Who is Robin Goodfellow?

Robin Goodfellow is an alias for Puck the prankster. Puck stemming from the word púca, a word identifying a faerie creature of Celtic origin. Throughout literature Puck is referred to as an imp, faerie, sprite and hobgoblin. After Giacomo Meyerbeer's  famous opera Robert le Diable (1831), he is even referred to as the Devil. In medieval times the name Robin was considered a nickname for the Devil. The earliest reference to Robin Goodfellow is considered 1531. Puck, a celebrated attendant of the English Fairy-Court, has been explored by many prolific and historic writers such as William Shakespeare, John Milton, Ben Johnson, and Rudyard Kipling. Each writer examined different facets of this figure ultimately unifying separate creatures myths into one. Puck is now synonymous with the Celtic Phooka. 

Arthur Rackham, A Midsummer Night's Dream 1908

William Shakespeare's use of Puck in his famed play A Midsummer Nights Dream, is perhaps the most well known. In the play Puck does an excellent job describing just who he is.

FAIRY
Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern,
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mislead night-wanders, laughing at their harm?
Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are you not he?

PUCK
Thou speakest aright;
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon, and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal;
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.

-- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, scene i

Puck is described as a Hob-Goblin, creatures who participate in frequent mischief. Goblins are known to be malicious beings, often cruel and benevolent in the same night. The term Goblin can refer to uglier types of Faerie, not quite the glamorous light-being that the imagination conjures.    

Faeries, Brian Froud & Alan Lee 1978

In etymology Puck stems from the Welsh pwca or pooka. The Phooka can be spelled many ways as his existence translates to multiple cultures: púca (Irish for spirit/ghost), pooka, phouka, phooka, phooca, puca or púka. He is predominantly associated with Celtic lore, a shape-shifter, the only one of it's kind who is able to communicate with both animals and mortals. He can appear as various creatures including goblins, dogs, goats, horses and even birds. In most circumstances his fur will always remain dark black.

 In old Celtic legends he traditionally appears as a dark horse with piercing golden eyes. Mortals who are beckoned to the creature, are often lured to ride upon it's back. Once upon the horse they are taken on a terrifying hell-ride through the dark night until they are ejected into the mud or within a ditch, where-after they are subject to hearing strange laughter as the creature disappears back into the mist. (Unlike the malevolent faerie creature called a Kelpie, who leads their riders to a quick demise by diving into a river to drown and the consume them.) In legend he is the cause for illness associated with eating overripe blackberries.

While frightening in his traditional cultured definition, the Phooka is also at times quite benevolent, offering advice to those who seek it. In many tales the Phooka is helpful to farmers bringing wealth and prosperity, this is where he is most surely tied to Puck & Hobgoblins, as not all goblins are strict in their mischief.

Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, 

Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black 2005

In recent years the Phooka has made an appearance in various forms of culture. The image above documents the Phooka in a series of short novels titled: The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black. In this series the Phooka plays a significant role in offering helpful advice to three sibling children. He appears as a dark monkey hanging in a tree with large ears. (Traditionally his ears will be so.) He speaks to the children in riddle, which is another typical behavior of the beast.

Universal Pictures 1950

Harvey, a beloved 1950's feature film staring Jimmy Stewart, is perhaps one of the most unusual appearances of the Phooka. In the film Stewart's middle aged character Elwood P. Dowd is viewed suspiciously as he attests openly to having a friend in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit. His family and friends doubt his belief and challenge his sanity before succumbing to their own realization that he is perhaps telling the truth. At one point in the film Elwood shares the true identity of the rabbit as that of a Phooka.

Pandora Cinema & Newmarket Films 2001

  
 In 2001 a film titled Donnie Darko debuted staring Jake Gyllenhaal. In the tradition of Harvey the title character Donnie is tormented by an invisible dark bunny-rabbit, who at times seems both malevolent and benevolent. At the beginning of the film Donnie is shepherded away from death by the rabbit, a traditional action of the Phooka. Although 'Frank' the rabbit is written off as a waking hallucination, it can be inferred that his traits and peculiar behaviors are associated directly to the Phooka. Donnie Darko has quickly fallen into a sub-cuture of cult film in part because of the mystical frightening and esoteric presence of the Phooka. 

Robin Goodfellow: His Mad Pranks and Merry Jests (1629)

The medieval depiction of Puck describes a half goat, half man with cloven hooves and horns. Resembling a satyr, Puck is perhaps the English evolution of the Grecian horned god of the wood called Pan.


