A pixie is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. However, the word 'pixie' also appears in Dorset, Somerset and to a lesser extent in Sussex, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
"Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore, Breton mythology and Welsh Bardic lore. Some parallels to elements and incidents in Norse mythology have been detected in the tale, and the trappings of Jack's last adventure with the Giant Galigantus suggest parallels with French and Breton fairy tales such as Bluebeard. Jack's belt is similar to the belt in "The Valiant Little Tailor", and his magical sword, shoes, cap, and cloak are similar to those owned by Tom Thumb or those found in Welsh and Norse mythology.
Fairies, particularly those of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh folklore, have been classified in a variety of ways. Classifications – which most often come from scholarly analysis, and may not always accurately reflect local traditions – typically focus on behavior or physical characteristics.
Blunderbore is a giant of Cornish and English folklore. A number of folk and fairy tales include a giant named Blunderbore, most notably "Jack the Giant Killer". The stories usually associate him with the area of Penwith.
A spriggan is a legendary creature from Cornish folklore. Spriggans are particularly associated with West Penwith in Cornwall.
The Knocker, Knacker, or Tommyknocker (US) is a mythical, subterranean, gnome-like creature in Cornish and Devon folklore. The Welsh counterpart is the coblyn. It is closely related to the Irish leprechaun, Kentish kloker and the English and Scottish brownie. The Cornish described the creature as a little person 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m) tall, with a disproportionately large head, long arms, wrinkled skin, and white whiskers. It wears a tiny version of standard miner's garb and commits random mischief, such as stealing miners' unattended tools and food.
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today.
Morgens, morgans, or mari-morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men.
Ruth Manning-Sanders was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime
A Choice of Magic is a 1971 anthology of 32 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. In fact, the book is mostly a collection of tales published in previous Manning-Sanders anthologies. Stories are pulled from A Book of Princes and Princesses (1969), A Book of Giants (1962), A Book of Dwarfs (1963), A Book of Dragons (1964), A Book of Ghosts and Goblins (1968), A Book of Witches (1965), A Book of Mermaids (1967), and A Book of Wizards (1966). There are also four previously unpublished stories.
A Book of Giants is a 1963 anthology of 13 fairy tales from Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders. It was the first anthology to receive the familiar "A Book of..." title that Manning-Sanders would become notable for.
Folklore of the Low Countries, often just referred to as Dutch folklore, includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Traditionally this folklore is written or spoken in Dutch or in one of the regional languages of these countries.
Bucca is a male sea-spirit in Cornish folklore, a merman, that inhabited mines and coastal communities as a hobgoblin during storms. The mythological creature is a type of water spirit likely related to the Púca from Irish, the Pwca from Welsh folklore, and the female mari-morgans, a type of mermaid from Welsh and Breton mythology. Rev W. S. Lach-Szyrma, one 19th-century writer on Cornish antiquities, suggested the Bucca had originally been an ancient pagan deity of the sea such as Irish Nechtan or British Nodens, though his claims are mainly conjecture. Folklore however records votive food offerings made on the beach similar to those made to the subterranean Knockers and may represent some form of continuity with early or pre-Christian Brittonic belief practices.
The Three Witch Maidens was originally published in the United Kingdom in 1972, by Methuen & Co. Ltd. The 1977 paperback version was published by The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. under its Beaver Books imprint.
Cornish mythology is the folk tradition and mythology of the Cornish people. It consists partly of folk traditions developed in Cornwall and partly of traditions developed by Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium, often shared with those of the Breton and Welsh peoples. Some of this contains remnants of the mythology of pre-Christian Britain.
Folk and Fairy Tales is a 1978 anthology of 25 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. In fact, the book is mostly a collection of tales published in previous Manning-Sanders anthologies. Stories are pulled from A Book of Dragons, A Book of Mermaids, A Book of Witches, A Book of Dwarfs, A Book of Devils and Demons, A Book of Kings and Queens, A Book of Magic Animals, A Book of Giants, A Book of Ogres and Trolls, A Book of Wizards, A Book of Enchantments and Curses and A Book of Monsters.
Joan the Wad is a mythological character in Cornish folklore. She is the Queen of the Pixies, which are tiny mythical creatures usually associated with the counties of Cornwall and Devon in England.
A Cauldron of Witches is a 1988 anthology of 12 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It was the final published book in a long series of such anthologies by author Manning-Sanders, who died in October 1988 at age 102.
The Smith and the Devil is an Indo-European fairy tale. The story is of a smith who makes a pact with a malevolent being—commonly the Devil, Death, a demon or a genie—selling his soul for some power, then tricks the devil out of his prize. In one version, the smith gains the power to weld any materials, then uses this power to stick the devil to an immovable object, allowing the smith to renege on the bargain. It is indexed as ATU 330.
