Swapling - Blog Posts

Fun Fact:

Did you know that if you grew up in Ireland, you were at risk of being kidnapped by faeries?

In Irish legend, a parent's greatest fear was that their child would get abducted and replaced with a look-alike called a "changeling" (also known as an "auf", "oaf" or "swapling") and there were a few ways for them to tell when this happened. Because in the beginning, the changeling looked very similar to their child, but over time, they would develop undeniable physical differences. Sometimes that meant looking sickly and not growing to a normal size, their teeth could turn long and pointy, and occasionally they'd grow a beard at a remarkably young age. According to folklorists, oftentimes when a parent realized their child had been swapped, they would kill the imposter, leading to awkward conversations with significant others on the occasions that they suspected wrong.

But what happened to the kids who were spirited away? It depends on the legend, but sometimes they were delivered to the devil himself, forced to become servants to the faeries, they could be eaten by faeries or even lovingly raised by them.

Keep an eye on your baby...if that really is your baby...