>>5692970It's a bit of a mystery how their so widespread, but they could be of Celtic origin, whom were pretty widedpread in Western Europe. The concept of "fairy" as we know it today is pretty much of British upper-class romanticist origin, who edited it to the fairy as we know it today. Some creatures, which originally meant other types of creatures in their respective countries, then came to be associated with these Victorian era romanticised fairies. The Scandinavian elves for example are a bit similar to modern fairies, but they probably had some influence on British beliefs. The word "fairy" in Early Modern sence did not mean a nature-loving little loli, but more of a "supernatural power/creature with a variety of forms and manifestations", which is a little similar to yokai in Japanese folklore.