Sprite

The Sprite is often depicted as a small fairy, they have wings and if seen are normally mistaken for large exotic insects because of their wings.

The word sprite comes from the lain Spiritus meaning spirit, there are a few other variations like the Celtic spriggan or spright. It's often used to mean elves and fairies in European folklore although it's rarely used now.

The belief in these sprites which include tree spirits, elves, fairies, pixies, the Spanish duende, Japanese yokai and many other fairy types has been common all over the world and to some extent be found in neo-spiritual movements like Asatru and druidism. In some elemental magic and rituals the sprite is often believed to be the air element. The belief in these spiritual creatures like ghosts and fairies is nearly universal over the human culture.

They often live in big groups in the deep woods with other fairy beings. They have a short attention span but are curious and like to harass flying insects like butterflies. They can fly far and fast without rest, tending the fairy gardens, eating the bugs that feed on the flowers.

Although they look small and sweet they can be vicious, biting ans swarming if felt threatened. Attacking people that get to near to their gardens, threaten or endanger the trees and plant life around them or themselves.

They have been in fairy tales and even movies for a long while, although they aren't as popular or well known now a days.  

Orc

  The Orc/Ork is a fantasy race that are often twined with Goblins. They are humanoid creatures that come in many shapes and sizes, often with bowed legs and long arms. They are generally ugly and filthy, with prominent fangs and facial features tending toward the grotesque, their skin is typically a shade of green, grey, black, brown and sometimes red.

 Their temperament matches their looks. Ugly, aggressive and cannibals to boot, often eating their own kind. They are used for soldiers, mostly cannon fodder because of their low intelligence, strength and violent by nature, they will fight ferociously if compelled or directed by a guiding will, but tend towards more chaotic behavior if left to their own devices.

  Old English glossaries record the word OE orc matches with the Latin Orcus, deity of the Underworld, and Synonymous with thyrs "ogre" as well as "hell devil".
  The word ultimately comes from the Latin, the demonic Roman god of death, who should not be confussed with Pluto, the god of the underworld and has transformed by several stages from the meanings 'underworld', 'hell', 'devil', 'evil creature' to 'ogre'.

 They have been portrayed through fairy tales and fantasy for a long time, but the most famous has to be J.R.R.Tolkien's reinvention of them in his stories the most famous being the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Where they have a some thing like a culture of their own and their own language.

Brownies

 The Brownie is the Scottish and Northern English counterpart of the Scandinavian Tomte, the Slavic Domovo and the German Heinzelmannchen.

Brownies are said to inhabit houses and aid with the upkeep and tasks around the house. Although they hate to be seen so work at night or when there isn't anyone at home, they would become fiercely loyal to their families and would move with them to a new house. They take food as gifts for their help but they are very difficult to keep happy and can get very aggressive or even leave if their gifts are called a payments, the owners misuse them are called by a name or nickname or if they are thanked. They are known to like honey, milk and porridge the best and many would leave them out daily. They make their nests or homes in unused parts of the house, like holes in walls or lofts.

Depending on where you are brownies can vary in their looks, normally they are short, often male but in the highlands they don't have fingers and toes and in the lowlands they didn't have noses.

  There are a few tales and ballads about the brownies but not many. But there are differences between the English Brownie and the Scottish Urusig. The English brownie lived in the house and helped with domestic tasks as did many in the Scottish manor houses but the Scottish Urusig wasn't domestic and lived in or by streams, it had a generally nice temperament and like to be solitude but around the end of harvest would come out to get some of the it's favourite dairy products from the milkmaids.

  The only people who could see the brownies where the ones who possessed the second sight, which enabled them to be able to see anything from the sprite or fay world. But they where said to appear to certain people if they didn't have it.

  Although there is a general blanket description for brownies they are several different types. When they where miss treated they would turn into Boggarts with sharp teeth and wild hair. These where horrible are violent, throwing things, stealing and breaking things, tormenting the people living there and spoiling food and milk.

  There is the Brown Men that are a type of brownie that live on Bodmin moor in Cornwall England, you will never see these little red haired men, they look after all the wild life that live on the moor with them. Similar to the Brown Men are the Gruagach, brownies that live in the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland and are thought to watch over farmers’ herds. Early legends say that they were given offerings of milk in order to ensure that they would watch over flocks and herds and keep all of the animals safe. A brownie-clod was a type to live outside and cause havoc by throwing mud at anyone that came near, a Dobbie was a simple minded but well meaning brownie that unintentionally caused chaos (these are the ones that inspired the house elves and their name sake Dobbie in the Harry Potter books).

  The brownie also isn’t to be confused with the browney, which is a different type of mythological creature. The browney comes from Cornwall, and it’s thought to watch over hives of bees. 

