Number 5
Gancanagh
Gancanagh is also known as the Love-Talker.
They are male fairies and they like company.
They seem to be easily lonely creatures that wants a lot of sex.
They like the attention, they like giving attention but when they get bored, that's
it, good bye fair maiden that got seduced.
The Gancanagh are said to be a relative of the Leprechauns and Clurichauns but they are
much more handsome and cunning rather than looking drunk or like a prankster.
They were always seen sporting a clay or wooden pipe which they never actually use probably
to look manlier or cooler.
They have the power to somehow cast a spell on the women they're interested in to somehow
make them seem like the man of their dreams.
Like I said earlier, they like company.
They like to hang out with other males no matter what species and tell raunchy jokes
or stories about their deed.
With women, once a Gancanagh found a girl they find interesting, he would stalk the
woman and listen in on her innermost thoughts and desires.
He would then magically appear in front of the woman in the most flattering pose and
appearance the girl desired in a man making it seem like its a dream.
The woman would then be speechless and would start holding her hand out as if to confirm
that the man posing there, the man that magically appeared there, is real.
That is actually a trap because once their skin is touched, just once, the woman would
then be madly obsessed with the Gancanagh giving him access to do whatever he wants
with the woman.
Of course, once the Gancanagh got bored, he would literally disappear from the woman's life.
But the woman would still be under his spell and would die from a broken heart.
Number 4
Sluagh
The Sluagh are spirits of the dead that are trapped on earth not able to move on.
They travel in groups, flying like a flock of deadly shadowy birds seeking for souls
to join them in their journey of no where.
Because those that becomes the Sluagh will forever be stuck, roaming the earth with no
purpose other than making other souls suffer along with them.
They are said to always fly from the west, so some Irish families would keep their west-facing
windows shut to stop the Sluagh from entering their home especially when someone is dying.
Though, they don't just target those who are dying or those who wishes to die.
Maybe because of jealousy, even the healthy and happy could get their souls taken.
Also, apparently, I shouldn't have said their name because that's one way for them to target you.
Hmmm...
Number 3
Changelings
This is more of a European folklore rather than Irish specifically as stories of them
could be found in Ireland, the British Isles, Germany, Scandinavia and Spain.
Stories of the creature varies from region to region but the creatures in these stories
are definitely the same.
A changeling is a fairy that is exchanged with a human baby or child.
So if you see your child changing into something different such as unusual facial features,
darker skinned, has deformed limbs, has unrelenting crying or even wanting breast milk all the
time, the baby might have been changed with a changeling OR the child is just sick and
has some sort of developmental or congenital disorders.
But I digress, for the sake of this video, lets just say that it is definitely a changeling.
Now, baby's that are at risk of being changed are usually beautiful ones as fairies are
said to be attracted to beauty and music.
Apparently fairy babies are NOT beautiful and usually deformed.
Note that the word faerie, F-A-E-R-I-E, is not limited to the small cute creatures with
wings but it has a more wider meaning like Yokai.
Sometimes they don't exchange the human child with their own, rather they would change with
a sick member of their family of any age in hopes of getting nursed back to health.
So, having a changeling was said to bring bad luck to the household as the changeling
would be a good-for-nothing, trick loving and sickly child.
But they do have one interesting quality which is having an affinity to music and get crazy
good with a musical instrument.
There are several methods for revealing or even returning the Changelings.
Some are pretty sick as it could actually kill the child if they made a mistake.
Some of the dangerous methods includes holding the child over a hot stove or the fireplace
and the other is by holding the child under water.
This is to shock the changeling into sensing danger and leaving the household.
Another way is by confusing the changeling by doing things weirdly such as cooking in
an eggshell to get them so confused by your actions it would be tempted to talk and blow their cover.
Number 2
Leanan Sidhe
We could say they're a bit like the Gancanagh in that they have humans as lovers.
They are beautiful fairy women and has a soft spot for artists.
A Leanan Sidhe craves love from them.
So with her beauty and love she becomes the artist's muse at the cost of her sucking the
life force out of the man causing premature death.
Even if she leaves a man early, the man would be lost without his inspiration and might
fall in despair causing him to commit suicide or die because of heartbreak.
So you can never break the death curse once you fall in love with a Leanan Sidhe or when
a Leanan Sidhe falls in love with you.
Anyways, the Leanan Sidhe reminds me of the Manga called "The Ancient Magus' Bride" or
Mahoutsukai no Yome.
If you like Manga and British mythological creatures I think you'd like it.
The Leanan Sidhe was featured in a couple chapters in it, that's why it reminded me of the manga.
Number 1
Balor, King of the Fomoire
He was a deadly one.
The Demonic one-eyed God of Death or the Evil King.
So rather than a normal creature, he was more of a mythical monster.
He was the head, chief or king of the demonic race called the Fomoire.
The Fomoire are supernatural beings of demonic giants.
They are said to have come from the seas and are known to have darker skin.
They are said to not be in Ireland anymore and have went back to the sea.
Now, Balor looks like a cyclops being a giant with an eye on his forehead but that eye is
said to be deadly and he actually has another eye on the back of his head.
He always keeps the eye on his forehead closed because if he opens them, whoever or whatever
he sees will die.
Some legends says that Balor covered his eye with 7 layers of cloth or cloaks and by taking
the cloaks off one by one could bring different kinds of destruction with the last one gone,
the whole land will be on fire.
Apparently Balor got the Demonic eye by accident.
When he was young, curiosity got the best of him.
He was looking at his father's Druids secretly while they were studying or manifesting some death spells.
The fumes from the spell got into Balor's eye and it never left him, giving his eye
the power to kill.
Currently, Balor is dead.
Killed by his grandson Lugh who managed to smash his eye using a slingshot during battle.