A brownie or broonie, also known as a brùnaidh or gruagach is a household spirit or hobgoblin from Scottish folklore that is said to come out at night while the owners of the house are asleep and perform various chores and farming tasks. The human owners of the house must leave a bowl of milk or cream or some other offering for the brownie, usually by the hearth. Brownies are described as easily offended and will leave their homes forever if they feel they have been insulted or in any way taken advantage of. Brownies are characteristically mischievous and are often said to punish or pull pranks on lazy servants. If angered, they are sometimes said to turn malicious, like boggarts.
I finally got a chance to set up a space dedicated to my house spirits on my altar.
More on my work with House Spirits below!
My History Working With House Spirits
When I was a kid, I was introduced to the concept of English/Scottish Brownies through the Spiderwick Chronicles and quickly became obsessed with trying to attract a brownie to my own home. I took one of my small miniature tea cups, filled it with half n' half and set it in a place in the house that I was sure wouldn't be seen by my parents or disturbed by my cats. I did this for quite a long time and even, as per the advice of the Spiderwick Field Guide, occasionally scattered flour on the ground as a way to try to see evidence of little brownie footprints.
Brownies weren't the only Fae that I tried to make contact with when I was younger, but they were the ones that I was most persistent with. I loved the idea of a little creature making a home within my own home and living with my family and I.
I never got the tangible "evidence" I was looking for as a kid, but I undoubtedly felt a presence. So, looking back, I most certainly succeed in attracting a brownie (or at least a house spirit) and it wasn't until recently that I came to the realization that I may have done so by giving the spirit offerings, even if I didn't call it that at the time.
It's things like this that make me feel like I was destined to be a witch and a pagan~
Inspiration
Since I started walking a bit more of a Pagan path in my witchcraft, specifically since I started venerating the Norse gods, I have been feeling an urge to return to my work with land and house spirits. I've always felt their presence and feel that I should honor that presence.
I'm not sure why it took me so long to actually start, but since coming back to my practice, I've been feeling that need to honor the land and house spirits around me even stronger than before.
**Edit as of 12/24/25: I have become aware that Jacob Toddson/The Wisdom of Odin is a creator I would no longer like to support, promote, or be affiliated with. While the video I go on to mention is not harmful on it's own, in my opinion, WoO is harmful to the Norse Pagan Community as a whole.
I still wanted to include and keep my original writing in this post, but also wanted to draw attention to something that until recently, I hadn't noticed/realized.
Thank you to Alikai's video on Youtube on the topic (it might have been posted years ago, but I just found it and it has changed my feelings and view on WoO as a creator and person in the Norse Pagan Community
One of the final pushes was actually from when I was going through the back-log of videos I hadn't watched from Jacob Toddson. He's one of my favorite Norse Pagan creators I found very early into my own path venerating the Norse gods. About a year ago, he made a video about house spirits and after watching it, it truly inspired me to actually take the steps to honor my own house spirits.
I do intend to do some work work with the land spirits around my home as well, but I want to do more research into the beliefs of the local indigenous tribes of the area before I do so.
Making a Space for My House Spirits
In making a space for my house spirits, I knew that I wanted to do it in a way that was reminiscent of the way I interacted with them as a child.
Having lost my original miniature porcelain tea set from when I was a kid (it's probably floating around somewhere in the depths of my parents' house lol), I started looking online for anyone selling a set like the one I used to use. After a bit of searching, I found a set that was just like one of the ones I had. It even had the same pattern! So, I ordered it.
In the mean time, I started making my house spirit a little home. I bought and modified a birdhouse, painting it a dark wood color and mounting some moss on the roof. Then while looking for stuff to make flower crowns for midsummer, I stumbled across a little gnome statue that felt perfect as an idol of my house spirit.
Once I received the tea set, I was ready to welcome in my house spirit.
I reorganized my altar, making space for him, and set everything up, complete with an offering of heavy cream. I invited the spirit to make a home and told him that I hope he feels welcome in his new space.
