I was rereading some Sandman comics and I noticed that a tithe (tax of some sort, I believe) was paid by the people of Faerie to Hell every seven years, and this is mentioned by the character Cluracan, once in "Season of Mists" and once in "World's End." Cluracan says every 7 years his people give Hell "nine of our wisest... our most beautiful..." I searched the tithe online and couldn't get much specific information, but most sources indicate that the tithe payment is one human of exceptional beauty and intelligence. However, the sources are an old poem, some book reviews, and Wikipedia, and they all contradict the Great Gaiman. His comics indicate a payment of NINE beings. Cluracan doesn't finish his sentence, so I don't know whether Neil thinks the tithe is humans or faeries. If they are faeries, WTF? The fair folk don't have souls. Why does Hell want them? If they are humans, that makes more sense, because Wikipedia says changelings were sometimes stolen to use as tithe payments, but I still don't understand why Faerie pays any tithe at all, and is it one or nine people? Does anyone have ANY information on this?

The only thing all the different bits of folklore that can be found about what a tithe is have in common is that it involves a, usually human, sacrifice.