The Real-Life Origins of Taboo Fairy Romance
In 1656, Karin Svensdotter stood trial in the southern Swedish village of Sävsjö on an unusual charge: fornication with supernatural beings. Specifically, the court was investigating the young housemaid’s claims that she had a relationship with the King of the Fairies. Svensdotter testified that several years before, she had been approached by a handsome man dressed in gold who called himself the Älvakungen, meaning “Elf King.” (Elf can be used generically for all humanlike spirits of nature, similar to...