The experience and the energy felt nice and familiar and I'm happy to have a little space on my altar for my house sprit to call home~
I plan to continue to give small offerings and light a candle for my house spirit. I want to to become an everyday practice if I can manage it and have been thinking of maybe giving him offerings in other ways besides food. Maybe little trinkets to keep in his house~
Let's talk Elf on the Shelf and of course how it's wrong. Because It's the Holidays and why not provide you with a fun Fae/Pagan alternative that is sure to get the Yule Spirit flowing. :D
So... I'm just going to put it out there because my fiance and I were talking about this seemingly innocent little fun activity.
I'm highly against Elf on the Shelf. It's not only a terrible way to humiliate the Fae Folk, but also sets up a very dangerous expectation that it is okay to allow the naughty fae in your home.
So the elf is supposed to watch over children, that's okay. We have Brownies/Broonies/Silkie what have you and ancestors for that. If the kid loves Plants, Hel, I'd even let them believe a dryad was watching over them before some mysterious poorly behaved unseelie court folk.
I know I should sugar coat some things when it comes to beliefs, but I have warded my home and gone through so many rituals to ensure that no ill-willed fae enter. I honestly fear for my children because they are going to go into school claiming those elf on a shelf dolls are just looking to see how much they can get away with before spiriting away the children and you know what. I'm fine getting that call from the principal. I would love nothing more than to walk in there and stand up for my child. I'd also like to see more people understand that while it may be a cute innocent thing for parents, to those who follow the fae it is a dangerous slope that leads to trouble.
I'll allow my child to learn about ways to attract good fae, and keep away the bad. It's a specialty I think they will require given my dreams, but I also think it will teach them to value the smaller things. Elf on the Shelf is about having a laugh at what crazy things the elf can get into but if you're bad then they run off and tell Santa. NO, listen here kiddo, in our house, we have this invisible little fella called a Broonie. You need to be extra careful and not make him upset because he protects our home and gives us good fortune in the winter months. This little guy loves it when our house is kept clean and values positivity. If the Broonie is happy the house is happy and our ancestors are happy. We leave a saucer of honey out for him at night so he knows we value all the hard work he does for us. If our rooms are dirty we clean them before we go to bed. We need to have as much care and pride for our home that the Broonie does so we don't chase him away or make him angry. You wouldn't want to leave the poor Broonie out in the cold this winter so let's make sure we are being polite and courteous to our housemate. I'll even let the children name Mr. Broonie if they want. The point is now they have an activity that doesn't cause mischief and they learn what to value most in the winter months.
For anyone curious here's a bit of fae knowledge because if you're reading this far you are already well aware of fae and heck why not teach you about the fun good guys and warn you about why you really care for them: I use the term Broonie, but they are also called Brownie or Gruagach (Sp?). They are fae who work in your home at night, they also help farmers and are pretty much like the story: The Cobbler and the Elves or Elves and the Shoemaker. The elves would do the work of the shoemaker at night while he slept and help him boost his business. The shoemaker and his wife clothe the elves and help his business grow even more. In the end, the shoemaker no longer needs the elves and happily, they leave. A Brownie will stay in your home as long as it is needed and help keep your home warm and sturdy especially during the winter. Now the danger comes if you offend one of these good little guys. You see if you are mean or don't take care of your home the guy gets offended to the point he believes your home would be better if you weren't there. So he turns into a boggart. Being a boggart he takes all the fortune away from your home and tries everything in his power to drive you out. The important thing is to know if your Brownie ever has become a Boggart because if he has then abandon all names you gave him and ward up. He is only out to harm you. You need to drive him away ASAP. So please be sure to take care of your Broonie, and keep a happy, pleasant, warm home.
Happy Yule may your nights be warm, fires lit, food comforting, and homes pleasant and inviting.
Brownies are a type of fairy in folklore that will help you with your chores in exchange for gifts of food. Some locations in Scotland also ensured to set out a small stool or shelf by the fire for the brownie to sit by.
They wear very worn clothes, but if you offer them any new clothes, they will be insulted and leave.
Learn more about the folklore of brownies here.
For my drawing, I added:
Lynx ears
Hyena nose
Cat eyes
They are commonly just described as little men or women, but I wanted to add a bit more of a supernatural feel to their designs.
Note: I do understand my drawings (this and future) may not match the real-life folklore, but since this is for a complete work of fiction, I let my imagination go wild.
