To celebrate Samhain, aka Halloween, and the upcoming release of my novella, The Fae Effect, a part of the Some Like It Haunted Collection, I will be featuring some of the citizens from the darker side of the Fae world. As you may know, The Fae Effect is grounded in traditional Irish and the broader Celtic folklore, which is one of my life-long passions and I am so excited to share this story with you soon.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to this week’s feature, the Red Caps.

Legends describe them as evil goblins with beady red eyes, a short and thick body, stringy hair and holding pickaxes. Basically think of the most disgusting, unwashed old man. But there is nothing frail about these creatures. They are murderous things who is not afraid to go after any human. In fact, their signature is to dip their caps in their victim’s blood. Yups, that is where the red colour comes from.

You can find versions of this creature, first originating from Border folklore, in lots of pop culture media, from the world of Harry Potter to the Dungeons and Dragons franchise. Each has their own take on the Red Caps, but the unified theme of them dipping their caps in their victim’s blood remains.

They are said to live in castles and ruins where wicked deeds have been committed. And we all know just how much blood-shedding the old kings and queens did in their homes which made their places ideal dwellings for the equally blood-thirsty Red Caps.

I’ve always pictured them as evil versions of the dwarves from Snow White. Perhaps it’s because of their floppy hats or maybe it is their pickaxe. But trust me when I say that their appearance in The Fae Effect is not a happy one.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned. Next Saturday, I will be featuring the Dullahan. Yes, it’s the headless horseman and he is creepy af.

For more information about The Fae Effect, please visit https://pstormcrow.com/TheFaeEffect