FIVE DARK TALES OF THE GOOD FOLK BY A.J. ELWOOD THE COTTINGLEY CUCKOO

14/4/2021

feature FIVE DARK TALES OF THE GOOD FOLK BY A.J. ELWOOD THE THE COTTINGLEY CUCKOO

Looking into the murky reaches of the past, fairy lore tells us that the good folk aren’t quite what small children think – tiny, beautiful beings, waving magic wands, flitting around and generally living up to their name. In fact, people didn’t refer to them as ‘the good people’ because it was accurate, but just in case any of them happened to be listening. They really didn’t want a fairy taking offence. Some of their punishments easily crossed the line from fantasy into horror: blinding people for spying on them for example, or stealing babies away and leaving changelings in their place.

Here are five of my favourite dark reads about the folk:

You Let Me In, Camilla Bruce

‘Blood, birch, and bone. Water, roots and stones. No sympathy can grow from such things.’

There’s dark, dangerous magic in You Let Me In. A best-selling author vanishes and bequeaths her house in the woods to her niece and nephew – but there are strings attached. The document she leaves behind tells the disturbing tale of a childhood spent in the shadow of a faerie creature, the Pepper-Man, and his almost vampiric relationship with her. But how reliable is she as a narrator? This is a splendid meeting of psychological horror and darkly glistening fairy tale. It also looks at another aspect of old lore – the conflation of the land of fairy with that of the dead. I loved every twisted minute of it.

The Book of Hidden Things, Francesco Dimitri

‘Those seven days were the sort of real-life horror story that pops into your mind when you are in a particularly low mood and you want to hurt yourself a little more.’

The Book of Hidden Things has an entirely different but equally vivid atmosphere. It’s set in sun-soaked Puglia and offers a razor-sharp, witty portrayal of male friendship, yet it too has a disappearance at its heart. Art vanished for a time when he was a child, and the others know that he’s never told the truth of where he went. Now he’s vanished again, leaving the eponymous book behind him, promising to reveal dark secrets about the world – and the magical place that lies beyond it. But just how far are they prepared to go in search of it? An absolutely compulsive read.

The Good People, Hannah Kent

‘The night ground down the hours. Many of the people, dulled and comforted by the heady fumes of burning coltsfoot, lay down to sleep on the floor, plumping beds out of heather and rushes and slurring prayers.’

This is a tale of a suspected fairy changeling, full of ancient lore and set in rural Ireland in the early nineteenth century. Nóra’s four-year-old grandson can no longer speak or walk, and the rumours are spreading: that he is a changeling, and will bring misfortune to the whole valley. And so Nóra goes to the local healer, who understands the use of herbs and berries, along with the old charms for casting a fairy out. Events are portrayed with great realism: Kent brilliantly captures the details of everyday life and the nuances of the characters’ speech.

The Kind Folk, Ramsey Campbell

‘She believed if you could see the old things you gave them life.’

Another tale of changelings, The Kind Folk examines the presence of fairies in our everyday lives. Luke is thrown into turmoil when he discovers his supposed biological parents somehow aren’t . . . so where did he come from? His uncle’s diary may have secrets to reveal, but meanwhile, Luke starts to be haunted by strange figures, half seen or suspected, who seem to be trying to communicate with him. But what do they want with him and his pregnant girlfriend? There’s an intriguing mystery here, and quite possibly a little magic still lingering in the world . . .

Fearie Tales, Stephen Jones (Editor)

‘How did you lose your eye?’
The nurse, who had a porcelain eye as blue and white as a china plate, said: ‘Oh, I don’t remember. Maybe I left it lying around, and the Silken People stole it away.’

Not one dark tale but many, this anthology offers twisted versions of traditional fairy stories by some of the best in the genre. The contemporary tales are interspersed with some of the originals collected by the Grimms, demonstrating just how dark they could be. It includes stories by Neil Gaiman, Angela Slatter, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Tanith Lee, Peter Crowther and Robert Shearman, among other stellar names. My favourite is ‘The Silken People’ by Joanne Harris (quoted above), a concise piece that nevertheless packs a huge punch. It’s a cracking anthology, and another reminder, if one were needed, that some fairy tales are definitely not for children.

A.J. Elwood

A. J. Elwood studied literature and history, which everyone assured her would never have any direct relevance to what she ended up doing with her life. She remains fascinated by those times when people could believe in things we think of as madness and have perfectly good reasons for doing so. An early obsession with fairy tales has stayed with her and she loves to pen stories that hopefully contain a little bit of magic and often more than a little of the strange. She also writes under Alison Littlewood.

The Cottingley Cuckoo

Captivated by books and stories, Rose dreams of a more fulfilled life, away from the confines of the Sunnyside Care Home where she works to support herself and her boyfriend. She hopes the situation will be short term.

Charlotte Favell, an elderly resident, takes a strange, sinister interest in Rose, but offers an unexpected glimpse of enchantment. She has a mysterious and aged stack of letters about the Cottingley Fairies, the photographs made famous by Arthur Conan Doyle, but later dismissed as a hoax. The author of the letters insists he has proof that the fairies exist; Rose is eager to learn more, but Charlotte only allows her to read on when she sees fit.

Discovering she is unexpectedly pregnant, Rose feels another door to the future has slammed. The letters’ content grows more menacing, inexplicable events begin to occur inside her home, and Rose begins to entertain dark thoughts about her baby and its origins. Can this simply be depression? Or is something darker taking root?