Blue-cap (also Blue-bonnet) In the folklore of Britain, a mine spirit who assisted the miners and expected to be paid for his labors. Belief in the spirit began to die out in the mid-19th century. Industrious like a BROWNIE, Blue-cap was said to have enormous strength and was capable of toiling long hours. He was visible as a blue flame that floated about the shafts, moving whatever objects the flame settled on.
Blue-cap’s wages were left in a corner of the mine every two weeks. If they were below what he felt he deserved, the spirit indignantly rejected the sum. If the wages were above what he felt he earned, he left the excess amount.
FURTHER READING:
- Briggs, Katherine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins – Brownies – Bogies and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976.
SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits– Written byRosemary Ellen Guiley – September 1, 2007