit. Orkney Islands, Scotland.

4. banshee (BAN-she) a wailing, female spirit attached to a specific family: she wails just prior to the death of a family member. Celtic, Scottish and Irish.

5. the Baobhan Sith. a type of monster or malevolent spirit, often appearing as a beautiful woman, known to suck blood. Highland Scotland.

6. bargus. a frightening ghost draped in clanking chains. Yorkshire and South Lancashire, England

7. Bodachan Sabhaill (Scottish: little old man of the barn). a friendly fairy who threshes corn and binds straw for old men. Highland Scotland.

8. boggart. a mischievous fairy, known for making noise, throwing objects about and like behavior. Yorkshire and northern England. Called a bwca in Wales, a bogle in Scotland, a poltergeist in Germany. (In the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, a boggart appears in the form of whatever its victim fears most. See clutterbumph.)

9. Brollachan (Gaelic: shapeless thing). a monster born of a fuath.

10. brownie. a small, rag-clothed fairy or spirit that haunts a specific place; to give a brownie clothes is bad luck. Northern England and Scotland.

11. Ca Sith (Scottish: fairy dog). a monstrous spirit dog, the size of a bull, with a green coat. Scotland.

12. Cait Sith (Scottish: fairy cat). a monstrous black cat owned by the fairies. Scotland.

13. clutterbumph. a scary thing that is not there until you imagine it: whatever is just above the worst thing you can think of, that is what a clutterbumph looks like. (From the book Manxmouse by Paul Gallico, a book which J. K. Rowling said was one of her favorites, which possibly inspired her version of a boggart in the Harry Potter books.)

14. Coblynau (Welsh: goblins). friendly beings who inhabit mines: they stand about two feet tall, dress like miners and are helpful to miners. Wales.

15. Deva (DAY-vah) (India: shining one). general term for any type of nature spirit.

16. dvergr. Norse word for dwarf: they were believed to live in rocks and were skilled in metalworking.

17. Ellylldan (Welsh: will o' the wisp). local name for friendly fairies. Wales.

18. Fear Dearg. (Irish: red man). a red-clothed spirit whose visit brings good luck. Munster, Ireland.

19. Fenodyree / Phynoderee / Phynnodderee. name for a local fairy similar to a brownie. Isle of Man.

20. fetch. a double of a living man; when seen it means death. Ireland.

21. Firbolg. a non-cannibal giant. Ireland.

22. Fomorian. a giant known for throwing huge stones, blamed for the boulders seen scattered about Scotland.

23. fuath (FOO-ah). a group of malignant water spirits. Sutherland, Scotland.

24. Gally-Trot. a spirit in the shape of a large white dog, known for chasing anyone who runs from it. Suffolk, England.

25. Ghillie Dhu (Scottish: black servant). a friendly, domestic, solitary fairy who is helpful in finding lost children. Scotland.

26. the Glaistig. a fairy woman, clothed in green, known for being kind to children but also for misleading travelers. Highland Scotland.

27. the Glashtin. a mischievous fairy. Isle of Man.

28. Grindylow (GRIN-dee-loh). a malevolent water spirit. Yorkshire. (J. K. Rowling included these in the Harry Potter books; they live in the lake near Hogwarts School.)

29. the Grogan. the brownie as it is known in Ireland.

30. the Gwragedd Annwn. beautiful, friendly female spirits who inhabit lakes. Wales. The singular is Gwraig (Welsh: lady of the lake).

31. Gwydion. the wizard king of the fairies. North Wales.

32. Habetrot. queen of the spinning fairies, patroness of human spinners, generally described as very industrious and friendly but not too attractive. Scottish Borderlands.

33. the Hag of Winter. a spirit woman, the personification of winter, she is fearsome, withered, and has only one eye. Called Gentle Annie in Leicester, Black Annis in northern England, and the Cailleach Bheur in the Scottish Highlands. (John Milton called her the Blue Meagre Hag.)

34. the Hedley Kow. a monster that haunts the village of Hedley, Northumberland, England, known for transforming itself into the shape of a man, woman, horse or other beast, and for causing harm to the unwary.

