FIELD FILE · DERRY-FAIRYHUMANOIDLOCAL LEGEND
Derry Fairy
Also known as Little Green Man of Derry, Derry Green Man
A two-foot green creature with droopy ears and filmy eyes that a Derry, New Hampshire, man said he met while cutting Christmas trees in December 1956.
The Derry Fairy is one of New England’s strangest single-witness tales: a tiny green being said to have been encountered in the woods of Derry, in southern New Hampshire, in mid-December 1956. It sits somewhere between the fairy lore of the Old World and the “little green men” of the flying-saucer era.
According to the story, on December 15, 1956, a local man went into the woods to cut Christmas trees and came face to face with a creature about two feet tall. It was green, with wrinkled, elephant-like skin, a dome-shaped head, ears that hung down like a basset hound’s, and eye holes covered by a clear film; its arms and legs were short and stubby, ending in blunt hands and toeless feet. The two reportedly stared at each other for about 20 minutes before the man tried to grab it by jumping on it – at which point it let out a scream so piercing that he fled. It was never seen again.
The tale became widely known through Vermont folklorist Joseph Citro’s books on weird New England, which did not give a source. Derry town historian Richard Holmes later traced it to two letters, written in 1962 and 1964, in which Derry resident Alfred Horne described the encounter to Walter H. Webb, a Boston astronomer and UFO investigator. Holmes confirmed that an Alfred G. Horne had lived on Berry Road in Derry in the 1940s and ’50s, but found no report of the incident in the local paper at the time and could verify nothing else.
With only one witness, no contemporary record and a six-year gap before it was written down, the Derry Fairy remains a curiosity of local lore – a story that Derry, home also to Robert Frost’s farm, tells with a smile each Christmas season.
- Type
- Humanoid
- Status
- Local legend
- First reported
- 1956
- Best-known location
- Woods of Derry, New Hampshire
- Also called
- Little Green Man of Derry, Derry Green Man
- Reported in
- New Hampshire
What witnesses describe
About two feet tall and green, with wrinkled skin like an elephant’s, a domed head, long drooping ears like a basset hound’s, eye sockets covered by a clear film, and short stubby limbs with blunt hands and toeless feet. It screamed loudly when touched.
Where and when it’s seen
Wooded land in Derry, New Hampshire, in winter. The single encounter took place during a Christmas-tree harvest in mid-December.
Notable sightings
- December 15, 1956The Christmas-tree encounter Derry, New Hampshire
A local man cutting Christmas trees said he faced a small green creature for about 20 minutes, then tried to tackle it. Its earsplitting scream sent him running.
- 1962 and 1964Letters to a UFO researcher Derry, New Hampshire, and Boston, Massachusetts
Alfred Horne of Derry described the encounter in letters to astronomer and UFO investigator Walter H. Webb – the earliest known written record of the tale.
What could explain it?
- The story rests on a single witness, written down years later, with no contemporary newspaper report or corroboration.
- It surfaced in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when “little green men” and UFO occupant stories were widespread; the account fits that era’s popular imagery.
- A child in a costume or snowsuit, a small animal glimpsed in poor winter light, or a deliberate tall tale have all been suggested.
- Retellings without sources, such as later folklore books, can make a story seem better documented than it is.
Legend, culture and tourism
The Derry Fairy has become a small piece of New Hampshire oddity lore, retold in Joseph Citro’s Weird New England, in Derry News history columns and in regional podcasts. It reflects both older European fairy traditions brought to New England and the mid-century fascination with visitors from space.
Places to visit
The poet’s former farmhouse and woodland trails offer a feel for the rural Derry landscape where the encounter is set.
Where it’s reported
Derry Fairy in the news
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Sources
First published · Updated