*For any who are interested in further reading, this post was aided by a variety of fantastical sources:

•  The Enchanted World Series by Time-Life Books, 1980's
• Faeries by Brian Froud & Alan Lee, Abrams/Rufus Publications, Inc. 1978
• Faeries and Demons and Other Magical Creatures by Edouard Brasey, S.A. Démons & Merveilles, Barnes & Noble Books 2002
• Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black, Simon & Shuster 2005
• The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary 
• Wikipedia  

     

Summertime thoughts...

Faeries have long been associated with Summer and the seasons, finding a myriad of ways to cause mischief. Midsummer marks long hot days and short nights for merry-making. Faeries fertilize summer crop that will surely become winter bounty and they beckon men into the forest. Deep in the wood on warm summer nights the faeries are known to feast and dance, when observed by mortals their peculiar toils become alluring and glamorized. Dazzled by lights and eloquent music the observer inches closer, celebrating curious thoughts, a moth drawn to a flame. The mortal slips into a faerie-ring falling for silent whispers with drunken promises of pleasure and riches incomprehensible.    

'Midsummer Eve'

Edward Robert Hughes, 1909 

English and Celtic folklore often highlight faerie mischief. It is not uncommon for a protagonist to discover  that his pockets, which at one point during the night were filled deep with golden coins, have now only dried oak leaves and twigs. Faerie-rings are traditionally found in a circular formation of toadstools. The superstitions of old warn of particular places in which someone is sure to discover this anomaly. Old oak trees and old willows warn forest wanders that faeries are near, for it is the faeries who Shepard the trees and forest life and surely where the ancient trees are you are sure to find ancient mischief. E.R. Hughes famous painting 'Midsummer Eve' is fascinating because at first glance it is enchanting. When viewing the painting we are first captivated by the delight of the maiden and then the beautifully illuminated little folk. What most viewers of the painting do not recognize is the danger that the maiden is in, for the longer she stays within the circle the closer she is to death. 

          

The faerie-ring is a cautionary tale explored by many countries and legends, it is one warning mortals about the power of the Faerie Realm. For those who step within are sure to never return and those who are able to escape are scared by various forms of daemon mischief. In Washington Irving's 1819 tale Rip Van Winkle, a man wanders deep into the woods, into a hollow seeking alien thunderous sounds. Once in the hollow he finds himself amidst many bearded merry makers who usher him into a night of games and moonshine. After a night of drunken folly Rip Van Winkle awakes to discover a long train of white hair where his chin used to be. Haunted and hungover he wanders back to his town and discovers that his wife has died and his friends are gone, victims to time of the Revolutionary War. After much terror he learns he has lost nearly two decades of time. 

      

 

 If you see a fairy ring

Near a field of grass,

Very lightly step around,

Tiptoe as you pass;

Last night fairies frolicked there,

And they're sleeping somewhere near.

If you see a tiny fae

Lying fast asleep,

Shut your eyes and run away,

Do not stay or peep;

And be sure you never tell,

Or you'll break a fairy spell. 

---William Shakespeare  

In perhaps one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, A Midsummer Nights Dream, the faeries toil with four human individuals who have come across their path in the wood. They delight in their mischief by confusing the humans desires and manipulating their pattern of romantic behavior. The Faerie King Oberon and the Faerie Queen Titania are among the most famous of all little people told about through various forms of literature. In this tale their love feud is enhanced by the equally classic figure and mischief-maker Robin Goodfellow sometimes referred to as Puck. Puck seizes this particular short and warm summer night by being stealthy and manipulating his companions as well as the humans for sheer entertainment.

'Fair Helena' A Midsummer Nights Dream, Arthur Rackham, 1908

  

As the summer draws out long between St. John's Eve & the first dry falling leaves remember to take caution when wandering through the woods. Legend tells us to heed the tales of old. Do not fall prey for whimsical chimes as the wind whispers enchantments, remember that it is the time for faerie feasts. And as the lights of Faerie-Feasting can appear enticing they move and manipulate time in a realm wholly different than our own. 

Faeries, Brian Froud & Alan Lee, 1978

"Travelers were tickled to death by the fairy, who bedeviled their sides with twigs and teased their faces with forest grasses until they shrieked with laughter and gasped their last. Those who hoped to thrive in the forest were well advised to mollify the fairy lords with offerings."

---The Enchanted World, Fairies & Elves, by the editors of Time-Life Books 

       

Herbert Brenon's Peter Pan, 1924 Staring Betty Bronson

Paramount Pictures, 1924

"Come Away With Me!" Part II

 “Wendy," Peter Pan continued in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, "Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Trina Schart Hyman 1980

 Women play a very significant and valuable role in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, but they are seldom described as the characters who drive the story. This in my opinion is because of the aggressive notion of pirates and battle, Captain Hook and Peter Pan. Many facets and strengths of the feminine spirit are the driving forces behind this tale.