35. Hraesvelger (corpse swallower). in Norse mythology, a giant wearing eagle plumage who produces the wind.

36. incubus. (ING-kyoo-bus). a male demon that preys on young women in their sleep.

37. Jenny Greenteeth. a female water spirit known for dragging people under the water to their deaths. A green scum on the surface of the water indicates her presence. Lancashire, England.

38. Jötunn. (Anglo-Saxon: eoten). in Norse mythology, a giant.

39. Kadaicha Man (Aborigine tribe Luritja: retribution man). a fearful being who chases wrongdoers to deliver justice. He walks without leaving tracks. Australia.

40. Kobold. a mining spirit. Germany.

41. Kooshd'aa K'aa. (land otter or land otter man). A malignant being who can change himself into a human being, another animal, or anything. Children who might wander off alone are warned that the Kooshd'aa K'aa would wait from them, put them in a trance and take them away. Tlingit Indians of Alaska.

42. Llamhigyn y Dwr (Welsh: the water leaper). a malevolent water spirit known for stealing fishermen's bait and for dragging sheep into the water to eat.

43. the Loireag. a female spirit, patroness of weavers and fullers (ones who beat or press cloth to increase its bulk). Highland Scotland.

44. merfolk. water spirits, including mermaids and mermen, said to very beautiful and playful, with fishtails in the place of legs.

45. the Muileartach. a hideous, one-eyed water hag of enormous size. Highland Scotland.

46. Nuckelavee. a mythical water monster, half horse and half man. Scotland.

47. the Peallaidh (Scottish: the shaggy one). chief of the Urisks. Perthshire, Scotland.

48. peerie. local term for fairy. Shetland Isles.

49. the Pellings. a race of half-human fairies, children of a fairy mother (Penelope) and human father, who dwell in Corwrion Lake. Wales.

50. pooka. a type of fairy or spirit that always appears in animal form. Ireland. (Make famous as a six foot tall invisible rabbit in the movie and play "Harvey.")

51. the Ratchet. a demonic hound, known for hunting in packs in the sky and howling before the death of a human.

52. silkie / silky / selkie / selky. a seal-like water spirit able to change his form into a man. Scotland.

53. spriggan. the ghost of a giant, usually found guarding the giant's buried treasure, usually tiny but able to grow enormous, considered to be very dangerous. Cornwall, England.

54. Tom Tit Tot. name of a particularly mischievous fairy in England. Known in Scotland as Whuppity Stoorie, in Wales as Trwtyn a Trotyn, in Cornwall as the Devil Terrytop, in Germany as Rumpelstiltzkin.

55. Tylwyth Teg (Welsh: Fair Family). local name for a group of fair-haired, larger-than-human-sized fairies.

56. the Urisk. a group of hobgoblins. Perthshire, Scotland.

57. Valkyrie (VAL-kee-ree) (chooser of the slain). in Norse mythology, one of a troop of goddesses who serve in Valhalla, land of fallen heroes, and carry out errands for Odin, king of the gods.

58. worm. general term for monstrous being akin to a dragon. England.

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Select bibliography:

The Personnel of Fairyland: A Short Account of the Fairy People of Great Britain for Those Who Tell Stories to Children, by K. M. Briggs. Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1971, reprint of Oxford: Alden Press, 1953.

The Kingdom of Faerie, by Geoffrey Hodson. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1927, and, Fairies at Work and at Play, Observed by Geoffrey Hodson. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1947.

Norse Mythology, Or, the Religion of our Forefathers, by Rasmus Bjorn Anderson. Chicago, S. C. Griggs & Company, 2nd edition, 1876.

Tlingit Stories, by Marie Ackerman. Anchorage, Alaska: AMU Press, 1975.

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10 Welsh Unitarian Leaders and 1 Notable Welsh Universalist

. . . Culled from my not-so-little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs.

