About

Changelings are a staple of Northern European folklore, and are the swapped children of trolls, fairies, goblins, and other mythical creatures. It was believed that these creatures would steal human children and substitute the stolen child with one of their own, often to serve as better children or servants. (Katharine Briggs, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures "Changelings" (Pantheon Books, 1976) p. 71.)

Origin

There is no particular time for which the Changelings were first found in European folklore, however it is most persistent within the late middle ages, Renaissance, and industrial era. In Ireland, it was believed that to envy someone's baby made them more susceptible to being snatched. (W. B. Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, in A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore (1986), p. 47, New York : Gramercy Books) In England it was believed that fey and trolls were susceptible to certain kinds of herbs. (The Borderer's Table Book: Or, Gatherings of the Local History and Romance of the English and Scottish Border by Moses Aaron Richardson, Printed for the author, 1846. Page.133-134.) In Wales, cooking eggs would frighten changelings. In Scandinavia, changelings were thought to be weak to iron.

Modern Era

In the modern era, belief in changelings has died out, and they are now found mostly in film, animation, and books. However, belief in them actually persisted into the early 1900s, with a woman in 1895 being murdered because her husband suspected her of being a changeling. (Angela Bourke (1 July 2001). The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story. Penguin Group USA.)