Pixie-Led on Dartmoor
On Dartmoor, people who lost their way in a place they knew well said they'd been 'pixie-led'. The cure was to turn your coat inside out.
What was reported
In the folklore of Devon and Cornwall, pixies were small, mischievous beings who lived on the moors. One of their favourite tricks was to lead travellers astray, so that a person walking a familiar path would suddenly find themselves lost, going round in circles, unable to find the way home.
This was called being 'pixie-led'. The remedy was to turn your coat or pockets inside out, which confused the pixies and broke the spell. People also left offerings to keep them happy.
Explanations offered
The sudden disorientation of being lost, especially in fog on the moors, is a real and frightening experience, and pixie-leading gave it a cause. The word 'pixilated', meaning confused or eccentric, may come from it.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Dartmoor, Devon, England, UK
- Witnesses
- Devon and Cornwall folklore
- Status
- Folklore
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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