according to yeats' "fairy and folk tales of the irish peasantry" the fear gorta walks the earth during times of famine, seeking alms from passers-by. in this version the fear gorta can be a potential source of good luck for generous individuals. harvey relates a myth that the fear gorta was a harbinger of famine during the great irish famine of the 1840s, and that the spirit originally arises from a patch of hungry grass (féar gortach).