Alien Fair Folk

Carnivale draws tourists from all sorts of far off places. Source

"Malko stumbled backwards, remembering the stories Goodwife Ingrid used to tell him as a child: grisly tales of a changeling folk who came from the skies to steal the innocent away into hell."

—Warhammer 40,000

Any sort of conflation between aliens and The Fair Folk.

There are two variants of this trope. The first one is the so-called paleocontact theory which implies that various legendary creatures (gods, demons, angels, fairies, gnomes, etc.) are actually extraterrestrials who visited Earth many centuries ago. The other variant is the so-called "interdimensional hypothesis" proposed by ufologist John Keel and astrophysicist Jacques Vallee; according to it, the fairytale creatures (who are actually Ultraterrestrials possibly of electromagnetic origin) are nowadays posing as aliens in order to trick humans. In real life, a third view disbelieves they're real beings, but hypothesizes both are a result of our archetypal psychology or folklore (based partly on hypnogogic hallucinations), with space aliens taking the place of fairies as our ideas change.

Compare Angelic Aliens and Space Elves; also compare Digital Abomination for when supernatural creatures are conflated with AI and computer viruses rather than with aliens. Often a form of either Doing In the Wizard or Doing in the Scientist. The latter version can be seen as a subtrope of Mistaken for Aliens. See also Alien Space Bats, when aliens change real-life history itself. For a related blending of myth and science fiction, see Cybernetic Mythical Beast.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Ayakashi Triangle: One ayakashi possessed a cymbal^*Specifically, a sohachi-bon, whose name is a regional slang term for "Flying Saucer". and flew around near a road, causing people to report UFOs. When Lucy investigates the area, she runs into Shirogane, an ayakashi that shapeshifted into Matsuri's male form. She had only seen that form in her dream and Shirogane calls Lucy by name unprompted, so she assumes "Shiromatsu" was a psychic alien and his ninja gear was a spacesuit. Shirogane decides to go along with it, and when he leaves her, the cymbal ayakashi passes overhead, convincing Lu he'd flown off to space.
  Later chapters show Lu will take any blatant evidence of the supernatural and concoct bizarre alternate explanations based on the extraterrestrial.
• Dandadan: Both aliens and spirits exist, and Okarun wonders if there's some kind of connection between the two. He points out the The Flatwoods Monster is supposedly an alien, but the one he encounters is affected by a magic ward as if it was an evil spirit. While spirits are Invisible to Normals, explicitly alien characters can see them just fine. Momo's telekinesis is nominally a spiritual power, and the kind of thing typically unlocked by encounters with spirit, but she got it when she was abducted by aliens. It's also theorized the reason aliens stay covert instead of invading Earth is because the yokai are too powerful.
  Okarun: Certain studies have shown that people who see psychic phenomena often also see UFOs just as often! In other words, spirits and aliens may have some points of commonality.
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Incubators appear magical at first, and Kyubey is occasionally called a fairy, but they are actually aliens. That said, they do take advantage of magical power, just in an indirect manner.
• Urusei Yatsura: Lum's horned alien race are identified as Oni. The series has quite a few other yokai-based aliens, often making it ambiguous whether the legends were based on Ancient Astronauts or if the aliens' resemblance to the legends is a coincidence. Interestingly, most of the human cast take it completely in stride that the creatures of their legends are from space, seemingly figuring that the practical difference between "outer space" and "fairyland" doesn't amount to much. In the second episode, a group of characters casually assume they can summon an alien back to Earth with a magical chant they made up on the spot... and it works (well, it summons the wrong alien, but that's nitpicking).

