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The True History of the Pixies

The stories and legends of pixies come to us from a region of England, specifically the counties of Devon and Cornwall on the southwest peninsula. Although widely considered to come from English folklore, it is quite possible that they are actually of Celtic origin. The Celtic inhabitants of Britain at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions were pushed back to Wales and the Cornwall peninsula, making it possible that pixies sprang up from the lore of the Celtic peoples who were forced into present-day Cornwall and Devon. In the regional dialect of English in Cornwall, they are known as piskies or “little people.”

Pixies are often characterized as playful and mischievous, although they are sometimes reputed to play rather cruel tricks. Common pranks that are pulled on people include stealing, moving, or throwing various things. Until recent times, in the evenings some rural families would leave out gifts of food or milk for the pixies so they would not do anything mischievous during the night. The pixies would then in return sometimes clean up the house as a way to thank the owners for the gifts.

Pixies are sometimes feared because of their reputation for deliberately causing people to become lost, or even making people who try to follow them disappear. It is said that on the moor in the center of Devon, travelers who were “pixie-led” were those who had gotten lost on the moor. Fortunately, there are a couple of defenses against pixie trickery. One is to turn your coat inside-out, which confuses the pixies, giving you the opportunity to escape. Also, iron seems to harm pixies, and they are repelled by objects made of or containing iron or iron ore. These two methods of protecting yourself seem to be common defenses for all sorts of mythical fairies in Britain.

There are several myths about the origin of pixies. One is that the pixies used to be an entire race of people, but when they died, they were neither good enough for Heaven nor bad enough for Hell. Therefore, they were cursed to remain on Earth in a hidden, diminutive form. Another myth, based on their possible Celtic origins, is that the pixies were Druids who refused to give up their religion and were condemned to shrink in size until they accepted Christianity. Finally, a recent theory is that pixies of folklore are descendants of stories about an ancient (but historical) race of people who inhabited Scotland during the Roman occupation of Britain. The occupying Romans named these people the Picts, a Latin name meaning “painted people.” This name refers to the habit of the Picts of tattooing their bodies and faces with blue dye before battle to intimidate the enemy. However, since it is a Latin term, it is unlikely the Celtic people would have used it.

Pixies in today's world are often seen in cartoon or entertainment elements. Probably the most well-known pixie is Peter Pan's pixie companion Tinkerbell, whose “pixie dust” gives him the ability to fly. It is interesting to note that Tinkerbell is also referred to as a fairy instead of a pixie. However, despite many similarities, fairies and pixies are not the same things. Pixies also appear in the famous Harry Potter novels, as small blue creatures that a professor brings into class as part of a demonstration. Pixies also appear in several fantasy series, video games and TV shows. Although they may not be true to their original form, these pixies have endeared themselves to many adoring fans, and have kept the interest in pixies alive in our modern times.

Research taken from the following sources:

Wikipedia contributors, "Pixies (folklore)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie_(folklore) (accessed June 22, 2006).