Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

The Scary History of Fairies

October 20, 2026

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5 min read

The Scary History of Fairies

The fairies of British and Irish folklore were never the tiny, winged creatures of Disney. As historian Diane Perkiss explains, the beings that haunted the imaginations of people in early modern Scotland and Ireland were full-sized, human-looking, and deeply dangerous. They were ruled by a powerful queen, they preyed on humans for sex and reproduction, and belief in them could lead to child abuse, murder, and witch trials. The familiar Tinkerbell is a relatively recent invention, and understanding what came before reveals a great deal about how people once understood illness, misfortune, and power.

The Fairy Queen and Her Human Prey

The most striking feature of traditional fairy belief is that it describes a matriarchy. "It's always ruled by a queen," Perkiss says. "The king doesn't really have much of a role." This queen is beautiful, sexually assertive, and not particularly concerned with consent. The classic ballad of Thomas the Rhymer tells of a man who meets a stunning woman on horseback, mistakes her for the Virgin Mary, and is told: "No, I'm the queen of the fairies, and now you must come with me." He rides with her through a supernatural landscape where they wade "through red blood to the knee," and then serves her for seven years—service that, Perkiss notes, is clearly sexual.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (05:45) **The Real Fairies: Not Tinkerbell** - Historian Diane Perkiss introduces the true fairy tradition of the British Isles: a "sexy matriarchy" of full-sized, human-looking beings, not tiny winged creatures.
  • 2 (07:44) **The Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer: Fairy Abduction** - The classic tale of a man kidnapped by the Fairy Queen, illustrating the themes of sexual predation, captivity, and supernatural gifts.
  • 3 (11:33) **The Witch Trials and the Devil's Fairies** - Fairy beliefs were a key element in Scottish witch trials, where the Presbyterian Kirk reinterpreted fairy encounters as dealings with the devil.
  • 4 (14:11) **Fairy Geography and Rules of Engagement** - Fairy beliefs are strongest in areas with a Celtic language base, and specific rules govern how to interact with them to avoid disaster.
  • 5 (16:37) **Fairies as a Feudal Metaphor** - The fairy-human relationship mirrors the power dynamics of a feudal overlord, being both exploitative and a potential source of alternative allegiance.
  • 6 (19:36) **The Changelings: Stolen Children and Horrific Remedies** - The changeling belief, where fairies replace a human baby with a fairy replica, led to severe child abuse in the belief it was a rescue attempt.
  • 7 (25:02) **Adult Abductions: Breeding and Wet Nursing** - Fairies also abduct adults, using men for their "strong seed" and women as wet nurses or breeders in a "slave culture."

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Show Notes

Forget what you think about fairies... they are not cute and definitely not harmless.


In today's episode we're going back centuries to a time when they could take human form and were mentioned as part of the witch trials.


What are the rules of talking to a fairy? What are the differences between Irish and Scottish fairies? And what influence did Shakespeare have on how we see fairies?!


Joining Kate today is Diane Purkiss, historian and author of books including Fairies and Fairy Stories and The Museum of Witchcraft.


This podcast was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.


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Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

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