Comic Books

• The DCU:
  • Animal Man (2011) claims that the aliens who gave Animal Man his powers were actually mystical beings native to Earth who arrived in an illusionary spaceship because they figured that was something Buddy could more readily accept.
  • Green Lantern: One comics says that Leprechauns are descended from members of the Guardians of the Universe that settled on Earth.
  • Superman:
    • Some versions of Mister Mxyzptlk have him and his kind as inspiration for fairies and elves.
    • The Pre-Crisis version of the villain Terra-Man rides Nova, an alien animal resembling Pegasus.
  • Wonder Woman (1942): Nymphs of Greek myth, and their ruler Artemis, turn out to actually be Lunarians.
• ElfQuest: Although, properly speaking, the "World of Two Moons" is not actually prehistoric Earth, it's easy to overlook that fact. And it's certainly a huge revelation at the end of the original big story arc when we learn the Elves, Trolls, and Preservers are all originally from outer space. And time travelers, to boot.
• Fortean Times: One of Hunt Emerson's "Phenomenomix" comic strips deals with a bunch of fairies leaving their mound to terrorise a lone traveller. A young rebellious fairy spends the strip moaning about how dull and routine the procedure has become, before in the final panel sneaking off to a secluded dungeon to work on his "fairy chariot"... a stereotypical Flying Saucer.
• Marvel Universe:
  • The Eternals: When the Eternals were first introduced, they were stated to have inspired the myths of the Greek gods, and the Deviants to have inspired stories of monsters and demons. Initially, the title was not assumed to be part of the Marvel Universe proper, but when it was incorporated, this created a problem because the Greek gods already existed in the Marvel Universe. The resulting Retcon claimed that the Eternals were mistaken for the gods after the Olympians themselves withdrew from interacting overtly with the mortal world.
  • Iron Man: The giant Chinese dragon Fin Fang Foom is actually an alien from the planet Maklua who just happens to look like a dragon, although the Marvel Universe also has dragons that are the genuine article.
  • One creature in the Collector's menagerie is Snake Eyes, a cobra-like sea serpent described as a Xanthian Boulder Crusher. It got loose in Earth's ocean and ended up fighting Spider-Man and Alpha Flight before finally getting captured and returned to the Collector by the kids from Power Pack (with some help from Marrina.)
  • Warlock (1967): Pip the Troll's race resemble satyrs both in appearance and behavior, though it's apparently a coincidence and they have no connection to Earth.
• Vampirella: Early comics had vampires as aliens from the planet Drakulon. This was later retconned to be false memories Vampirella was given before Drakulon was eventually brought back as a region of Hell instead of a planet.

Films — Animated

• David and the Magic Pearl: The Spacers ^note  and E.T. are the descendants of gnomes.

Films — Live-Action

• The Fourth Kind draws many comparisons between alien encounters and ancient stories of beings like The Fair Folk, but leaves it very unclear whether this means that they are Ancient Astronauts who were mistaken for gods or supernatural entities who were mistaken for aliens because it's the closest our puny minds could come to comprehending them. The aliens themselves claim to be gods, though in a context that makes it hard to tell if they mean it literally or metaphorically.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe: Though in the comics their relationship to Earth is a little more complicated, in the movies, all the creatures of Norse Mythology are aliens, plain and simple. Subverted in Thor: Ragnarok, where they're back to identifying as gods again, though the difference is split in that they do have history in the greater galactic community.
• Vampirella has vampires coming from the planet Drakulon. Seeing as it never got any sequels, this was never retconned like in the comics.