Dragons

There are 2 types of dragons. European and Asian. although with the mixing of cultures in recent centuries the myths have started to influence each other.
The name dragon came into the English language around the 13th century, it was taken from the old french (dragon) which again in turn was taken from the Latin draconem (or draco) also from the Greek word δράκων, drakon, meaning huge serpent. This was used for any large serpent or sea snake not just mythological creatures.

Dragons are typically depicted as large reptiles with 2 sets of legs and bat like wings and fire breathers but this image started in the middle ages before this they where seen as giant serpents (this isn't to be mixed with a dragon-like creature with wings but only a single pair of legs which is known as a wyvern).

There are meany different myths and stories about the dragons to match the many different cultures and religions that these stories come from. But there are many types of creatures that come under the blanket name of dragon.
East Asian cultures are thought to have the oldest myths about the dragons. They where long giant serpents, most of them water deities. They where known for their great power and wisdom and seemingly endless lives. They where associated with the Chinese and Vietnamese emperors because of the power and wisdom they where suppose to hold. They are said be made up from 9 different animals, with nine sons, each with its own imagery and affiliations.  They are also seen as  the symbol of yang, representing the universe, life, existence, and growth. It is said in Vietnamese myths that the people are descended from a dragon and a fairy.

South and west Asian are roughly the same as the eastern but some are seen as protection (like on gates and clothing) and others (like the Persian dragons and other such creatures) where all malevolent. The Jewish religious text have a few mentions about dragon through out i.e. the book of Job and  Isaiah.

But it's not just Asia that has the myths of dragons, in Europe they have many tales. We get the name dragon on the Greeks but it was meant more for snakes then winged reptiles in myth form. European dragons are usually depicted as malevolent under Christianity; pre-Christian dragons, such as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales, are seen as benevolent, they are seen as huge winged reptiles that live in rivers or deep caves with armored hides and although they have wings they rarely fly. Slavic dragons are very similar although their names typically mean snake. Russian dragons are seen to have 3 heads and if all the heads aren't cut off they will grow back.
The tales of dragons have changed over the centuries and have become fixed in the fantasy, filling books and movies with these mythical creatures. They where often seen as big, greedy, mean and to be feared until the hero comes along and slays said dragon in a right of passage. Or the mystic wise figure that's a great ally that helps battle fears. Typically they where twisted to represent sin and a natural force against mankind.

There are many animals that could have sparked our ancient ancestors into believing that huge winged reptiles and snakes where alive such as crocodiles, giant snakes and even whale and dinosaur bones.

But as we come into a new age they are getting new life  with every kind of twist you could think of i.e. the elemental, fire, water ect all with magic powers and with all this new interest comes a new law for the dragon creature.

The Lady in White

The Lady in White is a type of female ghost reportedly to be seen in rural areas and in the country side. There are tales of these white ladies across the globe, the old myths have a common theme of betrayal in one form or another from a husband, boyfriend or fiancé. But they myths have slightly change to the more modern, where they are mostly tragic car accidents, these white ladies are said to be a harbingers of death, causing more car accidents so that others feel their pain at dieing do soon.

 Here are a small handful of legends from around the world:

Here in the U.K. there is an old myth said that the lady in white could be seen in either day or night in a house in which a member of the family would soon be dieing, they are said to be ancestors warning the family. 

 There is also the lady in white who haunts the "Beeford Straight" in east yorkshire. Motorists have reported her apparition running across the road. In one instance, a car crashed into a tree killing 6 people.

In Germany, a white woman was first reported to be seen in the Berliner Schloss in 1625 and sightings have been reported up until 1790. This castle is the residence of the kings of Prussia, so the Lady has been linked to a few historical figures such as the unfortunate widow Bertha of Rosenberg from Bohemia, overthrown by the heathen Perchta and the guilt-ridden countess Kunigunda of Orlamünde, who murdered her 2 children for getting in the way of a marriage she wanted.

In Philippines they are often used to convey horror and mystery to young children for storytelling. Sightings of White Ladies are common around the country, and usually every town and barrio has its own "White Lady" story.

Malta has 2 main myths the first being the White Lady of Mdina was killed by her lover after she was forced to marry another man. She usually appears to children under eight years old, heart-broken teenage boys, and elderly men. While she tells the children goodnight and bids them to return home, she advises the teenagers to "find another" or to join her and become a part of her "shadow" (her ghostly followers) as well as the elderly gentlemen. She is always seen after 8pm. The second myth has it that many years ago, a woman was to be married to a man she did not love. Her father told her that she must always do as her fiancé said since he was soon to be her husband. On the day of her wedding, she committed suicide by jumping off a balcony. That is how she got the name White Lady because she was wearing her wedding gown on the day of her death. She haunts the Verdala Palace and many people who attend the August moon ball confirm the haunting.

