Territorial Faerie Behaviors
Mar. 2nd, 2012 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
potato_headHey look, a post!
This is just some info on territorial faerie behaviors.
Most interesting (to me) is that I don't actually know what a territorial faerie looks like. Only one person I know of has directly observed a faerie, undisguised, that was behaving this way, and it seems they may actually be large (approx human-sized or larger) fae that live in small groups. However, that's just from one experience, as I said, and I've never seen them myself.
Places where you might encounter a territorial faerie are primarily wooded roads or graveyards. These are places where there is enough greenery that the faerie(s) can comfortably live there, and feel as if you are intruding on their space by being there. You may also encounter this behavior while hiking or walking through deep woods. They're more likely to try and chase you off at night or in a heavy storm, as with all faerie behavior, but if you're deep in the woods, time of day might not matter.
Territorial/protective behaviors may vary based on location. However, many of them are in patterns of escalation; i.e. the longer you stick around/deeper you try to go, the harder it will work to scare you.
In Graveyards
I would say "we've all heard about 'the devil in the graveyard'" but I've learned to not assume such things because most people don't seek out nearly as much paranormal information as me, LOL. There are many graveyards around that are said to be 'portals to hell', 'occupied by evil', etc. etc.; basically, if you go there at night, they say you might encounter the Devil Himself. Most notable about these graveyards is that you are pretty much guaranteed a personal experience if you do go at night - especially in certain sized groups (2-4 or so people). My guess is this is because a single person isn't as threatening, and larger groups may be enough to make them retreat instead.
Graveyard territorial behaviors have the most pronounced pattern of escalation usually, which is why I'm starting with them. Usually it will begin with sounds; this may include the voices of children, babies crying, whispers, unusual animal sounds, footsteps, and so on. They will get more hostile as you progress into the graveyard or continue to hang around; a good midpoint mark (when it would be a good idea to GTFO) is if you hear a baby wailing loudly, or a woman screaming. Around that point, visual hallucinations may occur - people have reported seeing their names on gravestones, seeing what they think is one of their friends who turns out not to be, counting more people in their group than there should be, etc. At this point I strongly advise retreat unless you feel ready to handle the next stage, which is physical attack - almost always in the form of scratches, as well as occasionally being pushed and grabbed. I have never heard of anyone being seriously injured in this way, but that does not mean it doesn't happen.
The fact is, most people start running once one person is scratched (I also really don't advise running through a graveyard btw, that's dangerous, you are in a field full of large stones with edges) so I don't know much about how far it may go after that. There's been a few reports of people seeing really gruesome apparitions after that point, rotting bodies and so on. There's also been reports where it seems the faerie(s) just gave up at this point.
Also, you don't necessarily have to be inside the graveyard to seem like a threat. Hanging out outside an occupied cemetery at night might make you look like a threat as well, in which case you'll notice the traditional watched/creepy feeling of being focused on by a faerie, as well as possibly odd whispers, seeing Strange Animals (i.e. clearly not mundane) that seem to be staring you down or checking you out, and hearing footfalls that follow you past the graveyard in an attempt to get you to hurry past.
On Wooded Roads
Any road that passes through a substantially wooded area could be plagued by a territorial faerie, but especially at risk are ones that are moderately close to houses/other roads, but not so close that you can see them. There are two major techniques you're likely to see here.
The first is visual/auditory frights. You may see unsettling things, from Strange Animals to grotesque centaurs (yes, there have been multiple reports of these) on the side of the road, or in the road; you may see a ghostly person or animal, and maybe think you've run them over. These kinds of roads tend to get a reputation as having a 'Haunted Hitchiker ghost'. And yes, that does mean something might get in the car with you. You'll probably have some warning before this happens - you may see said 'hitchiker' standing on the side of the road and drive by them before they climb in your car, possibly several times. As for sounds, there are reports in a few locations of the faerie apparently being able to speak through a car radio, although I have never been able to find information on what they actually say, which is intriguing and makes me wonder if it's actual words or just the impression of being spoken to. It is also possible that this is less of an attempt to scare and more of an attempt to actually communicate, as generally people who are spoken to by a faerie tend to interpret it as something unusual, including telepathy or being spoken to by an animal sitting near the faerie rather than the faerie themselves, so hearing it as the car radio is not out of the question.
