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Spring, 2025-Chris Friend
During the
desperate times of the Irish Potato Famine, people were often left very few
resources. They were sometimes forced to eat relish cakes - a small cake made
of relish, oatmeal, turnip greens, and the blood of livestock. After the
blight, it was believed that many people acquired a taste for the relish cakes
and did not want to give them up. Around this time there developed a myth of a
vampire-like being known as the Fir Gorta (Fur-Gorta) or "Hungry
Man."
This skeletal
being was said to carry a staff in one hand and a begging cup in the other. It was
claimed that this hungry man would go to the original homes
where relish cakes were handed out. If the creature was denied, then it would
beg for money or food. If nothing was given, then a curse of illness and death would fall upon all
occupants of the house.
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In some places of
Ireland there are places that have vampire-like tendencies. Known as the Fear Gortagh
(FEAR-Gor-ta), these patches of earth were
often spots where someone died from starvation. Looking like every other patch
of grass, there would be nothing to give it away. It was believed that any
individual who would step upon it would become very hungry or thirsty. Moving
away from the hungry patch of ground would not break the spell. Only way to
avoid this fate would be for the individual to immediately eat or drink
something. If neglected, the person would waste away, like a traditional
vampire was feeding off them. In Iceland, it is the vampire-like Fyglia, (FIG-lee-ah)
that was said to kick away shingles from rooftops in order to spot a potential
victim. The Fyglia can only be destroyed by beheading with its head being
buried separate from its body.
Not all fairies
are pretty and sweet. I'm afraid that some types of fairy are downright ugly
and mean. One such is the Fir Darrig (Red Man) an unpleasant member of the
fairy race who is fat and resembles a rat. With a long snout, tail and hairy
skin, the Fir Darrig can be spotted wearing raggedy old clothes, while wearing
a skull for a hat. The Fir Darrig eats carrion and has been known to cause
nightmares as many goblins like to do. It can manifest itself as an old man
with a red hat and cloak. In this form, the Fir Darrig enjoys setting by the
fire. Another goblin, the Flibbertigibbet, loves to scare young girls in the
dark. They are most active between the curfew bell and the rooster's crow.
Those ornery goblins!
Of course, goblin is the
generic term for any of the uglier members of the fairy race. Halloween is the
high holy day of those ornery goblins. The goblin of the Glen Mor is said to be
an especially aggressive member of the fairy race. He may be only two and a
half feet tall, but he packs a mean wallop. The Green Lady of Caerphilly is a
lonely fairy who haunts ruined castles and will manifest as ivy. Obviously,
Green Ladies are very connected to nature, being green and all that. The Green
Lady of Hellasay will only appear to the Macleod family. The Green Lady of Llyn
Barfog is a fairy who often appears in all green, and is accompanied with milk
white hounds and milk white cattle. She makes her home in Aberdovey in Wales.
Chris Friend, mars_art_13@yahoo.com, of Parkersberg, W.Va
, writes and illustrates our “MARS News” column. He did a cover for Black
Petals back in 2000 for the fall issue, and has been around ever since. BP prints
his column in the issue quarterly. Chris has a gallery at http://chris.michaelherring.net/ and
was featured artist in Kurt Newton’s Ultimate
PerVersities (Naked Snake) [Jan. 2011].
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