Literature

• "Angel Down, Sussex" deals with an extra-dimensional incursion in rural Britain in the 1920s, at precisely the point at which human perception of such entities is beginning to shift from traditional occult/faerie mythology to twentieth-century UFO mythology. It's left ambiguous as to what the alien visitor really is and where it's really from, as the guises it adopts to suit human superstitions impede the protagonists' investigation.
• Artemis Fowl:
  • Demons are descended from micro-organisms that evolved on the moon during earth's Triassic period. A chunk of the moon broke off after being hit by a meteor and plummeted to earth, bringing the organisms that would eventually evolve into demons with it, and creating the island of Hybras where they have lived ever since.
  • Other fairy creatures (elves, goblins, gnomes, etc.) are not explicitly stated to be extraterrestrials, but they too have a strong sci-fi vibe.
• Isaac Asimov:
  • "Everest": Rumors about yeti on the titular mountain turn out to be due to a Martian outpost established in the place where the aliens feel most comfortable.
  • "Kid Stuff": Accourding to the elf, elves evolved before even the dinosaurs, but they remain very alien in their body shapes (insectoid) and abilities.
• The Goblin Reservation: Various legendary creatures (goblins, trolls, banshees) turn out to have come to Earth from another planet thousands of years ago.
• InCryptid: Several cryptid species, most notably the Johrlac, come from other dimensions. The Johrlac, a telepathic species also called "cuckoos" for their habit of leaving their babies with human families who raise them, have some similarity to Changeling Tales.
• Cthulhu Mythos:
  • The Great Old Ones are supernatural creatures akin to pagan gods (for instance, Shub-Niggurath aka the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young is obviously related to the god Pan) who are actually of extraterrestrial origin.
  • "The Whisperer in Darkness" features an extra-dimensional alien race who are said to have inspired creature legends in the parts of the world where they have visited (including the legends of the yeti or mi-go in the Himalayas, which is why fans tend to refer to them as the Mi-Go in the absence of Lovecraft giving their actual name).
• A Lord from Planet Earth: Palians are humanoids with elongated fangs who feed on blood and are vulnerable to yellow-spectrum stars. They've been coming to Earth for centuries in order to feed on humans, resulting in myths about vampires.
• Martians Go Home: Subverted. The protagonist tells a Martian his kind must account for all the superstitions about elves as such, only for the Martian to say human stupidity is what accounts for it.
• Starsnatcher: Discussed. The opening scene revolves around a UFO sighting. Steve believes it must be aliens while Lucas expresses skepticism. He cites the many similarities between folkloric faeries and modern-day alien abduction tales as evidence that the latter must be myths.
• Terry Pratchett:
  • Discworld;
    • The Colour of Magic: A river troll has landed on the Disc after falling through space for years after falling off another Discworld.
    • Lords and Ladies: Elves are extra-dimensional beings, and include several aspects of UFO mythology, such as crop circles heralding their presence, and their un-glamoured appearance resembling the description of The Greys.
  • Nomes Trilogy is about the titular Nomes who realize they came from another planet and go on a quest to get back there.
  • The Long Earth: Stories of trolls, elves et consortes are heavily implied (if not outright stated) to come from encounters with hominids who evolved on alternate Earths and never lost the ability to move between one Earth and another.
• The short story "Those Eyes" by David Brin is about the activities of a group of beings whose origins are not made explicit, but who are responsible for both fairy legends and UFO sightings, and are struggling to keep their power in a world increasingly full of people who believe in neither.
• The Witcher: The Aen Elle are elves from a parallel dimension world. They have a terrifying reputation and the might to back it up, impressive, superior magic powers (those involving teleportation and portal travel in particular) and a culture steeped in Blue-and-Orange Morality, and while they love to paint themselves as an implacable force of nature, apart from their height and not being intermixed with humans, they are nearly physically indistinguishable from "ordinary" Aen Seidhe elves.
• Goblin Slayer: It's revealed that the Goblins actually come from the Moon.
• The Lunar Chronicles retells well-known fairy tales in a sci-fi setting. Lunars, Transhuman Aliens who live on the moon and have developed Psychic Powers, stand in for the various fairy or witch characters, with their powers even referred to as "Glamours."
• In the Rivers of London novels, it's The Fair Folk that are real, but modern-day witnesses usually report run-ins with them as alien/UFO sightings. Peter has a standing arrangement with a UFO-buff to craft gadgets he uses to detect fey activity; he humors the guy's assumption that they're alien-detectors, figuring that's a more plausible cover story than A Wizard Did It.
• The Dresden Files features the Svartalves from Norse mythology; while not technically serving either the Winter or Summer courts, they are fae, and resemble classic grey aliens when not covered in glamour.

Live-Action TV

• Chasing Bigfoot The Quest For Truth portrays sasquatches as a race of Genius Bruiser aliens.
• Doctor Who: We could be here all day listing the mythical creatures that the series has revealed to be aliens. Vampires, yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, the Egyptian gods, the Greek god Chronos, and on and on. And that's not counting creatures like the Minotaur-like Nimon or the Mummy On the Orient Express who just look like legendary Earth monsters completely by coincidence.
• Quatermass and the Pit deals with ancient aliens who not only gave the human race intelligence, but who are the inspiration for supernatural beings, most notably horned demons.
• The Six Million Dollar Man famously claimed Bigfoot is an artificial cyborg controlled by aliens.
• Star Trek: The Original Series claims that the Greek gods were actually space travelers.
• Supernatural: In "Clap Your Hands if You Believe...", the town of Elwood has a large Ufologist community and a high rate of paranormal incidents. When the Winchesters investigate reports of Alien Abductions, Crop Circles, and lights in the sky, they find fairies instead. Ironically, the local woman who had already identified them as The Fair Folk is seen as a kook by the other Conspiracy Theorists.
• Twin Peaks is seemingly inspired by works of Keel and Vallee: the Black Lodge inhabitants have electromagnetic properties, and they were researched by the Project Blue Book; besides, in an abandoned version of Season 3 script, BOB and MIKE were intended to be aliens who came from a planet made of creamed corn.

Podcasts

• The Kingmaker Histories features a race called Good Neighbours, who are reality-warping, extremely long-lived humanoids from Another Dimension.