The second territorial behavior you might encounter here is displacement. Basically, the faerie will just go on and move you out of its territory. In most cases, this is remembered as simply being one place, then suddenly being several miles either up or down the road (yes, sometimes they move you backwards) or on the nearest highway instead. This sounds incredibly alarming, but miraculously I've never heard of it ending in any kind of accident...of course, that may just mean all the accidents were fatal for the person who was moved. You generally won't get any warning before this happens, unfortunately. It may be possible to resist it, however; I have heard of one person doing so, and their experience implies that it isn't actually a matter of instantaneous transportation, but rather a loss of memory regarding being escorted out of their territory, which may explain why it doesn't seem to result in disoriented motorists getting into accidents.
Hiking/Walking in the Woods
This is the one that many people are most likely to encounter. This could happen in just about any wooded area, no matter the size, although deep woods are more likely to contain a territorial fae. The most common method used here is sounds, especially 'charging' - a sound as if something is rushing at you through the undergrowth, that stops right beside or in front or behind of you. They will be attempting to scare you in a particular direction. The other thing you may encounter is, again, displacement. This happens most often to hikers spending the night in the woods; they'll set up camp in one place, wake up somewhere else.
It is also possible that will-o-wisp lights might be used in a territorial way, to lure someone out of said territory; however, this is only speculation, and I've only heard of them being used by predatory or malicious faeries. You should never, ever follow a will-o-wisp. If it's not a malicious faerie, it's probably ball lightning, which is just as dangerous; you might end up electrocuted or in the middle of a forest fire.
Please note there are many other malicious or predatory faerie behaviors you might encounter, especially in the woods. These are just territorial behaviors.
How to avoid aggro'ing a territorial faerie:
The simplest way is, obviously, to stay out of their territory, but sometimes that's not feasible, and a lot of times it's inconvenient.
You can take two approaches: be diplomatic, or ward them off. Being diplomatic would include putting your phone on silent, wearing as little metal as possible, don't carry any noxious chemicals with you or wear strong perfume/deodorant, and don't start any fires unless it's strictly necessary. You may also want to try stating your intentions out loud if you start encountering territorial behavior; inform the faerie(s) that you're just passing through and don't intend them or their land any harm.
If you want them to simply stay away from you, I recommend carrying bells, or anything metal you can jingle or clank together to make a loud noise. Personally I wouldn't do this, it's kind of like walking into someone's house and then pepper spraying them in the face when they ask you wtf you're doing there.
And there you are. This is mostly just a regurgitation of information that I know, but I felt like writing up a real post, and this is what I had P:
This is just some info on territorial faerie behaviors.
Most interesting (to me) is that I don't actually know what a territorial faerie looks like. Only one person I know of has directly observed a faerie, undisguised, that was behaving this way, and it seems they may actually be large (approx human-sized or larger) fae that live in small groups. However, that's just from one experience, as I said, and I've never seen them myself.
Places where you might encounter a territorial faerie are primarily wooded roads or graveyards. These are places where there is enough greenery that the faerie(s) can comfortably live there, and feel as if you are intruding on their space by being there. You may also encounter this behavior while hiking or walking through deep woods. They're more likely to try and chase you off at night or in a heavy storm, as with all faerie behavior, but if you're deep in the woods, time of day might not matter.
Territorial/protective behaviors may vary based on location. However, many of them are in patterns of escalation; i.e. the longer you stick around/deeper you try to go, the harder it will work to scare you.
In Graveyards
I would say "we've all heard about 'the devil in the graveyard'" but I've learned to not assume such things because most people don't seek out nearly as much paranormal information as me, LOL. There are many graveyards around that are said to be 'portals to hell', 'occupied by evil', etc. etc.; basically, if you go there at night, they say you might encounter the Devil Himself. Most notable about these graveyards is that you are pretty much guaranteed a personal experience if you do go at night - especially in certain sized groups (2-4 or so people). My guess is this is because a single person isn't as threatening, and larger groups may be enough to make them retreat instead.
Graveyard territorial behaviors have the most pronounced pattern of escalation usually, which is why I'm starting with them. Usually it will begin with sounds; this may include the voices of children, babies crying, whispers, unusual animal sounds, footsteps, and so on. They will get more hostile as you progress into the graveyard or continue to hang around; a good midpoint mark (when it would be a good idea to GTFO) is if you hear a baby wailing loudly, or a woman screaming. Around that point, visual hallucinations may occur - people have reported seeing their names on gravestones, seeing what they think is one of their friends who turns out not to be, counting more people in their group than there should be, etc. At this point I strongly advise retreat unless you feel ready to handle the next stage, which is physical attack - almost always in the form of scratches, as well as occasionally being pushed and grabbed. I have never heard of anyone being seriously injured in this way, but that does not mean it doesn't happen.
