Tales of the Fairies and of the Ghost World

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

—

Title

Tales of the Fairies and of the Ghost World

Language

en

Book source

Global Grey

Description max 80 words

Jeremiah Curtin's *Tales of the Fairies and of the Ghost World* offers a vivid window into rural southwest Munster, where ancient beliefs linger alongside modern life. Rooted in eyewitness accounts, this collection explores the supernatural through stories of fairies, ghosts, and the eerie customs of Irish country folk.

Summary up to 500 words

In the late nineteenth century, Jeremiah Curtin stayed with a farmer near Dingle, Ireland, where he recorded local legends told by villagers who still believed in the fairy world. The book opens with an introduction describing how, despite declining public confession, belief in fairies remained strong among the Gaelic-speaking population. Curtin recounts tales of individuals struck down by fairy magic after disturbing ancient sites, and of a blind man who, though skeptical, knew many true stories. The first tale, "John Connors And The Fairies," follows a man who, after riding to find sponsors for his newborn son, is intercepted by a mysterious stranger on a white horse. Connors is led to a castle, where he sleeps for three weeks while a decoy body is sent home to mourn him. Upon waking, he finds his clothes gone and must flee on a sheet, only to be recognized as a "dead man" by local children. His wife, believing him dead, prepares a wake; when the real corpse is found, chaos ensues as the living husband and the dead body race through the village, terrifying neighbors who mistake them for Death and the Devil. Another story features three sisters who trick their husbands into attending a wake for a brother who is actually alive. The wives blacken one husband with soot and shave another's head to fool the others. When the real husband returns, the wives claim he is not their spouse. The men discover the deception when they realize their hair is missing or their heads are shaved. A riddle involving apples and halves is posed to the sisters, which the youngest solves by giving whole apples plus half an uncut apple, securing a prize for all three. In "John Shea And The Treasure," a poor Irishman travels to Denmark, where he finds a mansion guarded by old men and a hag. He is led to a stone with a ring, which he lifts to reveal a pot of gold. After digging under three stone heaps, he finds three pots of gold. A scholar reads an inscription indicating more gold lies to the south. The family becomes wealthy, buying farms and building houses, leaving property for seven generations. The final section, "Murderous Ghosts," recounts incidents from sixty years prior. Four men go to mass on Christmas; two turn off the main road and never return. Their bodies are found black and blue, victims of a ghost. A servant-boy tries to break into his master's house but is dragged through fields by a ghost until his suspenders break, saving him from death. Later, a man fights a female ghost with a saw and hatchet, eventually crossing a stream that prevents her from following. She warns him that he will die within six months, which happens. Another tale involves a woman carrying a marriage quittance in snow; her first husband's ghost attacks her, and though her brother tries to save her, she dies, leaving a torn landscape around her body. Finally, a man named...

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Folklore
• Fiction