A Real Life Fairy Tale Murder
Posted by Sean on March 18th, 2009
Most of us see fairies as the most harmless of folklore. The Cottingley Fairy hoax perpetrated by Elsie Wright in 1916 comes to mind. What’s the harm? Stories to do with fairies are most often adorable tales of dainty little creatures doing pleasant things. The real life Irish fairy tale of Bridget Cleary however is a few shades darker than your average Guinness.
In 1895 she was murdered by her husband in Ireland, his claim was that she had been abducted by evil fairies and a changeling had been left in her place. After refusing to give her medicine because he didn’t believe in it, a priest visited to give Bridget her last rights before her husband burned her to death.
I don’t know which is more disturbing: burning your wife to death because you believe her to be a fairy, or refusing to give her medicine because of your purported faith. Bridget’s husband Michael was sentenced to fifteen years in prison on manslaughter charges in a highly publicized and controversial court case.
The nefarious incident has remained popular in the Irish collective consciousness, inspiring poems, literature and off color jokes. The legend has even crossed the Atlantic to inspire the name of a Celtic Fiddle band from Pennsylvania.
Twitter this
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:22 am
wow, i never knew fairies could harm you!
August 15th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I know a real fairy.
Her name is Kelly Bukovic.
She was born in 1998.
She is 10 years old and is going into 6th grade at South West Middle in Orlando,FL, USA.
She has dark brown eyes and long light brown hair with bangs.
She claims to be a water fairy.
August 15th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
i actual know a real fairy.
she is mean and stupid.
October 12th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
they are real
October 20th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I LOVE IT!!!…..ITS DIFFERENT!
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:22 am
that is scary
October 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Ive always look to fairies as these playful, innocent and pretty creatures…i would love to leave it as that.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
ive beleived in fairies my whole life and some are sweet but others are evil it all depends in what you beleive in.i think that the more we beleive in them,they will start to apear.
November 21st, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Wow ppl really believe fairies to be evil?…..so much that a man would tourcher and kill his own wife?…harsh.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
fairies huh? i believ in them after i had an experience with a gnome/elf/ leprechaun whatever u want to call them.. guess where? in mexico, in my dad's home town, with a population of 589, it is really creepy there at night.
December 20th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
micheal man i beleive in u i know fairy where nothing like the ones in the disney stories, there dangerous man they glamor themseft as human kidnap are baby and look like gothics. they're the reason why we have raves so the can kidnap us.
January 17th, 2010 at 5:08 am
these fairies are not real i am disapointed
………………..i hate you.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
I don’t know which is more disturbing: burning your wife to death because you believe her to be a fairy, or refusing to give her medicine because of your purported faith.
February 13th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
well now you do esme they do i sat where the cat sat and i wont tell you the rest and then a bad fairy came and i summoned it back and got a nice fairy
February 13th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
why??
February 13th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
well now you do esme they do i sat where the cat sat and i wont tell you the rest and then a bad fairy came and i summoned it back and got a nice fairy
February 13th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
why??
June 4th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
OMG o_o thts so disturbing
August 22nd, 2010 at 4:19 am
omg super crazy
August 24th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
wow