The Haunted Palace

Edgar Allan Poe

With Halloween just Weeks ahead my dears....
I thought I would get into my bag of trick or treats
and bring out Edger Allan Poes
bags of treats.. With a few a few of his delightful
and uplifting stories and poem.

Heheehhehehheh...

Happy upcoming Halloween...

YOUR WENDY

Fire Fairies

Fire Fairies

As well as many house fairies that live in the hearth or behind the stove, there are spirit that represent the fire itself. In Northern European countries, they were called drakes, salamanders and dragons. They are said to smell like rotten eggs, but this usually only if betrayed then they presence the stench. They are sometimes glimpsed as a flaming ball too. They only take on the character of fire when they fly, then they look like streaks of flame or fiery balls with long tails. Otherwise they look like small boys with red caps and coats. They are house fairies who move into a house and keep the firewood dry and bring gifts of gold and grain to the master of the house. The bond between the male head of the house hold and the male drake, is a serious pact, often written in blood. The drake takes care of the house, barn and stables, making sure that the pantry and money chest are well stocked. They can travel the world in a split second and bring their masters a present back from far away places. In return, the master keeps the drake fed and treated with respect.
Should the drake be insulted the house will not be there long. If you see a drake on its travels, take shelter, for they leave behind a poisonous sulphurous fug.
If you quickly shout “half and half” or throw a knife at the creature, then the drake my drop some of its booty in your lap. If two people together see a drake, they should cross their legs in silence, take the fourth wheel off the wagon and take shelter. The drake will then be compelled to leave them some of his haul.
The fire spirit of the hearth fire is often thought to be a female and was once widely worshipped as a goddess. In Greek myth she was Hestia. Her name, according to Plato means “the essence of things” ; a formless essence symbolised by the flame, which flows through everything that has life. As the domestic hearth is the sacred centre of the home, the hearth of the gods is the centre of the cosmos. She presided over all hearth and altar fires, and she was worshipped everyday with prayers offered to her before and after meals. Her hearth was in the care of the woman of the home and before each meal something was thrown on the fire as an offering.
In Celtic lore, the spirit of the hearth is Brighid. She was invited in the home by women

of the house, in the form of a doll or corn dolly dressed in maiden white. Oracles were taken from the ashes of the hearth fire, which people examined for a sign that Brighid had visited. A mark looked like a swan's footprint; if found, it was a lucky omen-the swan was an ancient attribute of the goddess Brighid. Many Irish homes still have a Brighid's cross hung up. This four equal-armed cross was originally a solar symbolised.
There are many other fire spirits. The Arabian Djinn- are composed of fire without smoke with fire in their veins instead of blood. Will o' the wisps are bog fairies that appears as curious lights, usually seen flickering in the distance over swamps and marshes. They will jump and dance along with the aim of leading travelers astray. Perhaps the most common name In Wales the will o' the wisp it is called ellylldan which means 'fire fairy' . It can be seen dancing about on marshy grounds into which it may lead a helpless traveller. When the will o' the wisp appears at sea it is generally is called St Elmo's Fire and is seen on ship's masts and accompanied by a crackling sound.
The Powers of Fire
The most common type of Fire Fairy is the salamander , and element spirit much prized
by the Renaissance. Also associated with fire is the Djinn who are the Bad Fairies of

Persian Lore and the Drakes or Drachen, fire fairies are found across the British Isles and western Europe who resemble streaking balls of fire and smelled like rotten eggs. Luminous, will-o'-the-wisp type fire fairies are famous for leading travelers astray. Including the Ellylldan of Welsh marshland, the Teine Sith of the Scottish Hebrides, The Spunkies of southwest England, Le Faeu Boulanger of the Channel Islands, the Candelas of Sardinia and the Fouchi Fatui of northern Italy. The various fairies who guard hearth fires are also associated with this element such as the Gabija of Lithuania and Natrou-Monsieur of France.
The Muzayyara are fiery, seductive fairies in old Egyptian tales and the Akamu is a particularly dangerous fire fairy found in Japan.....

Leanan Sidhe - Vampire Fairy

Faerie Folklore The Leanan Sidhe

The Leanan Sidhe is another faerie of Irish faerie folklore. She could perhaps be a benevolent faerie, as she is said to inspire poets and artists, but at the same time she is also considered malevolent because the price the poet or artist pays for his/her pays for inspirations in death or captivity.
The Leanan Sidhe is a very beautiful faerie, but is also said to be a vampire faery of sorts. There is said to be only one of her kind.... no other like her... Leanan Sidhe has been sighted or told of from the Isle of Man. It is said that as she is a vampire faerie, she enjoys drinking the blood of her victims. However she doesn't just bite her victims and suck the blood out like a normal vampire does...she actually drinks her victims blood from a large red cauldron. This cauldron is said in legends to be the source of her power and good looks. The creativity that she inspires in poets and the artists is said to by drinking from this red cauldron of blood... of the life force of the humans she has taken...
It is also said in a Irish legend, that if one is under the lure of the Leanan Sidhe the only way to escape her luring eyes is by punishment is to call out to the Irish Sea God Known as Manann.
The origins of the Leanan Sidhe are not fully known any longer, however many believe that she , like many Irish faeries is a demonized version of a once-powerful ancient Irish deity [An Goddess]. She has a similar name in Hebrew legend and is known as Estrie.
With her charming looks, the Leanan Sidhe will seek out human lovers. However beautiful and charismatic she may appear, the Leanan Sidhe uses her lover as a source of energy ,slowing drawing the life from her lover until they are nothing more than just a corpse, wasting away until the human lover succumbs to death not even realizing it...til it is too late... The Leanan Sidhe feeling no remorse for the death of her human lover, simply moves on to seek out for another victim. The only way to escape from this Vampire fairy once you are already in her spell is to find another human to take your place, without her finding out. If a man is to refuse her seduction, she will attempt to instead make him her slave. This is not a nice Fairy … This is a bad evil Fairy in my option
These Faeries particularly seek out the affection of young struggling artist, coming to them to serve as their muse in exchange for their devotion. The Leanan Sidhe fairies will bring good fortune, great fame and inspiration to the artist that they seek – It all comes at a price [kinda like signing your soul to the devil eh!]. Evil little fairies these Leanan Sidhe …. Anyways what happens is if the artist bites while the Leanan Sidhe fairy will bite even harder. These Artist will fall victims to madness, misfortune, financial lost to premature death. Some sources say that this trade for glory and fame has extended to warriors too- As the Leanan Sidhe Fairies would fill the warriors and fighters with courage and strength through a song. The name of the song is; “Leanan” comes from the Gaelic word for sweetheart or lover; and the “Sidhe” part of this fairy's name indicates her race.