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alp-luachra

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | 597 words | Copyright

alp-luachra. An Irish instance of an international type of fairy known as the joint-eater. The alp-luachra may be male or female; it inhabits the body of a human, much as a tapeworm in everyday life, and consumes most of the food the poor victim tries to eat. It may also sit beside the victim. Douglas Hyde recounts a story in Beside the Fire (London, 1890) of a man infested with thirteen alp-luachra. He was advised to eat a great quantity of salt beef while drinking nothing. He was then made to lie down with his open mouth above a stream until the fairies jumped out to quench their thirst.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "alp-luachra." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "alp-luachra." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-alpluachra.html

JAMES MacKILLOP. "alp-luachra." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-alpluachra.html

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