Similar to the Scottish Brownie, the Irish Bean-tighe (pronounced ban-tee) is one of the benevolent Irish house fairies that looks after a nice family. It is very good luck to have a Brownie living in your house, not just for the fact that they help with chores, but also because they keep bad spirits away and bring abundance to the family. Harry Potter gives Dobie a sock, thereby granting Dobie his freedom from servitude to the Malfoy family. JK Rowling uses this bit of lore in her famous novel series.

Folklore says to never give clothing to a Brownie (or any house elf) as they will take the gift and leave. Attract them to your home with offerings of bread, honey, sweet cream, cakes and ale. The Brownie enjoys a family who is kind and hard-working, and typically takes up residence in a warm nook or cranny like an undisturbed cupboard or high shelf. The Mother Goose Rhyme “I Had a Little Rooster” demonstrates the belief in the Brownie taking on the form of the Rooster. Others believe the rooster is actually a friend of the Brownie’s and crows to tell him when to go to bed (although humans believe the rooster crows to wake us up in the morning). He brings in food and firewood, and is a shapeshifter who shifts into the form of a rooster to crow in the morning. When the woman of the house goes to bed, he finishes her chores.

The Brownie’s temperament is mild, and he is rather helpful with chores around the house. The Brownie resides in Scotland, but some say the Scottish immigrants brought the Brownie with them to the United States and Canada in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. The Brownie is a small male creature, between one and two feet tall, who takes up residence in a deserving family’s home. The most well-known and loved house elf in folklore is the Scottish Brownie.

Some are beneficial to have in your home, while others might wreak havoc should you piss them off. There’s the Clurichaun and Beantighe in Ireland, and the Moniacello in Italy.

The Scottish have the Brownie, which is the most well-known of the house elves. Wouldn’t that be nice to have a fairy in your home helping you finish your chores while you sleep?ĭepending on the region, there are different types of house elves and house fairies and different names for each. The house elf finished the woman of the house’s leftover cleaning, cooking, and mending. Before Alexa and Google Home devices to remind us when to complete our errands and chores, there were lucky people who had house fairies who helped with chores around the house.

House elf