This month I shall focus on one of the most popular figures in Irish myth and folklore next to the leprechaun and the banshee. I'm talking about the changeling. In most stories, it is a fairy infant that is sickly and dying. In others, it's an elderly fairy that is approaching a similar fate.
Fairies have an attraction for all things beautiful, especially humans -- babies, children, and adults. Some sources say that fairies aren't able to reproduce at the same rate as humans, and if they find a desirable child they will swap it out with a fairy that doesn't have long to live. A bit of illusion casting aka a glamour spell and no one knows the difference.
You can imagine, long ago, when these stories were first told, that infant mortality was pretty high. Children were stillborn or simply got sick and died. It would probably bring some consolation to these distraught families to believe their child was still alive and enjoying that life to the fullest in a magical kingdom.
Abductees weren't limited to children and babies either. Human men and women were said to be taken away by fairies too. These were exceptionally beautiful men and women who often had some sort of special talent. Human-fairy offspring were supposed to be pretty common. These hybrids were able to reproduce much easier than pure-blood fairies.
In my research, I did come across a very famous and very "true" story about an Irish woman who was supposedly kidnapped by fairies. In 1895, in County Tipperary, Ireland, 26 year old Bridget Cleary was murdered by her husband who had claimed she wasn't Bridget at all. Instead, she was a changeling who'd replaced his stolen wife.
Bridget's husband, Michael, worked as a cooper, constructing barrels and other items, while she worked as a dressmaker's assistant. Bridget also took care of local family members, often delivering food and essentials to them. Her husband did not like this very much, especially since on one of her routes she had to pass by a known faerie circle (or faerie mound). These were ancient stone structures, usually circular forts that had long been abandoned by humans and were said to have been taken over by fairies. Legend had it, if you got too close to a faerie circle or a faerie mound, you might get kidnapped -- especially if you were a beautiful and talented young woman like Bridget. Their replacements were supposed to be noticeable, because they displayed strange behavior at times, fell sick, or had some slight difference in their appearance that was only discernible by someone very close to them.
One day, Bridget returned from one of these deliveries and fell very ill. She could not stay warm and complained of a raging pain in her head. This went on for days. Bridget's family came to help. They brought in the local doctor (and a priest to deliver last rites, just in case). The doctor diagnosed Bridget as suffering from “nervous excitement and slight bronchitis” and prescribed some medicine for her. However, the medicine did not work. Michael, Bridget's family, and their neighbors began to suspect there was more going on.
Michael believed that the Bridget that had returned to him was two inches taller now and much "finer looks" than his wife. He came to believe Bridget had been kidnapped by fairies and replaced with a changeling.
Back in those days, there were people actually known as "faerie doctors" who were called in to handle such cases as this. Michael and the rest of Bridget's family brought in one to examine Bridget. He performed some sort of examination and declared that, instead of being a changeling, Bridget was possessed by a faerie. He force fed her an "herbal cure" that would drive it out of her. Witnesses described Bridget as acting "wild and deranged," but she eventually settled down. She then appeared to have returned to normal. That was until she declared she had a powerful craving for fresh milk. Apparently, fairies loved fresh milk.
Michael was then convinced she was, in fact, a changeling, and killed her. He buried her in a shallow grave a quarter mile from their home then camped out by the local faerie circle, where he believed Bridget had been abducted. He waited for three nights, thinking she would be returned.
But, well, I think we can guess what happened.
Michael was arrested for Bridget's murder. The story made international news, and scholars and medical experts are still trying to understand what actually happened. The power of belief is strong. We want answers to things we don't understand. When Bridget fell ill, Michael originally called a doctor, which is something someone who believed in the supernatural wouldn't do -- at least at first. When medicine didn't work, maybe Michael was desperate enough to believe that fairies were real. After all, the belief was still widespread especially in the rural areas of Ireland, and like many others Michael was most likely indoctrinated with stories their antics all his life.
Mental illness might have been an issue too. Michael might have suffered a delusional condition somehow triggered by how distraught he'd become when Bridget took ill.
Or maybe it was a cover-up for an intentional or accidental death.
Bridget was a woman who defied social expectations for that time period. She was married but very independent. She didn't seem to want to be a homemaker. She had her own job and didn't bend to her husband's wishes.
Perhaps Michael got fed up with this. Maybe he was even teased and ridiculed by other men over not being able to "keep his wife in line." He and the other men in the community decided to punish her, using "faerie magic" as an excuse. In the end, Michael and his friends were only charged with manslaughter instead of murder. Maybe the story they told saved them from the gallows.
It's still a mystery. And possibly the basis for a future story.
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