The fay thing is an old myth. That's probably there to explain why you should never leave a path to follow something interesting. You will get lost. And if you have ever walked into the woods as the sun is setting you will realise how quickly the light disappears. And how fucked up the trees start to look without a tent or large light source in sight.
Even a small over grown forest will start seeming wrong and larger as soon as you let yourself get distracted and follow the 'traps'.
People don't willingly live in the woods. People live beside rivers and fields. And they always clear out a portion of trees in an effort to feel safe in the woods.
That's why I like it. It's not true. No magic. But as a person with a phone and wanderlust, I realise why compasses and lights are so important as I walk though every chain of 'trap' like features. Illusionary paths that I alone in a crowd can solely pick out from amongst the roots, bogs and waterfalls.
A fay trap is perhaps the truest myth out there.
And the most tragic sights end in people being labelled as a 411 cases. Or to end up with a leg caught in the wedge of a boulder field. Or a not quite human yet fossil in a cave.