The Skriker Actor Packet

The Myth of the Changeling
The myth of the changeling began in Western Europe during the Middle
ages. Legend has it that some mythical creatures !such as a fairies, elves, and
trolls" often swapped their own o#spring with a human baby. Though in some
cases, these creatures chose not to leave their o#spring, but rather a senile old
fairy, or an enchanted inanimate object, such as a log of wood. Changelings
could be identified when they showed unpleasant qualities, or qualities
di#erent from human babies. Such
traits were thought to be large
vocabularies, vicious tempers,
enormous appetites, or general
unpleasantness. In Northern
Scotland, children were usually
suspected of being changelings if
they started to waste away.
Changelings supposedly had physical
deformities, like crooked backs or
lame hands. They were also said to
be incredibly intelligent, and fairy
changelings often play incredible
music, without ever having been
taught. In Scotland this is
particularly true with the bagpipes.
Changeling Tests...
$ To discover whether or not the baby was a changeling, the baby would be
held over a fire. If the baby was a changeling, it would curse and disappear up
the chimney !Gregor 8". Children were often abandoned outside at night, as
the parents believed the fairy parents would come claim the child. Yet another
brutal way was to toss a changeling into a ravine or river. If it was indeed a
changeling, it would bounce up and scamper away before drowning.
$ There were more humane ways to test if a child was a changeling.
Tricking it into speaking, usually by astonishing it, was often thought to work.
Brewing stew or beer in an eggshell, or carrying water in egg shells, and acting