The fact is, most people start running once one person is scratched (I also really don't advise running through a graveyard btw, that's dangerous, you are in a field full of large stones with edges) so I don't know much about how far it may go after that. There's been a few reports of people seeing really gruesome apparitions after that point, rotting bodies and so on. There's also been reports where it seems the faerie(s) just gave up at this point.
Also, you don't necessarily have to be inside the graveyard to seem like a threat. Hanging out outside an occupied cemetery at night might make you look like a threat as well, in which case you'll notice the traditional watched/creepy feeling of being focused on by a faerie, as well as possibly odd whispers, seeing Strange Animals (i.e. clearly not mundane) that seem to be staring you down or checking you out, and hearing footfalls that follow you past the graveyard in an attempt to get you to hurry past.
On Wooded Roads
Any road that passes through a substantially wooded area could be plagued by a territorial faerie, but especially at risk are ones that are moderately close to houses/other roads, but not so close that you can see them. There are two major techniques you're likely to see here.
The first is visual/auditory frights. You may see unsettling things, from Strange Animals to grotesque centaurs (yes, there have been multiple reports of these) on the side of the road, or in the road; you may see a ghostly person or animal, and maybe think you've run them over. These kinds of roads tend to get a reputation as having a 'Haunted Hitchiker ghost'. And yes, that does mean something might get in the car with you. You'll probably have some warning before this happens - you may see said 'hitchiker' standing on the side of the road and drive by them before they climb in your car, possibly several times. As for sounds, there are reports in a few locations of the faerie apparently being able to speak through a car radio, although I have never been able to find information on what they actually say, which is intriguing and makes me wonder if it's actual words or just the impression of being spoken to. It is also possible that this is less of an attempt to scare and more of an attempt to actually communicate, as generally people who are spoken to by a faerie tend to interpret it as something unusual, including telepathy or being spoken to by an animal sitting near the faerie rather than the faerie themselves, so hearing it as the car radio is not out of the question.
The second territorial behavior you might encounter here is displacement. Basically, the faerie will just go on and move you out of its territory. In most cases, this is remembered as simply being one place, then suddenly being several miles either up or down the road (yes, sometimes they move you backwards) or on the nearest highway instead. This sounds incredibly alarming, but miraculously I've never heard of it ending in any kind of accident...of course, that may just mean all the accidents were fatal for the person who was moved. You generally won't get any warning before this happens, unfortunately. It may be possible to resist it, however; I have heard of one person doing so, and their experience implies that it isn't actually a matter of instantaneous transportation, but rather a loss of memory regarding being escorted out of their territory, which may explain why it doesn't seem to result in disoriented motorists getting into accidents.
Hiking/Walking in the Woods
This is the one that many people are most likely to encounter. This could happen in just about any wooded area, no matter the size, although deep woods are more likely to contain a territorial fae. The most common method used here is sounds, especially 'charging' - a sound as if something is rushing at you through the undergrowth, that stops right beside or in front or behind of you. They will be attempting to scare you in a particular direction. The other thing you may encounter is, again, displacement. This happens most often to hikers spending the night in the woods; they'll set up camp in one place, wake up somewhere else.
It is also possible that will-o-wisp lights might be used in a territorial way, to lure someone out of said territory; however, this is only speculation, and I've only heard of them being used by predatory or malicious faeries. You should never, ever follow a will-o-wisp. If it's not a malicious faerie, it's probably ball lightning, which is just as dangerous; you might end up electrocuted or in the middle of a forest fire.
Please note there are many other malicious or predatory faerie behaviors you might encounter, especially in the woods. These are just territorial behaviors.
How to avoid aggro'ing a territorial faerie:
The simplest way is, obviously, to stay out of their territory, but sometimes that's not feasible, and a lot of times it's inconvenient.
You can take two approaches: be diplomatic, or ward them off. Being diplomatic would include putting your phone on silent, wearing as little metal as possible, don't carry any noxious chemicals with you or wear strong perfume/deodorant, and don't start any fires unless it's strictly necessary. You may also want to try stating your intentions out loud if you start encountering territorial behavior; inform the faerie(s) that you're just passing through and don't intend them or their land any harm.
If you want them to simply stay away from you, I recommend carrying bells, or anything metal you can jingle or clank together to make a loud noise. Personally I wouldn't do this, it's kind of like walking into someone's house and then pepper spraying them in the face when they ask you wtf you're doing there.
And there you are. This is mostly just a regurgitation of information that I know, but I felt like writing up a real post, and this is what I had P:
