_fairy path_

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/28275

fairy path A '_fairy path_' is the name given to a path which never becomes overgrown by shrubs or bushes, even though it is little used by humans. It is believed that such paths are used by the fairies who keep them beaten down. If a child or even an adult strays into such a path he is likely to be taken away by fairies. If not actually taken away, he may be '_fairy struck_' or queer in some way. If a house happens to be built over such a path it will be haunted and noone will ever be able to live in it. As a child I remember hearing of a boy being _fairy_ struck. I think he had been skating near a fairy path. However he was never the same after the experience and he died quite young. When a person has been fairy struck he is said to have had 'a blast'. [reverse] I have heard both my mother and father mention those old beliefs. When I was in school in Mobile I heard some children speak of a house in Fermeuse which was built over a fairy path. The people who lived there used to hear noises and had to move out. I can remember no other details. Before my brother and myself were old enough to go to school, my mother would warn us to keep away from the fairy paths when we went out to play especially if it was near sunset. There were several such paths near our home. I can remember at least six of them. My brother and I always played in them in the day and my mother didn't seem to object seriously. If it was near night she'd say something like "Don't go over there, that's an old fairy path." One evening in winter we were playing near two of those paths. We were watching for my father to come out of the woods where he was cutting firewood. We heard a voice say, "Go home, go home". My mother came for us just about then and we told her about it. She probably gave us "salt and water" which was supposed to prevent any serious after-effects of a supernatural experience. I remember the incident which happened when I was probably about five or six, but I have heard my mother speak of it many times. I think she really ...