BEWARE: Don’t Walk Through Mushroom Fairy Rings—

Walking outside of one’s house in the morning to be greeted by the unexpected sight of a symmetrical circle of mushrooms that appeared overnight can be a hair-raising experience, leaving many questions.

Surprisingly, this phenomenon is actually far more common than one might think and is the subject of mountain lore dating back ages. Known as “Fairy Rings” and “Elf Circles,” these circular groupings of mushrooms have grown to reach diameters of roughly half a mile, and one in Belfort, France, is believed to be over 700 years old.

Though they are formed mainly in forested areas, they sometimes appear in grassy places. They are made when the mycelium of a fungus growing in the ground absorbs nutrients, breaking down larger molecules in the soil into smaller ones that are then absorbed through the walls of the hyphae near their growing tips. The mycelium moves outward from the center, and when the nutrients in the center are exhausted, the center dies, thereby forming a living ring from which the fairy ring arises.

Appalachian, as well as ancient folklore, is riddled with mentions of fairy rings, which are also known as “sorcerers’ rings” in France and “witches’ rings” in German tradition; both believe they appear on the sites where witches danced the previous night.

Western European traditions, including English, Scandinavian, and Celtic, claim that fairy rings are the result of elves or fairies dancing.

Early Appalachian settlers believed that fairy rings were dangerous places that should be avoided, stating that trespassing into the forbidden ring could result in great curses upon the intruder.

Welsh tradition teaches that fairies lure mortals into the ring in hopes of dancing with them, but once a person steps foot inside the ring, their life will be cut short with exhaustion, death, or madness.

From the page “Folklore, Customs, Legends, and Mythology.”