Changeling lore: The Supernatural vs. the real lore

Changelings are deep-rooted in Scottish lore. Supernatural took on the challenge of making the lore their own and here’s a look at the differences and similarities.

In Supernatural Season 3, Episode 2, the series took on the changeling lore. Creatures that would become the children in an area, the lore did take elements from the real lore. Most of the folklore is from Scotland and Ireland, although there are other tales from around the world.

Here’s a look at the lore in Supernatural vs. the real lore. It’s a chance to see the similarities and how the series made changeling lore its own.

Changelings in Supernatural

More from Supernatural

• Jensen Ackles and The Winchesters cast kick off #SaveTheWinchesters campaign
• Will The Winchesters be saved? (Can Supernatural fans save the prequel?)
• Did The Winchesters get renewed? (Is The Winchesters season 2 happening?)
• Is a new episode of The Winchesters on tonight? (March 14, 2023)
• The Winchesters Season1 finale explained: Did it connect to Supernatural?

The creatures have only been seen the once in the series. When Dean heads to Cicero to see Lisa as one of his dying wishes, the Winchesters stumble upon a case. It turns out the children are being kidnapped and changelings are taking their places. The changelings will feed off the moms, killing anyone else who gets in the way. This means babysitters, dads, aunts, and friends can all meet grizzly ends.

Watch your favorite shows on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

The true appearance of a changeling is slimy skin, hollow eyes, and a round mouth with plenty of teeth. The mouth is used to suck the life force of the mom, leaving a bite mark on the back of her neck.

All changelings have a mother, who takes on the form of a human woman to watch over the changeling prey. Killing the mother will kill all the children. Fire will also kill the changelings, while mirrors show the true appearance.

Real lore about changelings

Changelings are found mostly in European medieval lore, especially in Scottish and Irish lore. The people of the time believed that fairies, elves, trolls, and other similar creatures would switch out their own children for sickly children. This was mostly linked to infants who presented unknown illnesses and diseases as a way to explain why the child was suffering–the parents believed that it wasn’t their child and fairies had kidnapped their own. This type of folklore is now considered a way that parents coped with the loss of a baby.

Outlander covered the fairy and changeling lore well. Parents would leave their “changelings” at a fairy tree or on a fairy hill, allowing the fairies to take their changelings back and give the human babies back. The parents didn’t want to raise a fairy and wanted the chance to save their own children.

The difference with the Supernatural lore was the feeding off the mother. The changelings in Scottish, Irish and other European folklore would live in the comfort of the human family. There is a sense of draining, as people believed the children (if they lived) would remain sick or disabled, which would mean extra time for the parents–usually the mother.

Next: Seven Deadly Sins lore in Supernatural and real life

Did you know about the real changeling lore? Had you heard about it before Supernatural? Share in the comments below.

Like SPN Hunters on Twitter for more looks into the lore used in Supernatural.