The Pixies
Much more frequently then meetings with the devil are in Exmoor meetings with the pixies.
As one hears it is not so good to meet the pixie - at least one shouldn't look at them - that's something they don't like. But it is nevertheless known how they look. They have red hair, distinct ears, small faces and snub noses. Some of them are cross-eyed. They are around as large as partridges. While the goblins usually wear green the fairies prefer red.
Pixies not only can be found in Exmoor but for example in Cornwall as well though the pixies in Exmoor are of a different kind who even punish people who they feel have done wrong.
In Exmoor you can find a lot of places with "pixie" in the name for example Pixie Meadow in Selworthy or Pixie Lane here in Minehead, which shows how important the pixies are in this region.
The king of the pixies first lived with his family at Knighton Farm at Whithypool but they couldn't bear the ringing of the church bells any longer and moved to Cow Castle though not with a grudge. Often the pixies helped the framers threshing but there was a well-known pixie with the name of Jack O'Lantern - a blue pixie - who bewitched and distracted travellers in the moor. Since big parts of the moor have been drainaged one didn't hear from him.
The famous 5. Earl of Carnarvon, who financed the excavation of pharaoh Tutankhamen, had a family residence near Pixton Park and it was even speculated whether not the pixies played their part in the pharaos' curse whom he and others fell victim to.
Today the believe in pixies is no longer so deeply rooted as it still was 100 years ago and it's a long time till somebody reported a sighting but in the middle of the last century there were still reports of travellers which were bewitched or farmers who maltreated there families and were punished by the pixies.
But should you meet pixies and they bewitch you there is a simple trick to break the charm - just turn your coat or your gloves inside out. So you never should walk through Exmoor without coat or jacket - not even in summer. And another piece of advice - you never should picnic on a Thursday in summer under an oak tree!