Fairies of New England: The Little People of the Hills and Forests

I’m so excited to say that “Fairies of Northern Appalachia: A History of the Little People of the Mountains” is out everywhere now.

The book collects old and new folklore from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, eastern Ohio, Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and western Maryland. It features Pennsylvania Dutch, Scots Irish, Irish, and Cornish traditions, among others.

Here you’ll find stories about banshees, tommyknockers, gnomes, mountain dwarves, household spirits, wassernixen, fairy queens, fairy witches, Appalachian pygmies, and arrow-shooting elves.

The painting on the cover is “The Fairy Favourite” by John Anster Fitzgerald, which I thought perfectly captured the strangeness and diversity of Appalachian fairies. The carving on the back cover is by artist Joan Reed.

You can find it at your local bookstore or at Amazon. The book is also available in a beautiful hardcover (see below).