'Fairies are my life'

From supernatural sightings in the woods to channelling mermaid energy in the bath, punk rocker-turned fairy whisperer Karen Kay doesn't care if people call her delusional

- INTERVIEW BY MATTHEW BARBOUR

Bathtime is a little different at former punk rocker and mermaid-lover Karen Kay's house. The self-confessed 'fairy whisperer' who has been able to see the mythical beings since she was a child, adds a handful of sand to the tub, before placing mermaid figurines, soaps, shells and candles around her.

"I'll have ocean waves playing in the background, dim the lights and close my eyes," she said. "I drift off and sometimes it literally feels like I've got a tail, it can feel so powerful."

Karen, 60, who lives in Truro, Cornwall, says she first discovered her connection to the elemental kingdom as a little girl.

"Fairies are connected with children, who have their eyes open, they're untarnished, and ever since then, when I was just four or five years old, I've not just been a believer, it's become my life."

Her focus changed during her teens and 20s however. "I had a brief rebel period when I dropped out of school at 16 and joined various bands in London, gigging everywhere, and living the life of an old-school punk rocker.

"I was always a bit alternative, whatever I did but even then, I dressed as a goth fairy, with black wings and tutus, and had my first fairy tattoo done."

She was even a punk model and photos of her with bright red spiky hair were splashed over postcards sold all over London during the 1980s.