In 1656, Karin Svensdotter stood trial in the southern Swedish village of Sävsjö on an unusual charge: fornication with supernatural beings. Specifically, the court was investigating the young housemaid’s claims that she had a relationship with the King of the Fairies. Svensdotter testified that several years before, she had been approached by a handsome man dressed in gold who called himself the Älvakungen, meaning “Elf King.” (Elf can be used generically for all humanlike spirits of nature, similar to the term fairy). He led her into the forest, to a…
