Pixies (also pixie, pixi, pizky, pisky and pigsy as it is sometimes known in Cornwall) are a type of fae in British folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name.
In regional dialect, these mischievous little folk are sometimes referred to as piskies/piskeys or the little people.
The pixy also has a matured cousin called the heather pixy.
Myths & Legends[]
Pixies are notorious pranksters. One of their favourite ways of messing with people is leading them off into the woods and leaving them lost for hours before literally dropping; thus the term 'pixy-led'. They may be pranksters, but not malevolent, they are known to help out a worthy human in need. They are also known to shape shift, a common form taken is the hedgehog.
- Appearance
They are usually depicted as wingless, with pointed ears, and often wearing a green outfit and pointed hat. Sometimes their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the temple ends. Nowadays, they are depicted with wings, similar to sprites, which they are often confused with. The words "fairy" and "pixy" are sometimes used interchangeably, since the Romantic era in the 19th century when sprites became the most popular depiction of faeries.
At night they are often said to glow like fireflies and are closely connected to the will o’ the wisp mythology, aka strands of lights leading people to their doom in swamps.
The heather pixie, mentioned above, comes from Scottish folklore and is described as having golden wings and hair and living around heather. They may actually be more related to sprites then pixies.
as an example of Pixy