There are fairy-dead counties in England, counties from which no or few fairy legends survive, particularly in the south-east. At the top of the league table is fairyless Kent, but not far behind is the Isle of Wight. To the best of my knowledge there is only one nineteenth century-legend and nothing before and that involved a close encounter with fairy dust. It is worth including here because it may – there is a slim chance – confirm the idea much loved of shaggy-haired anthropologists and neo-Murrayians that British ‘shamans’ witches, fairy seers etc used to imbibe magic mushrooms.

read more Hallucinogenic Fairies on the Isle of Wight? – Beachcombing’s Bizarre History Blog.