Welcome to Fairies of New England: The Little People of the Hills and Forests, a website in support of my forthcoming book New England Fairies: A History of the Little People of the Hills and Forests (to be published August 5, 2024, by the History Press, 144 pages).
My name is Andrew Warburton, and I’m a writer from Bristol, England, currently living near Providence, Rhode Island. In this blog, I write about fairies from a folkloric, literary, and historical perspective.
My forthcoming book, New England Fairies, collects stories about fairies and fairylike beings from the six New England states. The stories cover four hundred years of history and are drawn from the traditions of various ethnic groups, including British, Irish, French Canadian, and Native American peoples. I traveled all over New England to research the book, and I can’t wait for you to read it.
Book overview
Tales of fairies and bewitching Little People have amazed and horrified New Englanders for over four hundred years. In the nineteenth century, residents of Marblehead, Massachusetts, reported malicious pixies leading them in circles at dusk. In Aroostook County, Maine, elves called lutins exasperated farmers with their mischievous tricks and games. In Uncasville, Connecticut, beguiling creatures emerged for centuries at twilight to collect corn-filled baskets from members of the Mohegan Tribe. And in Harrisville, Rhode Island, a vision of fearful banshees augured death to an Irish seer. From the ancient tales of Algonquian elders to the fireside stories of European immigrants, Andrew Warburton scours New England folklore to uncover the secrets of the region’s Fair Folk and the storytellers who’ve encountered them through the years.
This is me feeding a chickadee in Quincy, Massachusetts
Fairies of New England: The Little People of the Hills and Forests 