Writing Exercise: What If You Were a Phooka?

Writing Exercise: What If You Were a Phooka?

What is a Phooka? For those of you who do not know, a Phooka is NOT a 6 foot invisable white rabbit named Harvey, that is a Pooka, with a "P" not a fffffff sounding "Ph". Phooka's happen to be my specialty, since I write about them. For anyone familiar with Blackbird of the Twighlight Manor or White Rock Asylum, you know that a Phooka is a human-like creature from the race of Fearie. Phooka's by nature have deathly pale skin, shaggy unkept black hair, bird-like talons were their fingernails should be, and cold black eyes minus of any whites.That is what a Phooka looks like should you ever see a Phooka in it's natural state. However, you most likely will never see one looking as such.

Phookas are shapeshifters, they can look like anything (any living creature that is) or anyone.

Blackbird, of course gets his name for the obviouse reason...his creature of choice is the Black African Eagle---the rare and deadly man-eating Veuroux, freared by the natives. The Eagle that originated the myth that eagle carry off babies and kill them. For most specis of eagle, this is nothing more than a myth, but the Veuroux of Africa, carries off not only babies and small children...in 1968, one attacked and carried of a reporter for The National Geographic Magazine (look it up, they caught it on camera and used it for the cover of I belive the December issue that year)

I created the character Esmerald Mudsburg a.k.a. Blackbird based entirly on that cover of NGMag, and than set out looking for an answer to just exactly what he was. Fearie historian Brian Froud, came up with the answer for me...Blackbird was a Phooka.

According the Froud, Phookas often take the form of black horses, and are known for throughing their riders with the intent to kill.

They have also been known to take on the form of great black dogs and red-eyed wolves, the famous mythacl dog from Hell, Black Shuck (the dog that haughts you dreams and causes nightmares), is believed to be a Phooka.

Like most Fearie races, Phookas are rarely good, often mischivous, and sometimes down right evil. In their humeoid form, they almost always wear black, and in their animal or bird forms, they nearly always choice a creature with black fur or feathers.

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So, now that you know what a Phooka is, back to the original question....

What If You Were a Phooka? What form would you take and why? Would you, like Blackbird and Shuck, reign terror in the hearts of men? Would you be one of the practical jokers...the type to think it's funny to push a man off the cliff, note realizeing that unlike Fearies, humanes drop to their death? Or would you be one of the rare few who, like Harvey, enjoys the company of humans and takes on a friendly form?





What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!




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Copper Cockeral
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*I Love Phookas!*