Nicole Penney and I have been busy little elves this morning, working on a project we both love: Newfoundland fairylore!
We have had some requests from people about the tradition of fairies in Newfoundland and Labrador, so we've pulled together some links to online material that we think might be useful to people doing projects or heritage fair displays on the faerie folk, fairy belief, tradition and superstition.
The best place to start, however, is Barbara Rieti's excellent book, Strange terrain: The fairy world in Newfoundland. It is the go-to book for anyone starting research on fairy traditions. I believe it is out of print, but local libraries should have a copy. We've also included a link below to Dr. Rieti's dissertation below, which is available online.
Another good-but-out-of-print book is Fables, Fairies and Folklore of Newfoundland by
Alice Lannon and Mike McCarthy, also possibly available at local libraries. We've included a great recording of Alice telling fairy stories in 2010.
Another good print resource is Peter Narváez's article “Newfoundland Berry Pickers ‘In the Fairies’: Maintaining Spatial, Temporal, and Moral Boundaries Through Legendry.” The Good People: New Fairylore Essays. Edited by Peter Narváez. University Press of Kentucky, 1997. Pp. 336-367.
If there is an important resource we've missed, email ich@heritagefoundation.ca.
Online Video Sources
Photo: detail from Newfoundland Faerie Ring sculpture by Morgan MacDonald.
Online Video Sources
- Newfoundland Faerie Storytelling Circle
- Notes from the Fairy Path: The Woodcutter
- You Must Believe in Fairies
- Cumby, Art. A video clip featuring Art's personal fairy story
- Martin, Emma part 3. Interview about growing up in Port Union
- Newfoundland Stories with Clarence Squires
- Bob Hallett OneFiveOh - A Story About the Little People (Kilbride)
- Fairies & Fetches - A Storytelling Session with Clifford George
Audio Files
Online Articles
Bishop’s Cove: John R Barrett. John What They Call Jackie. Decks Awash, vol. 18, no. 02 (March-April 1989). Pages 42-43.
Fairies. The Collegian, 1914, vol. 20, no. 01. pages 17 and 18.
The floating dead: N.L. inspired 'zombie faeries' photoshoot arrives in time for Halloween. CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2016.
Folklore: Folk Beliefs. Encyclopedia of NL. Vol 2. Page 245
Helesic, Day. The Fairy Folklore of Newfoundland. Canadian Living. May 2015.
Janes, Burton K. The fairies of Conception Bay. The Compass. September 10, 2012
Jarvis, Dale.
- Jarvis, Dale. The House on the Fairy Path. 3 September 2006.
- Jarvis, Dale. Interview with Tina White and Samantha Gaulton. 3 January 2019.
- Lannon, Alice. Good and Bad Fairies. 29 July 2010.
- Pearcy, Carl. North Head Trail Leprechauns.
- Gosse, Bill. Tapper's Cove.
- Collective Memories Monday - Fairy Lore in Witless Bay.
Online Articles
Bishop’s Cove: John R Barrett. John What They Call Jackie. Decks Awash, vol. 18, no. 02 (March-April 1989). Pages 42-43.
Fairies. The Collegian, 1914, vol. 20, no. 01. pages 17 and 18.
The floating dead: N.L. inspired 'zombie faeries' photoshoot arrives in time for Halloween. CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2016.
Folklore: Folk Beliefs. Encyclopedia of NL. Vol 2. Page 245
Helesic, Day. The Fairy Folklore of Newfoundland. Canadian Living. May 2015.
Janes, Burton K. The fairies of Conception Bay. The Compass. September 10, 2012
Jarvis, Dale.
- A Conception Bay South fairy story, circa 1944, by Donald W. Smith. 19 Dec 2018
The Lady in Blue - A Fairy Story from Spaniard's Bay. 10 July 2012.
A story of the good fairies. And pancakes! 6 March 2013.
"Lugged off" by the fairies - A Quebec fairy story from Dr. Wilfred Grenfell. 29 Jan 2018.
Lyver, Emily. Fear the Fairies. Kicker, September 21, 2017.
Milley, B. Joan. Little Fairies. The Collegian, 1939, [02], Summer. Page 23.
Noseworthy, Kayla. Fairy-Tales: Berry Picking and the Fairy Lore Connection. The Overcast. 14 September 2016.
Poems About Fairies. Collegian, 1939, [03], Christmas. Page 34.
St. John’s man tells court he was carried away by the fairies. Archival Moments.
Silvester, Nicole. Blast Those Little Fellas: The Fairy Folklore of Newfoundland. 11 September 2012.
Wilson, Lisa, ed. Folk Belief and Legends of Bay Roberts and Area. St. John's: Heritage Foundation of NL, 2014.
Milley, B. Joan. Little Fairies. The Collegian, 1939, [02], Summer. Page 23.
Noseworthy, Kayla. Fairy-Tales: Berry Picking and the Fairy Lore Connection. The Overcast. 14 September 2016.
Poems About Fairies. Collegian, 1939, [03], Christmas. Page 34.
St. John’s man tells court he was carried away by the fairies. Archival Moments.
Silvester, Nicole. Blast Those Little Fellas: The Fairy Folklore of Newfoundland. 11 September 2012.
Wilson, Lisa, ed. Folk Belief and Legends of Bay Roberts and Area. St. John's: Heritage Foundation of NL, 2014.
Dissertations
Rieti, Barbara. Newfoundland Fairy Traditions: A study in Narrative and Belief. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1990.
Silvester, Niko. There’s a Piece Wad Please a Brownie: A Comparative Study of Offerings to the Fairies in Traditional Cultures and Contemporary Earth Centered-Religions. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 199.
Update:
For those interested, Strange Terrain is still in print and was recently reprinted by its original publisher ISER Books, Memorial University. Their address is ISER Books, MUN, 297 Mount Scio Road, St. John’s A1C 5S7, (709)-864-3453, iser-books@mun.ca , or www.arts.mun.ca/iserbooks/
Last Update: 4 January 2019 by Dale Jarvis
Rieti, Barbara. Newfoundland Fairy Traditions: A study in Narrative and Belief. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1990.
Silvester, Niko. There’s a Piece Wad Please a Brownie: A Comparative Study of Offerings to the Fairies in Traditional Cultures and Contemporary Earth Centered-Religions. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 199.
Update:
For those interested, Strange Terrain is still in print and was recently reprinted by its original publisher ISER Books, Memorial University. Their address is ISER Books, MUN, 297 Mount Scio Road, St. John’s A1C 5S7, (709)-864-3453, iser-books@mun.ca , or www.arts.mun.ca/iserbooks/
Last Update: 4 January 2019 by Dale Jarvis
1 comment:
Colleen Power's song "Taken Away by the Faeries" shows the magic of this tradition.
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