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? asked in Society & CultureMythology & Folklore · 1 decade ago

Phookas: Seelie or Unseelie?

This is actually a poll, as I'm rather curious about the opinions of others.

Phookas are, as you surely know, generally portrayed as being unseelie.

However, I choose to disagree. Most of the phookas' evil is targeted at the drunk, and they never even kill. at least not since the days of High King Brian Boru. They don't seriously harm anyone, only terrify them. Personally, I believe the drunk well deserve this punishment.

Then, there's the good that the phookas do. It's not written about in many publications, since they've been popularly dubbed as "evil faeries," but they often worked on human farms, rather like brownies.

The only act they've ever been known to do that is truly unforgivable is their torment of livestock, but as often as it is an aspect included in their description, it isn't written about in the lore very often.

So, what is your opinion? Please justify, include sources, and feel free to discuss any other aspects that you wish. Thanks!

1 Answer

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  • 1 decade ago
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    Pookas are bonded to Water and Darkness. They live in and around lakes and rivers. They look like horses with wet, glossy coats. They can come in all natural horse colors, and they have no markings, being a solid color all over. Their hooves are well-trimmed and have a metallic sheen. Their eyes can appear slightly crazed with a hint of a blue glow. Silver and iron will hurt a pooka, and legend says platinum will destroy it. Sunlight will hurt a pooka but causes no lasting damage, and pookas never appear in daylight.

    A pooka feeds on terror and death energies. It has the ability to emanate a compulsion for one to get on the pooka's back for a ride. Once this happens, the rider is doomed, for the pooka will plunge underwater and slowly drown its victim, savoring first the terror and then the death. Legend says that the souls of the victims serve the pooka after death, but I have never been able to confirm this. Pookas can not be befriended. To escape a pooka one must resist the urge to ride it and leave the area. As long as one does not mount a pooka it has no power. The compulsion it emanates is powerful but not irrisistable.

    Source(s): Druid
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