Tabletop Games

• Changeling: The Lost makes a point of mentioning this trope, with The Greys listed as one of the many forms The Fair Folk can take. That said, the game also mentions that honest-to-goodness extraterrestrial Greys may also exist. (And, if you use the rest of the New World of Darkness in your Changeling game, they officially do.)
• d20 Future: A couple of the alien species are supposed to have been the inspiration for various mythical beings. A good example is the werren, vaguely Ursine Aliens who are the basis of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti.
• GURPS:
  • In the Cabal setting The Fair Folk and The Greys are both Ultraterrestrial beings pulled from the Eikonic realm.
  • In the Technomancer setting urban legends about The Fair Folk occupy the exact same spot as UFOs and aliens do in our world, including being taken seriously only by small fringe groups, but being common in popular culture from a Steven Spielberg film to a TV show about two FBI agents investigating conspiracies. All the exact same phenomena ranging from strangely moving lights in the sky to claims of personal encounters with humanoids are explained as being the work of the Fair Folk.
• Pathfinder: Inverted. Some of the habits of malign aliens — abductions, cattle mutilations, etc. — are instead attributed to more fey-aligned derros. There are plenty of aliens as well, and this setting's elves are originally from Castrovel, a nearby planet loosely based on a Planetary Romance version of Venus.
• Warhammer 40,000:
  • Many planets across the Imperium are actually quite peaceful, and some so isolated the Imperium itself is barely more than a background presence in the capital city. As a result, aliens can end up conflated with/originating local legends (especially the Necrons, due to occupying planets since before humans evolved).
  • The Dark Eldar often conduct raids on planets to take slaves, making them the equivalent of The Wild Hunt.

Video Games

• Might and Magic: The big reveal of the pre-Ubisoft games was that the setting was in fact a colossal Generation Ship, and of course that many creatures were such as the "demons" were actually aliens.
• Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent: The mysterious gnome-like creatures known as the Hidden People turn out to be some lunar spirits.
• Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths: A pumpkin-headed villain known as Jack O'Lantern steals candy from children every Halloween; the protagonist believes him to be an alien who plans to conquer the Earth. Ultimately subverted; he's neither a supernatural creature nor an alien, but the protagonist's bully neighbor who got a pumpkin stuck on his head.
• Sam & Max Hit the Road: The Molemen from America's urban lore are revealed to be extraterrestrials.
• Star Control: The Arilou are said to have inspired both the old legends of The Fair Folk and the newer legends of The Greys.
• Torin's Passage combines fantasy and sci-fi elements, since it is set in a magical world located on another planet called Strata. While the characters and landscapes of the Lands Above (the upper world of Strata) look like they came out of a Medieval fantasy novel, some of the creatures from the lower worlds have a definite sci-fi vibe. In particular, this concerns the inhabitants of the Tenebrous (the lowest world near the core of Strata) who are either humanoids very reminiscent of The Greys or bizarre creatures like giant centipedes.

Webcomics

• Grrl Power: It's mentioned that various aliens have been mistaken for angels, demons, vampires etc. Complicating matters, all those supernatural types exist too. Dabbler, a succubus/alien hybrid, also points out that by definition, angels and demons count as aliens as well.
• Homestuck: Alien species are named after legendary creatures: trolls, cherubim and leprechauns have all made appearances. They are generally odd mixtures of their namesakes and various alien traits.
  • The trolls are a hermaphroditic species evolved from insects who live in a Hive Caste System, but they are violent Horned Humanoids with often superhuman strength and cannot bear direct sunlight without going blind.
  • Cherubim are skull-faced Lizard Folk whose life cycle involves a Split-Personality Takeover and a fight to the death next to a black hole, but they do look angelic and maintain a Balance Between Good and Evil in the universe.
  • Leprechauns are an all-male species of Little Green Men who engage in Homosexual Reproduction and come in batches of fifteen, but they mate by doing jiggy little dances, their emotional states are represented by Lucky Charms Symbols, and they are made of felt.
• The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob!: The space dragons actually are Earth's dragons, but they left for another planet centuries ago.
  • We later learn that various anthropomorphic animals from mythology like werewolves, tengu, the Minotaur, the Monkey King, etc. are members of a lost civilization of Uplifted Animals called Furmians. They're friends with the aforementioned dragons.

Western Animation

• Ben 10: Several different creatures attributed to myths and legends, including a lake monster, a werewolf, mummies, and even the Chupacabra, are all aliens. The werewolf and mummy are notable for hailing from a solar system populated by sentient species that resemble popular Earth movie monsters like zombies, vampires, ghosts and Frankenstein's monster.
• Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends: Turns out that vampires, werewolves, Banshees and Yeti are all aliens that have arrived to Earth many years ago and have moulded legends.
• Star Trek: The Animated Series claims that the Central American god Kukulkan was actually an alien resembling a giant snake with wings.
• Steven Universe: The Crystal Gems at first appeared to be the only survivors of some magical crystal-based humanoid race tasked with defending humanity from monsters also made from gems. Then the first Mid-Season Twist reveals the Crystal Gems are a faction of an alien species, the monsters they fight are corrupted members of the same race, and there's an intergalactic empire of them living outside Earth.
  It is, however, ambiguous if any characters ever believed Gems were magical beings from Earth. Most humans are Fantastically Indifferent to them in general, Steven doesn't particularly react to this part of the revelation even though he'd previously been calling them "magic", and his father directly calls them "aliens" in a flashback to years earlier.

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