He brought news of the death of Christ. When these creatures of the forest heard the story of the crucifixion, they wept. As their tears fell upon the earth, they crystallized to form beautiful crosses. When the fairies disappeared from the enchanted place, ground about the spring and the adjacent valley was strewn with these mementos of the event. For many years people held these little crosses in superstitious awe, firm in the belief that they protected the wearer against witchcraft, sickness, accidents and disaster.
Fairy stones are brown staurolite, a combination of silica, iron and aluminum.
Together, these minerals crystallize in twin form, accounting for the crosslike structure. Found only in rocks that have been subjected to great heat and pressure, the stones are most commonly shaped like St. Andrew's and Roman crosses. The most sought after are those in the shape of the Maltese cross. Staurolite stones are also found in the mountains of North Carolina and in Switzerland, but nowhere else in the world are they found in such abundance and shaped so nearly like crosses as in the vicinity of Fairy Stone State Park. Because availability varies moment by moment, it cannot be handled through email.