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A household spirit in the folklore of Scotland and northern England, generally described as a shaggy-haired little man about 3 feet (1 meter) tall, sometimes dressed in shabby brown clothes and sometimes naked. Meg Mullach, or Hairy Meg, is an example of a female brownie, but in most accounts they are male.

Brownies attached themselves to a particular household or farm. They came out at night to complete tasks left unfinished by servants or farm laborers, tending to livestock, threshing grain, reaping crops, cleaning the house and barns, churning butter, and taking care of numerous other chores. In return, housewives left out treats, placing a bowl of cream, or a tidbit of freshly baked bread or cake where the brownie was likely to find it by chance. It was important not to offer a brownie direct payment for his services, as this invariably led to his departure. Some say this was because brownies were only bound to work until considered worthy of payment; others that the brownie was too much of a free spirit to accept the bondage of human clothes or wages. The Cauld Lad of Hilton is one of many examples of a brownie who ceased his services when he was given the gift of clothing. In Cornwall, a pisky sometimes performed a similar role to a brownie, helping with the threshing of the corn. But when the pisky threshers were given new clothes, they vanished, never to return. In one unusual case a Lincolnshire brownie was annually given a linen shirt. One year the farmer substituted a shirt of coarse hemp and the brownie took offense at the poor quality of the garment and left.

Criticizing a brownie’s work was another sure way to cause offense and turn him from an industrious helper into a troublesome, mischievous boggart. However, when treated with respect, a brownie was very loyal to the master or mistress of the household, chiding and scolding lazy servants and laborers, and even fetching the midwife when his mistress went into labor.

See also Aiken Drum, Bodachan Sabhaill, Boggart, Bongas, Brownie-Clod, Bwbachod, Bwca, Tom Cockle, Dobbs, Dobie, Fenodoree, Gruagach, Haltija, Hob, Hobgoblin, Kaboutermannekin, Killmoulis, Kobold, Kodinhaltia, Korrigan, Niagriusar, Nisse, Phouka, Portunes, Puddlefoot, Redcaps, Silkies, Urisk, Wag-at-the-Wa’.