The Brazilian Lady in White is the ghost of a young woman who died of childbirth or violent causes. She appears as a pale woman in a long white dress or a sleeping gown, she will occasionally recount her misfortunes. The origins of the myth are not clear, it's proposed that the ghost is related to the violent deaths of young white women who were murdered by their fathers or husbands in an "honor" killing. The most frequent reasons for these honor killings were adultery (actual or suspected), denial of sex, or abuse.

In the USA most of (if not all) the lady in white legends are about young, beautiful women who have died in horrible car accidents and haunt the stretch of road or rough area of their deaths.

There are hundreds of more myths and many have inspired tv shows, movies and books. The lady in white is one of the most wide spread, well know haunting around.

Rusalka

A Rusalka is a type of water nymph, a female spirit in Slavic mythology and folklore.

The original "rusalka" was an name used by Pagan Slavic tribes, who linked them with fertility and did not consider rusalki evil. They came out of the water in the spring to transfer life-giving moisture to the fields and thus helped nurture the crops.

Things changed in the 19th century things shifted rusalka became an unquiet, dangerous being who is no longer alive and unclean spirits. They where young women's soul who had been drowned violently or committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage or had died near a river or a lake who must now live their remainder on earth as rusalka, haunting that waterway. They where also normally red haired, a connotation that might have come with the Orthodox faith sometime around late 15th century, they often aroused suspicion in traditional Russian societies as being bewitched.

.A rusalka's main purpose is to lure young men into the depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long red hair and submerge them, her body would instantly become very slippery and not allow the victim to cling on to her body in order to reach the surface. They where seduced by either her looks or her voice, a rusalka is generally considered to represent universal beauty, therefore is highly feared yet respected in Slavic culture.

During the Rusalka Week (in early June), they are believed to be their most dangerous, this is when they able to leave their water ways to climb trees, sit in the branches at nigh and sing songs, sit on docks with only submerged feet and comb their hair, or even join other rusalki in circle dances in the field. Swimming is strictly forbidden during this time. A common feature of the celebration of Rusalnaya was the ritual banishment or burial of the rusalki at the end of the week, which remained until the 1930's.

Apart from all this, the undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and will be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged.

Sirens

This week we are looking at the Greek sirens, who are often lumped together with mermaids and naiads.

 The Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn;  Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island many writers have implied that the Sirens were cannibals as well. Sirens were believed to look like women and birds in many different ways, from early Greece that had them depicted as birds with large women's heads, bird feathers and scaly feet, later moving on to women having bird legs, with or without wings or tiny sparrows with women's faces and then again changed being seductive women not only with their voices but bodies as well. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks.

Although they lured mariners, the Greeks portrayed the Sirens in their "meadow starred with flowers" and not as sea deities. When the Sirens were given a name of their own, they were considered the daughters of the river god Achelous, fathered upon Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope, or Chthon (the Earth). Roman writers linked the Sirens more closely to the sea, as daughters of Phorcys.

The Sirens were called the Muses of the lower world, although in one myth they are challenged to a singing contest with the muses, losing all their feathers where plucked and the muses wore them like crowns. Horrified by losing they plunged into the sea never to be heard from again. It wasn't their only so called down fall some post-Homeric authors state that the Sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them but according to Hyginus, sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs were able to pass by them. There have been a few myths featuring the sirens.

The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad conclusion. It was also said that they sang to the soul and not the flesh making it easier to call people to them.

According to Ovid, the Sirens were the companions of young Persephone. They were given wings by Demeter to search for Persephone when she was abducted. However, the Fabulae of Hyginus has Demeter cursing the Sirens to forever be half bird half women for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone, although some say that it was a reward asked by the sirens to be turned so.

There is one so-called "Siren of Canosa" from Italy was said to accompany the dead among grave goods in a burial. She appeared to have some psychopomp characteristics, guiding the dead on the after-life journey. The cast terracotta figure bears traces of its original white pigment. The woman bears the feet, wings and tail of a bird. The sculpture is conserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, in Madrid.

Although the sirens are pagan when Christianity came along they started to adopt them for their own image of bad temptation. The Early Christian euhemerist interuprited the myth of the sirens to be  they prostitutes who led travelers down to poverty and were said to impose shipwreck on them. They had wings and claws because Love flies and wounds. They are said to have stayed in the waves because a wave created Venus.

Their number is variously reported as between two and five:

 Aglaope, Peisinoe, Thelxiope and Molpe all daughters of Achelous and Melpomene

 Leucosia  Her name was given to the island opposite to the Sirenuss cape. Her body was found on the shore of Poseidonia.

 Ligeia She was found ashore of Terine in Bruttium.

Parthenope  Her tomb was presented in Naples and called "constraction of sirens" 

Sirens weren't the only ones in the world with this profession the theme of perilous mythical female creatures seeking to seduce men with their beautiful singing is repeated in the Danish ballad known as "Elvehøj", in which the singers are Elves.