The Different Species of Faeries

Asrai: In Brythonic mythology, an Asrai is a type of aquatic faerie similar in some ways to mermaids, nixies, selkies, sirens, or morgens. Some sources describe them as timid and shy, standing only between 2 and 4 feet tall, while others depict them as tall and lithe. They are said to look like beautiful young maidens, sometimes as young as children, while actually being hundreds of years old. They may have webbed hands and feet, resembling some descriptions of selkies
If an Asrai is seen by a man, her beauty is so great that, according to folklore, the man will instantly wish to capture her. The Asrai are as deathly afraid of capture as they are of the sun, for if captured or if even a single ray of sunlight touches them, it is said that they die and turn into a pool of water.
The tale told of one fisherman who caught an Asrai claims that the touch of her skin was so cold, that where the Asrai touched his arm while pleading for her freedom -- and her life -- the flesh has never been warm since.
Their inability to survive daylight is similar to that of the Scottish Fuath.


Banshee: The Banshee from the Irish bean sí ("woman of the side" or "woman of the faerie mounds") is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Her Scottish counterpart is the bean shith (also spelled bean-shidh)
The asos sí ("people of the mounds", "people of peace") are variously believed to be the survivals of pre-Christian Gaelic deities, spirits of nature, or the ancestors. Some Theosophists and Celtic Christians have also referred to the aos sí as "fallen angels". They are commonly referred to in English as "faeries", and the banshee can also be described as a "fairy woman".
In Irish legend, a banshee wails around a house if someone in the house is about to die. There are particular families who are believed to have Banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament (in Irish: caoineadh, [ˈkiːnʲə] or [ˈkiːnʲuː], "caoin" meaning "to weep, to wail") at their funeral. These women singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners" and the best keeners would be in much in demand. Legend has it that, for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs, the lament would be sung by a fairy woman; having foresight, she would sing the lament when a family member died, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come, so that the wailing of the banshee was the first warning the household had of the death.
In later versions the banshee might appear before the death and warn the family by wailing. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a woman who died in childbirth.
Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, and often having long, fair hair which they brush with a silver comb, a detail scholar Patricia Lysaght attributes to confusion with local mermaid myths. This comb detail is also related to the centuries-old traditional romantic Irish story that, if you ever see a comb lying on the ground in Ireland, you must never pick it up, or the banshees (or mermaids - stories vary), having placed it there to lure unsuspecting humans, will spirit such gullible humans away. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.


Bogles:
A bogle, bogill is the Scotts term for a legendary creature with a fierce temper. They are reputed to live for the simple purpose of torturing young children who disobey their mothers, or of punishing those who are lazy, incontinent (lacking self-restraint), or guilty of crimes.
The bogle is also a creature that loves to vex humans until they go insane. They may cause a human to hear a voice around a corner, only to find that nothing is there, and then repeat the same antics around another corner. This will go on and on until the human decides to give up in utter frustration. Another way they might annoy humans is to enter a person's house and create a mess, make weird noises, or do other small things that for some reason, always happens at very unopportune times.
A bogle is often confused with its many closely-related Scottish legendary creatures, such as the better known Boggart. It is also considered to be involved in a family called the "ballybogs". A modern rendition of the Bogle is the Bogeyman. There is also a cognate term in Scottish Gaelic, bòcan, usually meaning a hobgoblin, and the bodach also bears some similarities.
There is a popular story of one such bogle known as Tatty Bogle, who would hide himself in potato fields (hence his name) and either attack unwary humans or cause blight within the patch.


Dwarves:
The original concept of dwarves is very difficult to determine. The sources closest to the original Germanic mythology come from Norse Mythology, but even these are scarce and very varied. Sources have gradually given dwarves more comical and superstitious roles. Dwarves were certainly humanoid, but sources differ over their height, their lifestyles, and their smilarity to elves. Considering early sources, and considering the dwarves' nature, original dwarves seem fully human height. They had strong associations with death: paled skin; dark hair; connections with the earth; their role in mythology. They followed animistic traditions, showing similarities to such concepts of the dead. They were similar to others from the 'Vættir' family, such as elves.
As their mythology evolved, the most notable changes have had them become more comical and more mysterious. They adopted the modern image of short height and ugliness. Their associations with the underground became more predominant. Dwarves were magical creatures with huge skill at metallurgy, taking fame for making great artifacts of legend. Late Norse concepts of dwarves were becoming quite different from the early ones. The Legendary sega shows the new trend. The remnants of the original dwarf formed later fairy tales and folklore. They had become unseen magical creatures like fairies; users of charms, curses, and deceit.
Modern fantasy and literature has formed an intriguing weave of concepts, from the original dwarf, later Norse mythology, the dwarf of folk-tales, and other mythology. The modern stereotypical dwarf has distinctive features, such as short stature, excessive hair, and skill at mining and metallurgy. However, modern literature draws from a wide range, and dwarves vary their proximity to each of their historical counterparts. Many fantasists devise new powers or images for dwarves. Modern dwarves have no strict definition


Dryads, Meliai, Hamadryad, and Daphnaie:
Dryads are tree nymphs in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies 'oak,' from an Indo-European root *derew(o)- 'tree' or 'wood'. Thus dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general. "Such deities are very much overshadowed by the divine figures defined through poetry and cult," Walter Burkert remarked of Greek nature deities (Burkert 1986, p174). Normally considered to be very shy creatures, except around the goddess Artemis who was known to be a friend to most nymphs.
The dryads of ash trees were called the Meliai. The ash-tree sisters tended the infant Zeus in Rhea's Cretan cave. Rhea gave birth to the Meliai after being made fertile by the blood of castrated Ouranos. They were also sometimes associated with fruit trees.
Dryads, like all nymphs, were supernaturally long-lived and tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were the hamadryads who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well. For these reasons, dryads and the Greek gods punished any mortals who harmed trees without first propitiating the tree-nymphs.
In the myth of Daphne, the nymph was pursued by Apollo and became a dryad associated with the laurel.


Fir Darrig (Fear Deang):
A far darrig or fear deang is a faerie of Irish mythology. The name far darrig is an Anglophone pronunciation of the Irish words fear dearg, meaning Red Man, as the far darrig is said to wear a red coat and cap. According to Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry the far darrig is classified as a solitary faerie along with the leprechaun and the clurichan, all of whom are "most sluttish, slouching, jeering, mischievous phantoms." The far darrig in particular is described as one who "busies himself with practical joking, especially with gruesome joking."