The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries is a sweeping study of Celtic belief in fairies that treats the subject as living tradition, ancient religion, and serious inquiry at once. Drawing on testimony from peasants, priests, poets, scientists, seers, and Celtic scholars across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, W. Y. Evans Wentz argues that fairy lore is not a quaint superstition but part of a deep spiritual system tied to the Otherworld, rebirth, sacred places, and old rites. His years of travel through Celtic landscapes gradually lead him toward the Psychological Theory of fairies, which he presents as the best explanation for these experiences, while also weighing naturalistic, Pygmy, and Druid theories. The book moves from living folklore and ancient literature to religious meaning and psychical research, exploring the Sidhe, Arthurian tradition, megaliths, holy wells and trees, purgatory, and Christian transformations of older beliefs. At its heart, it asks readers to see fairies as part of a broader invisible reality shared with gods, spirits, angels, and the dead. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.