Pixie

A pixie (also called pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, piskie, or pigsie in parts of <a href="/facts/Cornwall/9A3TftFP">Cornwall</a> and <a href="/facts/Devon/go3z9lDW">Devon</a>) is a mythical creature of <a href="/facts/British_folklore/k6UQunLA">British folklore</a>. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high <a href="/facts/Dartmoor/t6CQ7q1Y">moorland</a> areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some <a href="/facts/Celts/eMCVYAFz">Celtic</a> origin for the belief and name. However, the word 'pixie' (under various forms) also appears in <a href="/facts/Dorset/Nk56BJr3">Dorset</a>, <a href="/facts/Somerset/gjVyBFVX">Somerset</a> and to a lesser extent in <a href="/facts/Sussex/8oev4Jwv">Sussex</a>, <a href="/facts/Wiltshire/42kKgE8r">Wiltshire</a> and <a href="/facts/Hampshire/omDltCzr">Hampshire</a>.
Similar to the Irish and Scottish <a href="/facts/Aos_S%25C3%25AD/KCIdh4FA">Aos Sí</a> (also spelled Aos Sidhe), pixies are believed to inhabit ancient underground sites such as <a href="/facts/Stone_circle/IJ2GKh9m">stone circles</a>, <a href="/facts/Tumulus/VyjgAGsu">barrows</a>, <a href="/facts/Dolmen/2QpLRvG3">dolmens</a>, <a href="/facts/Ringfort/4xmBeWxd">ringforts</a>, or <a href="/facts/Menhir/zNnQanLt">menhirs</a>. In traditional regional lore, pixies are generally benign, mischievous, short of stature, and childlike; they are fond of <a href="/facts/Country_dance/9pkMxI2E">dancing</a> and wrestling outdoors, of which they perform through the night.
In the modern era, they are usually depicted with <a href="/facts/Pointy_ears/5DR6BDmo">pointed ears</a>, 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. In other depictions, their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the outer end. These, however, are <a href="/facts/Victorian_era/HQxGp7wh">Victorian era</a> conventions and not part of the older mythology.

Pixie open-in-new

Pixie