Changelings are rather popular ones, they often appear within various works of fiction to reference an impish or mischievous child, or sometimes to just indicate a child who seems to have something otherwordly about them.
Changelings are a type of fae, but I can assure you, they are no Tinker Bell, and they are not the popularized modern conception of what a fairy is, as we have already discussed various different fairy types from Irish myth particular, but other cultures as well, that shed a darker light on just what fairies are all about.
Changelings come out of Britannia myth. Many may be familiar with the story of the changeling. It is a common trait among the traditional myth of the fairy for fae to be portrayed as thieves of children. Even in the old beloved tale of Peter Pan (the original by J.M. Barrie not the Disney version) we see instances of fairies stealing children away. In the myth of the changeling in order for a fairy to steal a child they must leave in its place either a carved wooden substitute, or an elderly, feeble fairy that is to play the role of a human infant.
As they age Changelings become notorious pranksters, hence why mischievous children are so oft linked to them. While it is difficult to determine if ones child is a changeling, in some culture such as England, Hungary, and parts of Africa, it was thought that children who were born with teeth were sure to be changelings. If one suspects their children is a changeling the parent might try and trick them into revealing their true identity.
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