House Faeries - A Few Introductions Part II

Drake - A little house fairy who smells of rotten eggs and wears a red cap and white tunic. When they fly, they become a will o' wisp with the illusory appearance of a small dragon. They are usually attached to a specific family, and can travel the world doing tasks for them in exchange for their being cared for.

Couldn't find a great Drake picture, but I picture it sort of like these Froud paintings:

Hob - Small household spirit who can live in the house or outdoors in the farmyard. To get rid of a hob, one must give him a new set of clothing (ex: Dobby!)

Lares - Guardian deities of the hearth in Roman religion. They often acted as the intercessors between the more important gods in the pantheon and the household they protected. Statues of the Lares were brought out during meal times and all family events. Quite possible that Lares were an inspiration for many house faerie stories.


Tomte - Scandinavian faerie who would take care of the family and protect them from all trouble. They were especially active at nighttime. Sometimes he is described much like a Domovoi, as an old bearded man. However, sometimes he appears with a single eye, like a cyclops. He was extremely strong, and easily offended. Any changes in the traditional running of the farm or household could upset him. Tomte also had a weakness for gifts of porridge.

From this whole page full of Tomtes for sale:

House Faeries - A Few Introductions

Time to introduce you to a few types of house fey!

Brownies - Legendary creature of Scotland and England. The Brownie is a type of hob who works at night in exchange for small gifts or food (porridge and honey are two favorites). A regular tradition among rural folk was to take the newly churned milk and sprinkle the corners of the house with it as a libation to the brownie. Never, ever refer to the gifts you leave a brownie as "payment," or the creature will leave immediately and offer no more assistance.


House Brownie drawing by Lauren Pettapiece.

Toni Diterlizzi's version of a Spiderwick Brownie.


Two sweet examples of house brownies for sale on etsy from FuegoFatuo.

Boggart - An always malicious faerie in English lore. The boggart is behind a good deal of household mischief such as milk souring, items disappearing, and animals being injured. Boggarts tend to follow a family from house to house, but putting a horseshoe above the front door can keep them away. Boggarts are described in Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's Spiderwick Chronicles as a Brownie who has been angered. There is some precedent to this idea, as it has also been mentioned in other earlier books such as Tasha Tudor's Corgi picture books.




Boggart drawing by Patrick A Garland.


A Boggart in the Spiderwick film.

Domovoi - An excellent modern resource for this house fey is Catherynne Valente's Deathless. The domovoi feature very prominently in this (extremely excellent) book, and truly come to life! A Domovoi is a Russian house spirit, usually small bearded hairy blokes. Sometimes they can take on the appearance of a cat or a dog. No matter who you are in relation to the household, even if you are its head, you are wise to address the Domovoi as "master" if you ever see him. Like a brownie, a domovoi will generally only perform beneficially and protectively for a household unless he is angered. Milk and biscuits can be left for the Domovoi overnight. If you want to invite a Domovoi into your abode, go outside while dressed in your finest clothes, and say "Grandfather Dobrokhot, please come into my house and tend the flocks." If you are moving and want your Domovoi to stay with you, make an offering and say "Domovoi, Domovoi, Don't stay here but come with our family!" The Domovoi like to live at the threshold under the door, or under the stove. He also acted as an oracle of the future, and his behavior could warn a family of upcoming danger or good.





Two older images of Domovoi...credits unknown.


Domovoi for sale on Etsy from Elladolls.

All information via Wikipedia articles.

House Faeries

My house has faeries. At least I have a very strong suspicion that it does. We first moved in here on February 1st of last year, and the signs of the presence of a beneficial sprite were somewhat in doubt at first. Or perhaps it was just that we had a boggart in the house, considering that we stuck our garage door remotes in the garage on the first night here, and wound up having to smash in a window to open the garage again. In any case, over the course of the year we've owned our house thus far, we've treated it with reverence and loving care in maintaining it and updating things that should have been done a long time ago. And slowly, we could feel the energy of the house shifting from distrustful to appreciative, as the house itself and the spirits who protected and cared for it realized that we intended to love and care for it as well. Mushroom rings appeared in our yard. Our cat would meow at corners of the room that were empty. And the Hawthorne tree in the back yard learned to appreciate the offerings I would bury among its roots, and gave us full displays of blossom and cardinals.

Unfortunately, the previous two owners who had the house before us seem to have mostly neglected it, so we likely have years of mistrust among the fey to make up for in our own time here. But we're doing the best we can. Also unfortunate is the fact that I collect and love wrought iron, since "iron" is one of the substances the fey supposedly hate.* Some types of house fey are said to dislike the presence of a cat in the house too. I hope they can forgive me my faux pas, and see that they are indeed more than welcome here, but the iron and the cat aren't going anywhere either.

*research may suggest however that "iron" more referred to iron blades, rather than any and all iron. After all...there is a story of a faerie borrowing a cast iron pot from a farmer's wife to use, and there are faerie blacksmiths who forge iron!

It makes me wonder about the legends and lore of house faeries. What types are there, and how can we attract them or keep them in good spirits? I first started thinking about this question when we moved into the house, and it wasn't long after I started this blog that I realized it would make an enjoyable subject for a post or a series of posts. Just the most basic research, however, and I realized that it was far too huge a topic to write about in one single post or one single set of posts. Rather, I am starting to accept that the topic of house faerie lore is one that we will be returning to time and time again on this blog as new stories and legends are uncovered, new types of house fey in different lands are shared. But as a very, very inadequate primer, I thought I would list a few of the better known types of house faeries, and some tidbits of their habits and preferences.

I'll be doing this over the next few days. And please...if you know any faerie house lore, do share it here or in the Facebook group!

(above photo is not my own, but isn't it a lovely faerie ring?)