At the same time, old folk tales portray these creatures as wild and powerful. Generally not malevolent (certainly not godly), but not something you should mess with.

But I agree it's the new spooky supernatural go-to. Goblincore is the new zeitgeist and I'm here for it!

Hasn't been anything "recent" for me. Check out the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. My favorite depiction of "fae" in a modern setting. Yeah, you still have dew drop fairies and gnomes and shit but you also have giant fuckass murder ogres and insane kelpies and war unicorns.

The second Hellboy movie also did a great job bringing that sort of grimdark feel to the fae lore imo.

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.

Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.

Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.

Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.

Elves are terrific. They beget terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

No one ever said elves are nice.

Elves are bad.”

I wouldn't call Sir Terry Pratchett all that new, and his interpretation of elves and the fay in general comes from myths and legends that predate Tolkien as well as Tolkien himself.

*Godzilla stomps through downtown Tokyo causing wanton destruction*
"Pfft, typical fairy."

Basic alt girls with floral/bird tattoos who think making soup was alien enough to be considered magicks love BG3 and DnD. Now their orbiting nerds have accepted their new definition to not be cast out.

It's another personality substitute after the tattoos, hair dye, and Lovecraft obsessions stopped feeling edgy.