F. D. Bedford, Peter Pan 1911 UK Edition

Mrs. Darling is one of the strongest Mother's in juvenile literature. She is depicted graceful but strong, sentimental but proper. Her gentile compassion for her children Wendy, John and Michael are displayed in various ways. Traditionally she is depicted resting by the open window from which her children have flown, waiting for their return and praying for their safety. Wendy's graceful development is obviously a result from witnessing her own Mother's care for both herself and the family. Mrs. Darling is described as romantic and it is her heart that creates such a healthy home for her children. Her quick compassion carries the weight for her husbands dry and stern way of protecting the family, and while both adults have their own way of educating their children it is clear that Mrs. Darling's influence is the driving force for Wendy's better judgement. Early in the book we learn about a 'secret kiss' that resides in the righthand corner of her mouth, a tiny thing that belongs to her and her alone. Her secret kiss is something that her children could not have and something Mr. Darling eventually stops seeking. It is peculiar to think about a woman keeping something precious from her husband and children, but this simple notion with a bit of analysis gives Mrs. Darling her greatest strength. She is doting and loving, so it is no wonder that her secret relates to a kiss. The kiss is a metaphor for a piece of love, a piece of her heart that belongs to her alone. Anyone who has followed a path of self healing understands that you must love yourself before you can give your love freely to another. Later in the book it is suggested that Wendy develops a similar kiss and blindly feels that it belongs to Peter, but she does not give it away. She eventually matures strengthened by the notion of keeping it for herself, the very way her mother did. 

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Arthur Rackham 1906

Tinker Bell is the beloved fairy companion of Peter Pan described as a pixie. Pixies in literature are often seen as pranksters, they are the one's responsible for the chaos in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream. She is wild by nature and at times has a quick ill temper. In the novel she also displays great courage and kindness. It is explained by J.M. Barrie that her body is so small that it can only hold one emotion at a time. Her jealousy shines in a moment when she convinces the Lost Boys to shoot at Wendy with their bow and arrows. Tinker Bell's greatest moment on stage and in the novel is when she consumes a bottle of poison. The poison is cleverly placed in Peter's secret dwelling by Captain Hook disguised as a bottle of medicine. Peter picks up the bottle and tries to drink it in an effort to appease Wendy. With no time to waste and quick courage Tink snatches the bottle from Peter and drinks it, an act of selflessness that nearly claims her life. This is the famous moment in J. M. Barrie's play when Peter turns to the audience and asks for help expressing that the belief in fairies could save her life. On the stage Tinker Bell traditionally appears as a bright light, which is ironic because she could easily be described as a guiding light in Neverland. In one of the most creative adaptations of Peter Pan, Steven Spielberg's Hook it is suggested that she guided Peter to Neverland after saving him when he ran away to Kensington Gardens. In both the play and the novel it is her 'Pixie Dust' that guides the Darling children to Neverland and in the climax of the novel she acts as Peter's guardian angel by saving his life. It is interesting to note that the smallest figure in this story is a female who made just about everything possible. 

Trina Schart Hyman 1980

     
“..children know such a lot now, they soon don't believe in fairies, and every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan 



 

Julia Roberts, Hook 1991

Hook stands alone as one of the greatest fantasy films simply because of it's faithful depiction of Neverland. The film somehow manages to capture the emotional quality of the novel and weave it intricately back into a further adventure. Beloved characters return but they have aged. In the movie fans are finally given the opportunity to hear Tinker Bell express her words. Tink, played by Julia Roberts, holds the task of making an aged Peter remember who he is. In perhaps the most significant moment of the film Tink becomes human sized and expresses her love and desire to kiss him.   


 

Trina Schart Hyman 1980

Wendy Darling is one of the most dynamic female protagonist characters in the whole of fantasy. She loves Peter Pan, falling for his wild nature and yearns to care for him. Eventually she understands that she can not stay with Peter because she cannot stop time and nor does she wish to. At first she is reluctant to leave her home and travel to Neverland but eventually gives in. She is immediately adored by Peter and his Lost Boys who recognize her inherent maternal charm. They ask her to be their 'Mother' and for a time she is happy to oblige. Wendy has a quick maternal wit and uses it to care for the Lost Boys, to them playing a simple game of 'pretend'. For her though, her kind and nurturing spirit comes natural and it is not necessarily a game. In several instances Wendy tries to kiss Peter and Peter cannot oblige, predominantly because it is this act alone that would remove him from his responsibility of being the boy who would not grow up. Eventually she keeps her 'kiss' and expresses the desire to go home. Wendy learns that she has a responsibility to nurture herself as well as her family. Wendy does not sense danger in maturing, she accepts it and in turn does not fear growing old. She knows that she will one day be a woman and her youthful desires will play out in the action of her children. It can be argued that Peter does not want to grow up because aging is attached to death. By never growing old he never has to die. Wendy perhaps understands that by becoming a 'Mother' she lives eternally through her children and her children's children.   
 

