Laura Wright 
According to an old Irish belief, some people entered the world possessing a strange and frightening gift.
They could touch another living creature and render it helpless.
A person might suddenly become unable to move.
An animal could be struck motionless.
The individual responsible did not necessarily intend for anything to happen. In fact, the power was believed to be instinctive and beyond the control of the person who possessed it.
It was called the Evil Stroke.
And despite its ominous name, the power was believed to come from the fairies.
A Gift From the Fairies
The person possessing the Evil Stroke wasn’t necessarily considered evil.
That distinction is important.
According to the belief, the ability was a fairy power bestowed upon certain individuals from birth.
The bearer might not even understand what had happened until someone or something became paralyzed after being touched.
There was no spell to recite.
No elaborate ritual.
No conscious act of witchcraft.
The power simply existed.
And once the Evil Stroke had fallen upon someone, only the person responsible could release the victim from it.
The Only Person Who Could Undo It
Being struck by the mysterious paralysis created a peculiar problem.
The person who had caused it was also the person who needed to remove it.
Unfortunately, that could be easier said than done.
Some people possessing the Evil Stroke were supposedly so frightened by what they had accidentally done that they were afraid to attempt to reverse it.
Imagine discovering such a power accidentally.
You touch someone.
They collapse or become unable to move.
Everyone turns toward you.
And somehow you are expected to know how to make them well again.
It isn’t difficult to understand why the supposed bearer of the gift might panic.
When the Evil Stroke Could Save a Life
Strangely, the Evil Stroke wasn’t always considered harmful.
The same power that could accidentally paralyze an innocent person could become extraordinarily useful when danger appeared.
An attacker could be stopped instantly.
So could a dangerous animal.
The original tradition even offered the example of a rabid animal being rendered harmless through the touch.
Seen this way, the Evil Stroke becomes less like a curse and more like an unpredictable supernatural defense.
The problem was not necessarily the power itself.
The problem was controlling it.
The Fairy-Gifted Child
Not every fairy gift was regarded with fear.
Occasionally, having a child favored by the fairies could be considered extraordinarily fortunate.
A household containing such a child might prosper.
The family’s livestock remained healthy.
Food was plentiful.
Even desirable luxuries, such as fresh butter, were supposedly always available.
In a rural society dependent upon animals, harvests, and stored food, those were not trivial blessings.
Healthy livestock could mean the difference between prosperity and disaster.
A plentiful supply of butter was evidence of abundance.
The presence of a fairy-favored child therefore brought something very different from the sinister reputation fairies sometimes possess in modern stories.
It brought luck.
But keeping that luck apparently required something from the household in return.
Kindness Brought Good Fortune
One of the most striking beliefs associated with this tradition concerned the treatment of vulnerable people.
Good fortune supposedly followed those who showed kindness and compassion toward people suffering from serious or debilitating conditions.
People who were deaf or blind were to be treated well.
So were people with disabilities and those whom older sources unfortunately described as “simpletons.”
People suffering from terminal or debilitating illnesses were also deserving of particular care.
Mistreating them risked losing supernatural favor.
Kindness helped preserve it.
That transforms what initially sounds like a frightening superstition into something considerably more humane.
The Fairies Were Watching
Fairy folklore frequently contains rules governing human behavior.
Hospitality matters.
Promises matter.
Respect matters.
And in this particular collection of beliefs, compassion matters.
The person society might otherwise overlook or mistreat was precisely the person whose treatment could determine whether supernatural good fortune remained with a household.
Someone who appeared weak or different could possess a special relationship with the otherworld.
Treating such a person cruelly was therefore more than immoral.
It could be dangerous.
The Evil Stroke
The name makes the Evil Stroke sound like a curse deliberately cast upon an enemy.
The original belief is much stranger.
A person could simply be born with the ability.
They might never ask for it.
They might not be able to control it.
One accidental touch could leave another person or animal paralyzed, and only the bearer of the power could undo what had happened.
Yet the same ability could stop an attacker or dangerous animal.
And the larger tradition surrounding fairy gifts carried an unexpectedly gentle warning.
Prosperity did not depend merely upon possessing supernatural favor.
It depended upon how people behaved toward one another.
Healthy livestock, abundant food, and a fortunate household were blessings.
But blessings could be lost.
And among the surest ways of preserving them was remarkably simple:
Be kind to those who need kindness most.
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