We’re on the heels of my favorite holiday—St. Patrick’s Day. It’s not my favorite because I like green beer, I don’t. It’s not my favorite because I like to wear green, I really don’t. It’s not my favorite because I want to celebrate Christianity coming to Ireland. No, for me, it’s all about the Fairies, Leprechauns, Changelings, and dare I mention, the Banshees.

You might picture the sweet Disney facsimiles, but for me these are the darkest, scariest creatures around. You don’t want one in your room when you turn off the lights. Fairies of Irish folklore are fallen angels. Not so bad that they are sent to hell, but bad enough to get booted out of the promise land. The trick with them is to be nice. You treat them well, they will treat you well, but if they think you’ve moved against them—watch out.

The only truly evil fairies are the Leprechauns. (Lepre caun-the shoemaker) It’s not quite sure why they haven’t been allocated to hell because they don’t need to be provoked to hurt you. Might be because they are hard workers.

As a mother, I find Changelings the most frightening because they mostly take children, legends exist of them taking adults. One moment you can be snuggling your beautiful baby, the next you sense something has changed. Your baby looks like your baby but his or her soul has been altered. The only way to know for sure if it’s a Changeling is to place it on the fire. Sort of like the method for determining witches: if the woman drowns, she isn’t a witch.

Lastly comes the Banshee. The harbinger of death. If you spot one, death is looking for you so it’s best to keep out of sight. They usually only appear when you’re alone so another way to avoid them is to always have a friend or family member by your side.

“May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, quick to make friends.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.