Children, Fairies and the Night

Simon and Chris venture, for this historic episode,* into the nursery at the witching hour to ask why so many children see fairies in bed, in the dark, and at the edge of sleep. Along the way there are tiny soldiers marching across eiderdowns, horse-trading fairy women in pointy hats, airborne night visitors in upstate New York, nasty little wolves running out of wardrobes, and the vexed question of whether these experiences belong to folklore, popular culture, the sleeping brain, or some more troubling corner where all three meet. Why do so many of these memories last a lifetime? Why do children so often feel singled out by them? And when angels and demons retreat, do fairies move in to fill the gap? Expect to learn how to speak in tongues, the truth about the tinkerbell syndrome and why lemon heads are to be feared.*This was an early test episode and we thought it would be fun to release.