The twelve court cards of the Creatures of the Fae playing card deck, one post per figure.
The Red Cap of Border folklore: Henderson’s description, the blood-dyed cap, the one defence against him, and Robin Redcap, familiar of Lord Soulis of Hermitage Castle. Jack of Clubs in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
The cat sìth of Highland folklore: the great black faery cat with the white spot, the late wake kept to guard the dead from it, the taghairm, the King of the Cats and the saucer of milk at Samhain. Queen of Clubs in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
Goblins in folklore: the demon Gobelinus of 12th-century Évreux, the knockers and kobolds of the mines, Goblin Market, MacDonald’s goblin king and Labyrinth. King of Clubs in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
Gwyn ap Nudd, king of the Tylwyth Teg and lord of Annwn: the May Day fight for Creiddylad, the hounds of the Wild Hunt, and St Collen on Glastonbury Tor. Jack of Spades in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
Queen Mab, from Mercutio’s speech to Shelley and the Winter Queen: where the name may come from, the dreams and elf-locks she brings, and why she is the Unseelie queen. Queen of Spades in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
The Erlking: how a Danish elf-king became Herder’s alder-king, Goethe’s poem of the dying child, Schubert’s song, and the seductive, lethal elves of Scandinavian ballad. King of Spades in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
The leprechaun of Irish folklore: an eighth-century water-sprite, the solitary cobbler with his crock of gold, the red garter trick, and why the green suit is American. Jack of Hearts in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
Pixies, the faeries of Devon and Cornwall: pixy-leading and the inside-out coat, the night-ridden horses, Mrs Bray’s Dartmoor lore and the Ottery St Mary bells. Queen of Hearts in the Creatures of the Fae deck.
The brownie of Scottish and northern English folklore: what he looks like, the work he does, the bowl of cream, and why a gift of clothes drives him away. King of Hearts in the Creatures of the Fae deck.