1. The Rev. D. Jacob Davies (1916–74), poet; television personality; champion of Welsh language, literature and culture; wrote Plwm Pwdin, a Rhagor o Storïau Digrif 1950 and other works in Welsh; Unitarian

2. The Rev. John Gwenogvryn Evans (1852–1903), scholar and paleographer of Welsh history and literature; printer-publisher of facsimile editions of ancient Welsh manuscripts; honorary D.Litt from Oxford 1901; ordained Unitarian 1877

3. The Rev. Thomas Evans (a.k.a. Tomos Glyn Cothi) (1764–1833), poet; hymnwriter; radical; translated into Welsh and published works of radical Unitarian preachers Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey; editor-publisher of highly controversial paper 'Miscellaneous Repository' 1795–96; imprisoned for sedition 1801–03; author-publisher of the English-Welsh Dictionary 1809 and hymnal Cyfansoddiad O Hymnau 1811; minister at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd Unitarian Chapel for 22 years, 1811–33 (first Unitarian church in Wales, founded 1751)

4. Thomas Griffiths (a.k.a. Tau Gimel, Thomas Jeremy) (c.1797–1871), hymnwriter; while minister at Cribin and Ciliau Aeron 1822–41 founded several schools; author-editor of the hymnal Casgliad o Hymnau 1830; Unitarian

5. Baron Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–67), Member of Parliament for 28 years, 1831–59; known there for his height and corpulence as 'Big Ben'; legend has it that as the first minister of public works 1855–58 his name was cast into the great bell installed into the Houses of Parliament in London, whence came the bell's nickname, 'Big Ben'; Unitarian

6. The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918), Welsh–American social activist; uncle of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright; organizer of Unitarian fellowships (lay-led congregations); founding secretary of the Western Unitarian Sunday School Society 1874–80; president of the Western Unitarian Conference 1875–84; founding editor 'Unity' 1878–97 (weekly of same); founding pastor of Chicago's first multi-racial congregation, All Souls Church, 1882–1918; organized the first World Parliament of Religions 1893 (gathering of all world faiths, model for interfaith cooperation, part of the Columbian Exposition, a.k.a. Chicago World's Fair); founding president of the Congress of Religions 1893–1906; founding general secretary of the American Congress of Liberal Religion 1894–1906; founding trustee and head resident of the Abraham Lincoln Centre, an enormous non-sectarian social service origination in Chicago, 1900–18; ordained Unitarian 1870

7. John Jones (c.1766–1827), author; classical scholar; expert on ancient languages; frequent contributor to periodicals; assistant tutor at the Presbyterian (Unitarian) Academy in Swansea 1792–95; founding principal of a school at Halifax, Yorkshire 1798; wrote Events Calculated to Restore Christian Religion to Purity 1800, Grammar of the Greek Tongue 1808, Grammar of the Latin Tongue 1810, Greek and English Lexicon 1823, Principles of Lexicography 1824 and many other books; honorary LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen 1818; Unitarian

8. The Rev. Richard Price (1723–1791), D.D.; Welsh–English; philosopher; author; among the principal leaders of English Nonconformism (Unitarianism); elected member of the Royal Society 1765; wrote Principle Questions in Morals 1757, An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt 1772, Observations on Civil Liberty 1776 (supporting American independence) and other books on finances, politics, theology; longtime pastor at Unitarian Church of Newington Green (now part of London)

9. The Rev. James Relly (1722–78), theologian; wrote Union: or Treatise on Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church 1759 (the first important modern work on universal salvation, published in London); credited with converting pioneer American preacher the Rev. John Murray from Methodism to Universalism; ordained Methodist, defrocked, became Universalist

10. The Rev. William Thomas (bardic name Gwilym Marles) (1834–79), great-uncle of poet Dylan Thomas; poet; hymnwriter; social reformer; founding principal of a grammar school at Llwynrhydown; Unitarian

11. Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg) (1747–1826), poet; 'the Welsh Shakespeare;' founded Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (Community of Bards of the Island of Britain); forged large assortment of 'ancient' manuscripts including 'unknown' poems by famous bards, Druid antiquities and lore, bardic alphabet, etc; compiled hymnal Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch 1812; founded the South Wales Unitarian Society

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