We have Laura here with us today, who blogs at Laura Howard: Finding Bliss, and she is talking about the differences between Fairy tales and Faerie tales! Let's hear what she has to say!
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When you think of fairy tales, do you imagine towering castles and lovely princesses — or perhaps adorable pixies with bluebell caps hiding behind azalea bushes?
As a girl, those are all the things I dreamed of. I spent hours reading stories of handsome knights and mysterious mermaids, picturing myself in the role of heroine.
It wasn't until after my 30th birthday that I discovered the darker side of fairy tales — Faerie Tales. My first taste came in the form of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely. In this story, I met equally beautiful and terrible creatures that were nothing like the fairies I'd grown up with. I was hooked! I went on to read Holly Black's Tithe and once again was transfixed by the idea that pixies and elves would be more likely to trick you into dancing til your feet were stubs than to grant you your hearts desire.
Now, I've read dozens of spins on the darker side of Faerie. One in particular that inspired me in my own writing is the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier. This series combines a retelling of the Seven Swans fairy tale with another twist on fairies. In her work, the creatures known as the Good People or the Fair Folk are actually the descendants of the Celtic gods of pre-Christian Ireland. The Tuatha de Danaan, or children of the goddess Dana, were forced underground once the humans took to Christianity.
The fun part of this magical race is that they see themselves as highly superior and when the mood strikes they will go to great lengths to cause trouble for humans.
Whether you like stories with sweet flower fairies or you prefer the dark and disturbing side of the Fae, it's easy to see why fairy tales remain so popular, even amongst thirty something's: they offer us a chance to leave the ordinary behind and play pretend while we're lost in their pages.
