Welcome to Halloween Postcard History #4!
Ahhh, yes, the Little People, the Good Neighbors, the Bright Folk…fairies. Or, as the ancient Celts called them, the sidh…
This 1909 card shows gaily dressed figures dancing with anthropomorphized vegetables. While there’s nothing clearly indicating these are fairies, there are a few solid hints:
First off, the Scottish and Irish believed in fairies, which were clearly descended from their Celtic ancestors’ sidh, and they believed those fairies could cross over into our world on Halloween night (or Samhain for the Celts). On that night, barrows - large hillocks dotting the landscape) - would open, and the unwary passerby might see the fairies within holding their wild Halloween revels. Any traveler who was foolish enough to try to join in would be found dead come morning, having been danced to death.
Over time, the fairies became far less malicious (think Tinkerbell), but the original sidh were nightmarish creatures that were capable of crossing over on Samhain night and causing major havoc: In one legend about the great hero Finn MacCool (more properly known as Fionn mac Cumhaill), a sidh crossed over every Samhain and burned the Celts’ palace down until Finn stood up against him armed with a magic shield and spear.
That definitely ain’t a Disney fairy!
Obviously by the time this postcard was produced in 1909, the fairies had been reduced to creatures of playful whimsy, although many of the Scottish and Irish still called them things like “the good neighbors,” because it was once believed that calling the fairies something derogatory could make you their target…
Especially on Halloween.
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