The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies

Robert Kirk’s account presents Scottish traditions about elves, fauns, fairies and other subterranean beings, described through reports linked to Highland communities and second-sight seers. These entities occupy a position between human and angelic nature, with changeable bodies and hidden dwellings beneath the earth.

The text records beliefs about fairyland and the dead, apparitions, changelings, illness attributed to fairy influence, and animals said to be elf-shot. It also considers how these beings affect ordinary domestic life, from taking grain and milk to making sounds beneath the hills. Written in 1691, the work survived in manuscript before its first known printing in 1815, preserving a distinctive account of Scottish fairy belief.