Dame Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy, Hook 1991

  

"Come Away with Me!" Part I

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
---J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

 

1915 Edition of Peter & Wendy by F.D. Bedford

The turn of the century in America brought forth such valuable classics as The Wizard of Oz. To the East Peter Pan arrived in London, England, developed by the imagination of Sir J. M. Barrie, Author and Playwright. Peter Pan is an unusual hero who sets a standard for fantasy characters. He is sealed to his fairy companions through his magical ability to remain a child. His capacity to relate to the fairy realm stems from his inability to relate to adult rationality. Peter Pan was the first to suggest that perhaps you lose something when you 'Grow Up', the irony of his existence appears on the first page as the first words of Mr. Barrie's 1911 novel, "All children, except one, grow up" In this simple statement/sentiment a tragic hero is born. Peter can easily relate to the fairies because he has not lost the ability to believe in them but on the other-side he is unable to understand the motivations and language of adults.

Trina Schart Hyman 1980

Captain Hook represents the adults, who are pirates of sorts, eager to claim and destroy in the name of power and constantly running from their fear of death, the old clock swallowed by the Giant Crocodile. It is fascinating to look even deeper into the political elements of this intricate tale. There are two types of adult that reside in Neverland, the Pirates and the Indians. The destructive pirates represent the evil that moves across the land with no remorse for their destructive nature. The Indians are equally dangerous but certainly an ally to young Peter. They have no desire to conquer and therefore are closer to understanding and communicating with land and its many peculiar inhabitants. Here Peter is given the opportunity to view two methods of lifestyle and draws closer to the Indians. Perhaps the Indians are safe because they are tied innocence.

Trina Schart Hyman, 1980

Peter Pan has survived the test of time. He beckons us to remember our imagination by reminding us that our failure to believe carries a destructive force.

Kensington Gardens, London, England (Wikipedia)

A statue of Peter resides in Kensington Gardens, London, England, the very park in which Peter was conceived by Sir J. M. Barrie. Peter's first appearance in literature was in a book titled: The Little White Bird published in 1902. In this novel for adults Peter appears in a few chapters where he is cared for by the fairies in Kensington Gardens, estranged from his original family. Later in Peter and Wendy a conclusion is drawn out that Peter was cared for by the fairies till he reached an age when he was whisked away to Neverland. You never grow old in Neverland. Perhaps the fairies knew a particular age before adulthood that Peter could be most relate-able and there he remains, a fairy in his own right.    

The Lady of Shalott

The Lady of Shalott (1832)

  John William Waterhouse

PART I
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
The yellow-leaved waterlily
The green-sheathed daffodilly
Tremble in the water chilly
Round about Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens shiver.
The sunbeam showers break and quiver
In the stream that runneth ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

Underneath the bearded barley,
The reaper, reaping late and early,
Hears her ever chanting cheerly,
Like an angel, singing clearly,
O'er the stream of Camelot.
Piling the sheaves in furrows airy,
Beneath the moon, the reaper weary
Listening whispers, ' 'Tis the fairy,
Lady of Shalott.'

The little isle is all inrail'd
With a rose-fence, and overtrail'd
With roses: by the marge unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken sail'd,
Skimming down to Camelot.
A pearl garland winds her head:
She leaneth on a velvet bed,
Full royally apparelled,
The Lady of Shalott.
 
PART II
No time hath she to sport and play:
A charmed web she weaves alway.
A curse is on her, if she stay
Her weaving, either night or day,
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be;
Therefore she weaveth steadily,
Therefore no other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

She lives with little joy or fear.
Over the water, running near,
The sheepbell tinkles in her ear.
Before her hangs a mirror clear,
Reflecting tower'd Camelot.
And as the mazy web she whirls,
She sees the surly village churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad,
Goes by to tower'd Camelot:
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two:
She hath no loyal knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, came from Camelot:
Or when the moon was overhead
Came two young lovers lately wed;
`I am half sick of shadows,' said
The Lady of Shalott.PART III

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flam'd upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down from Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his arm our rung,
Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down from Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over green Shalott.


His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down from Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra lirra, tirra lirra:'
Sang Sir Lancelot.


