1925 (ca.): Mrs. Herbert is "Pisky-Led"

In a 1928 issue of the Transactions of the Devonshire Association, a letter written by a Mrs. G. Herbert told of two odd incidents that occured to her that she felt were evidence of fairies known as 'pixies;' the second of these occurred in 1925, when Herbert was about thirty-five years old.

        Herbert was riding a horse on the moors of Dartmoor, England, on a fine sunny day in an area of the moors that she knew well when, suddenly, she utterly lost her way. She knew the places around her but was unable to determine which way to head, a very strange matter indeed. Having determined she was likely "mazed" -- a local term for being "pixy-led" or confused by fairy magic to not find your way -- she began to turn her pockets inside out, which was considered a powerful charm agaist fairy magic in the area and beyond. As she was turning out her pockets, she just as suddenly regained her sense of place and could easily navigate again.

        Though this whole matter sounds odd, the idea of being 'pixy-led' is essentially the same as an effect called the "stray sod" in other parts of Great Britain, the idea being that a patch of ground was cursed by fairies to make travelers loose their way.

        Mrs. Herbert described herself as being 'psychic,' and speculated this was partly why she had the above experience. Twenty-nine years earlier, as a seven-year-old girl, Mrs. Herbert had also seen what she felt was a pixy. Follow the "See Also" link below to read about it.