Shortcuts Through the Ghetto

I was reading a fantasy novel the other day, by one of those "widely-acknowledged masters of the genre" we're always hearing about, and the story had a familiar sort of shape.(1) Young woman moves into spooky old house in a small village filled with eccentric relatives and retainers. (2) Spooky things happen. (3) Heroine receives explanation from Local Crone, to-wit: "There are Pixies living in