She left the web, she left the loom
She made three paces thro' the room
She saw the water-flower bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.PART IV


In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining,
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Outside the isle a shallow boat
Beneath a willow lay afloat,
Below the carven stern she wrote,
The Lady of Shalott.


A cloudwhite crown of pearl she dight,
All raimented in snowy white
That loosely flew (her zone in sight
Clasp'd with one blinding diamond bright)
Her wide eyes fix'd on Camelot,
Though the squally east-wind keenly
Blew, with folded arms serenely
By the water stood the queenly
Lady of Shalott.


With a steady stony glance--
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Beholding all his own mischance,
Mute, with a glassy countenance--
She look'd down to Camelot.
It was the closing of the day:
She loos'd the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.


As when to sailors while they roam,
By creeks and outfalls far from home,
Rising and dropping with the foam,
From dying swans wild warblings come,
Blown shoreward; so to Camelot
Still as the boathead wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her chanting her deathsong,
The Lady of Shalott.


A longdrawn carol, mournful, holy,
She chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her eyes were darken'd wholly,
And her smooth face sharpen'd slowly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot:
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.


Under tower and balcony,
By garden wall and gallery,
A pale, pale corpse she floated by,
Deadcold, between the houses high,
Dead into tower'd Camelot.
Knight and burgher, lord and dame,
To the planked wharfage came:
Below the stern they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.


They cross'd themselves, their stars they blest,
Knight, minstrel, abbot, squire, and guest.
There lay a parchment on her breast,
That puzzled more than all the rest,
The wellfed wits at Camelot.
'The web was woven curiously,
The charm is broken utterly,
Draw near and fear not,--this is I,
The Lady of Shalott.'

Alfred Lord Tennyson

 John Atkinson Grimshaw

                                                           

My Path, Who AM I?

 Once Upon a Time...a boy fell in love with the Faerie Realm.

I am twenty-nine years of age. Ever since I could remember I have attached myself to folklore, relishing in my ever expanding imagination. As a child my simple forest-green room was transformed into dark dry caverns, watery hollows and royal halls where anything and everything was possible. I would transform into a Magician, a Hermit and a King all in one day. I had a language with the wolves, they were my allies and sometimes they shared with me the mysterious secrets of transformation.

As every child certainly does, I started to hear whispers from my Grandparents. "Have you heard about Little Red Riding Hood?", they would ask. "Or perhaps you would like to hear about the fairy that cast a spell upon a kingdom, which fell asleep for one hundred years?" And I would fall prey to their stories, seeking the finer details. "How can a slipper really only fit one girl?", "Where did the little people come from?", "Why was the wolf bad?", "What did Rumpelstiltskin need a child for?" Most of the time they tried to answer eventually appeasing me with books and music documenting this other world, a world of witches and wonder.

Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone, 1977

My desire for answers led me to a Faerie-Ring in the thick forest of my imagination and as these things have certain tendencies, I have not left. For once you enter a Faerie-Ring it is uncertain you will ever leave. The little folk whisper enchantments and feed you with riches and before you have the capability of questioning the time, twenty years have past.

Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone, 1977

My journey into literature began on a path of Yellow Brick, followed by flight and sophisticated wardrobes. I quickly knew the likes of Peter Pan & Wendy, Dorothy & the Wizard, and the Pevensie's.

Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone, 1977

As I grew I recognized that the sophistication of my beloved stories developed from the minds of master storytellers. Those who obsess with The Brothers Grimm eventually discover Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Purrault. In college I sought out the origin for most of these tales. Many were original and many were collected. Tales that The Brothers Grimm, Jacob & Wilhelm collected were an oral tradition shared and passed down before bright burning fireplaces and lonely cottages all over Europe. Germany, France, England, Norway, Sweden all had their own individual intricate and unique folktales. Some tales were simple and delightful, some were cautionary warning people to not underestimate the power of redemption, romance and Faeries. Each country had their special creation. France had Little Red Riding Hood, and versions of the Little Cinder-girl. Jacob & Wilhelm collected and published the likes of Hansel & Gretel, Snow White & Rapunzel. The Danish Hans Christian Anderson gave us a lonely Mermaid who wished to be a human. 

In the light of Jacob and Wilhelm, in the light of Hans Christian Anderson & Charles Purrault I want this blog to seek out, create and collect  Faerie Stories. This is to be a forum where I can explore different realms, different lands, and talk about many tales. I will utilize literature, film, music and the developing cyber world to ascertain and look upon how Fairy Tales continue to persevere.  It is my mission to discover and continue painting the world with Folklore.

 W. C. Gratza July, 2014

Arthur Rackham, 1921