Jersey's Faerie Folk
With it's abundance of beautiful flowers, Jersey is a perfect place for faeries. Legend says they inhabited the island long before humans. While some believe faeries are responsible for moving the St Brelade's Bay church away from their special place, that is not the only faerie story from the island. There are many references to faeries in Jersey. There is the Fairy Cave at Ouaisané, Witches rock at Rocqueberg has also been called The Fairies Rock and many prehistoric sites are widely believed to have been built by fairies,
The Dolmens and Menhir Stones
The dolmen are believed to mark the passages to the faerie world and therefore dangerous to disturb. When the Société Jersiaise excavated the dolmen at Grantez in 1912 an elderly man from the parish challenged the workmen. He reportedly shouted (in French) "Such sacrilege! But if you have disturbed the faeries you'll have brought such trouble on the neighbourhood!"
While some faerie folk are benevolent some are not. It is said that goblins dance around these rocks and if they catch you, you will be forced to join the dance until you dance yourself to death.
Le Lavoir des Dames
In Sorel Point there is a naturally formed rockpool called Le Lavoir des Dames. It translates to the ladies wash house. It is actually meant to be a place where faeries bathe. Many people visit and bathe in it themselves but it was said any man who saw the fairies bathing would instantly be struck blind. Women were okay of course, we look similar after all.
Fontaine des Mittes
Near Belle Hougue Point in Trinity is a spring. Two nymphs called Arna and Aiuna live in the spring and the water can cure both blindness and dumbness. Another story is that the nymphs lived in a grotto at La Belle Hougue Point, at the end of their lives they cried and the tears were so pure they could not be absorbed by the ground and so became the spring.
Petit Port
A bay in Jersey it is known for it's Autumn waves of up to three metres. As the summer is a quiet time for the sea it is not popular with surfers but is often part of a walk from Corbiere. Beneath a house on a small hill in the area is said to be a hidden passage to the underworld where a cursed treasure beyond imagining is hidden. This portal is guarded by a dog that sounds similar to the Black Dog of Bouley Bay. Legend says that those brave souls who have gone in search of the treasure never returned.
Jersey, with it's abundance of flowers and beautiful scenery, is a refuge for faeries both benevolent and vicious. As long as they are respected, and perhaps feared, they don't seem to do too much harm and simply want to live their lives. Another supernatural lifeform the islanders share their home with.
