Folklore: Meet the Boggart
A Brownie with the habits of a Poltergeist!
When it comes to legends surrounding the races of what might be lumped together as ‘the Little People,’ it is very difficult to know where to start because there are so many different species and sub-species: elves and faeries, goblins and kobolds, and then there is the extended brownie family, which includes bodachs, dobies, pwca, pixies, bogies, bogles, hobs, hogoblins and this month’s focus: the boggart.
Cryptozoology and faerie lore authors are divided over whether brownies and their ilk are a form of solitary fairy or a subset of the goblin clans because they can simultaneously display aspects of both races: at one moment helpful while at another malicious. This is particularly true with boggarts, whose pranks can on occasions become so extreme, annoying and disruptive that they could be mistaken for what we’d nowadays call a poltergeist manifestation.
At the heart of the brownie phenomenon is a creature that has an almost symbiotic relationship with humans (the Big People) and in return for a warm place to stay and regular food, brownies will help with chores and jobs around the home, the farm, the workplace and, in more recent times, the office. But there is a catch (as there inevitably is in all dealings with the Little People) and that is etiquette requires you should never reward brownies directly for their work.
For example, you don’t give them food, instead you put it in a place where they can ‘find’ it. Thus a mother might say to her children: “There’s a slice of cake left that would feed a brownie,” then put it on a sideboard for the brownie to take later that evening.
However the corollary is you should also never take their help for granted or start complaining their work is not good enough. Do this, and you risk turning your friendly brownie into an angry boggart.
There’s an old Scottish tale about a brownie called Maggy Moloch (there are multiple variations on the spelling of her name) who moved into a farm in the Highlands, where she helped the servants with various household chores. They in return would leave out bread, cream and honey for Maggy to find, as well as ensure the hearth was stacked with peat and logs at night so Maggy had somewhere warm to sleep.
The farmer soon realized how valuable Maggy was, noticing she was not only doing a lot of work his servants had previously undertaken but was also far cheaper to employ than people. In true capitalist style he therefore sacked his servants, assuming he could rely on Maggy. But Maggy rebelled, going on strike and turning boggart by endlessly tormenting the farmer, throwing and smashing things about the house, and preventing him from getting a good night’s sleep. Chaos began to over take the formerly well-run farmhouse and continued until the farmer finally saw the error of his ways, apologized to Maggy, and re-employed all his former servants.
If you have brownies in your house, it’s a blessing but be careful not to upset their feelings and never ever take them for granted.
