Lewis Spence

“If we turn now to such vestiges of cult as are associated otherwise than with time and season, we discover a definite…

— Lewis Spence

“As Mr. R. U. Sayee has well said: 'It should be clear a priori that fairy lore must have developed as a…

— Lewis Spence

“But I find it necessary to repeat in this particular place that the division into classes, which is so salient a part…

— Lewis Spence

“But this is not to say that a highly specialized body of belief such as that associated with Faerie is not capable…

— Lewis Spence

“As regards the prohibition on the utterance of the fairy name by mortals, either that of the species as a whole, or…

— Lewis Spence

“Here it is necessary briefly to consider the question of the cult of ancestors before venturing farther. The spirits of the departed…

— Lewis Spence

“At Bealltainn, or May Day, every effort was made to scare away the fairies, who were particularly dreaded at this season. In…

— Lewis Spence

“In my view the study of fairy origins assumes a greater degree of importance than popular opinion is wont to concede to…

— Lewis Spence

“It must be understood that in some cases the process by which a god or goddess degenerates into a fairy may occupy…

— Lewis Spence

“All three of the English types I have mentioned can, I think, be accounted for as the results of the presence of…

— Lewis Spence

“Robert Kirk believed the fairies to be the doubles or, as he called them, the 'co-walkers' of men, which accompanied them through…

— Lewis Spence

“I should add, however, that, particularly on the occasion of Samhain, bonfires were lit with the express intention of scaring away the…

— Lewis Spence

“It must not be thought, however, that in pagan Ireland Fairyland was altogether conceived as a Hades or place of the dead.…

— Lewis Spence

“To sum up: all nature-spirits are not the same as fairies; nor are all fairies nature-spirits. The same applies to the relationship…

— Lewis Spence

“In all likelihood fairies of larger stature were ancient gods in a state of decay, while their diminutive congeners were the swarming…

— Lewis Spence

“...some evidence seems to exist that an idea prevailed that in the fairy sphere there is a reversal of the seasons, our…

— Lewis Spence

“Some discussion of the nature and temperament of the fairies is necessary in view of its possible bearing on their origin. J.…

— Lewis Spence

“And even these ((the common hill fairy, the standard elf of folk-lore) are in danger of being banished into the limbo of…

— Lewis Spence

“This brings me to the question of the antiquity of the belief in fairies and to the associated problem of the existence…

— Lewis Spence

“On the conversion of the European tribes to Christianity the ancient pagan worship was by no means incontinently abandoned. So wholesale had…

— Lewis Spence

“Quite a number of writers comment on the decidedly human character of the fairies, but it must be obvious that practically all…

— Lewis Spence