Day XLVI - Leprechaun

Mischievous littl'uns,

Icon of Emerald Isle,

Dapper fairy folk.

Much-loved little fellows who stand as a supreme symbol of Irishness, Leprechauns are commonly characterised as being around three feet tall and wear dandy green or red clothes. The fairy folk are native to Ireland and have found themselves the victims of the tourism industry and twee stereotyping, but the magic little buggers have their origins way back in the Middle Ages (as shall be revealed by the new National Leprechaun Museum set to open this year) and there are variations on the nature of Leprechauns depending on region and storyteller. Leprechauns are said to enjoy making shoes (dapper, smart gentlemen they are, sartorial concerns are crucial), playing practical jokes and making mischief. All in all, whether they are solitary Emerald Isle spirits or über-Irish icons associated with rainbow ends and pots of gold, Leprechauns are awesome. All praise the perky little people of the Emerald Isle!

Day XXI - Banshee

Ominous wailing,

Female spirit foretells doom,
Irih mourning call.

A sign of death in Irish mythology and folklore, the Banshee is a female spirit that wails or cries to warn of tragedy to come. Celtic tradition has the weeping ghostly woman - either beautiful or an ugly hag depending on the tale - giving ill omens and portents to noble families through the form of melancholy singing or sad low-howling. Should a human see the spirit of misfortune or hear her caterwauling outside their house, they know that the end is nigh. The mortality forecaster for noble Celtic families is said to live in fairy-mounds and may also be able to take on animal-form and appear as a weasel or crow. Regardless, the sorrowful sound of the Banshee is bad news.

Day I - Jimmy Squarefoot

Hog-headed rambler,

Tusks held high and standing tall,

Feet look like boxes.

Day one, and the supernatural being to start things off is giant phantom pig-head (literally, I bet he's a nice fella really) Jimmy Squarefoot. Authoritative sources state that he's a peaceful wanderer who - depending on who you believe - may have ended up as a ghostly half-man-half-boar after being ridden by an angry stone-chucking giant or was himself the nasty stone-thrower who got his kicks lobbing rocks at his wife. Either way, Jimmy Squarefoot has the honour of being the first to be honoured in scribble and screwy haiku...