Pooka

A pooka or púca was a shape shifting creature. Depending on the writers, the pooka was either a benevolent or malevolent fairy. They were often identified with the pwca of Welsh tradition.

According to Yeats, whom he listed T. C. Croker as one of his sources, the pooka was either mischievous or malevolent, often taking the shape of a horse, offering an unsuspecting traveller a ride that was dangerous if not deadly. Another shape it favoured was the ass.

Yeats says that Lady Wilde believed that the pooka was benevolent and helpful, like the Scottish brownie.

They appeared most frequently on November Eve (night of October 31), which is Samhain eve (or the modern Halloween), in which the pooka would spoil blackberries.