Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon[1] and Cornwall,[2] suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name.

[4] In traditional regional lore, pixies are generally benign, mischievous, short of stature, and childlike; they are fond of dancing and wrestling outdoors, of which they perform through the night.

[citation needed] Very similar analogues exist in closely related Irish (Aos Sí), Manx (Mooinjer veggey), Welsh Tylwyth Teg ('Fair Family'), and Breton (korrigan) culture.

In west Penwith, the area of late survival of the Cornish language, spriggans are distinguished from pixies by their malevolent nature, while knockers are distinct for their association with tin mining in Cornwall.

These children would change their appearance to pixies once their clothing was placed in clay funeral pots used in their earthly lives as toys.

A common idea in the Victorian era was that pixies were a folk memory of the Pictish people, but that has largely been disproven and is viewed in academia as Norse propaganda against the Picts [9] This suggestion is still referenced in contemporary writing, but there is no proven connection, and the etymological basis is considered ambiguous.

resulting in piskies in place of piksies (pixies) as commonly found in Devon and Cornwall in modern times.

Some have noted similarities to "northern fairies", Germanic and Scandinavian elves,[12] or Nordic Tomte, but pixies are distinguished from them by the myths and stories of Devon and Cornwall.

[13] In the legends associated with Dartmoor, pixies (or piskeys) are said to disguise themselves as a bundle of rags to lure children.

For instance, a member of the Elford family in Tavistock, Devon, successfully hid from Cromwell's troops in a pixie house.

[16] Though the entrance has narrowed with time, the pixie house, a natural cavern on Sheep Tor, is still accessible.

"[18] Pixie Day is an old tradition which takes place annually in June at the East Devon town of Ottery St. Mary.

The Pixie Day legend originates from the early days of Christianity, when a local bishop decided to build a church in Otteri (Ottery St. Mary), and commissioned a set of bells, or bell ringers, to come from Wales, of whom were escorted by monks on their journey.

They walk upon the waters; they sail upon the land, They make the green grass greener where’er their footsteps fall, The wildest hind in the forest comes at their call.

They steal from bolted linneys, they milk the key at grass, The maids are kissed a-milking, and no one hears them pass.

They flit from byre to stable and ride unbroken foals, They seek out human lovers to win them souls.

The Pixies though they love us, behold us pass away, And are not sad for flowers they gathered yesterday, To-day has crimson foxglove.