Tales Of The Folk And Faerie Forum Why faerie tales?

Well, I guess I would say that in my case, faerie tales are a connection to the past. When you think about socially, they represent a time of ignorance (and I do not mean that in a bad way) and of magic that we've since lost.

In Ireland, and indeed Scotland, they still have the oral tradition of passing down faerie tales and people laugh at it. I'm not superstitious, but when you look at it from a purely anthropological stand point, we've all come from the same place, only we're so caught up in high-tech gadgets. Sometimes it's good to just indulge in a time and place where mysticism still exists.

Sorry to waffle on! I quite happily read faerie stories to my son (especially ones with frogs in them. He loves hearing about frogs!)

A forum dedicated to the faerie. My life is complete.

To answer your question, in my view faerie tales are the stuff from which great stories of all varieties are made! Faerie lore and tales of the wee folk are steeped in the traditions and history of almost every society on earth, from the fae and sidhe (I lack accent marks on this thing) of the Celtic tribes to the spirits of the old Anglo-Saxons, to the mythical creatures of south american tales and so on. Most great re-told tales can trace their roots back to fae lore and other mythologies.
The faerie have always had a special place in my heart. As a child, I was raised on fairy and faerie tales, and stories of mythical creatures of all sorts. My first attempts at novel-writing were rooted in old Newfoundland tales, and my published work, The Halfling, has faerie origins (and faerie characters! :P).
Shameless plug time: for anyone in this forum who hasn't yet read The Chronicles of Faerie by O.R. Melling, please go do so. If ever there was someone who does justice to the Fae of Ireland--and in a way that is accessible to the younger faerie fans out there :)--this woman is the one. Her Chronicles are wonderfully written, with fantastic characters and great descriptions. They are geared for a younger audience, but they are great reads, and she has some wonderful books for the grown-up audience as well :)
/end pluggage
Anyway, I am so glad to see this forum exists. I look forward to reading what is brought here!
~Katherine

G. K. Chesterton said it best: " Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."

That has been the allure and challenge of fairy tales to me.  I want to be true to the notion that dreadful, alien things are both worthy of dread and much harder to understand than we credit.

Would you open a sealed bottle on the beach if you thought there might be a genie inside?  What if you also knew that if there was a genie inside, there was a one-in-three chance that being had made a vow to instantly imprison or kill the mortal who set him free?  That extra knowledge is a game-changer and it still gives me chills.