Group 1:

Mysterious Britain and Ireland by Daniel Parkinson

Kelpie The Kelpie is the supernatural shape-shifting water horse that haunts the rivers and streams of Scotland. It is probably one of the best known of Scottish water spirits and is often mistakenly thought to haunt lochs, which are the reserve of the Each Uisge.

The creature could take many forms and had an insatiable appetite for humans; its most common guise was that of a beautiful tame horse standing by the riverside - a tempting ride for a weary traveller. Anybody foolish enough to mount the horse - perhaps a stranger unaware of the local traditions - would find themselves in dire peril, as the horse would rear and charge headlong into the deepest part of the water, submerging with a noise like thunder to the travellers watery grave. The Kelpie was also said to warn of impending storms by wailing and howling, which would carry on through the tempest. This association with thunder - the sound its tail makes as it submerges under water - and storms, may be related to ancient worship of river and weather deities by the ancient Celts, although this is difficult to substantiate.

One of the other forms assumed by the Kelpie was that of a hairy humanoid, who would leap out from the riverside vegetation to attack passing travellers. Their grip was said to be like that of a vice, crushing the life out of anybody unfortunate enough to come within the Kelpies clutches.

The Kelpie was thought to inhabit rivers throughout Scotland, and one is recorded as being banished by St Columba from the River Ness, which later became associated with the Loch Ness Monster. Another Kelpie abode was the river Conon (Conan) in Perthshire, which was treacherous in flood, and associated with other dangerous water spirits.

There was one way in which a Kelpie could be defeated and tamed; the Kelpies power of shape shifting was said to reside in its

bridle, and anybody who could claim possession of it could force the Kelpie to submit to their will. A Kelpie in subjugation was highly prized, it had the strength of at least 10 horses and the endurance of many more, but the fairy races were always dangerous captives especially those as malignant as the Kelpie. It was said that the MacGregor clan were in possession of a Kelpies bridle, passed down through the generations from when one of their clan managed to save himself from a Kelpie near Loch Slochd.

As I have mentioned above many of these water spirits may be related to ancient worship passed down in the diluted form of folk tales and legends. The wide distribution of the tales and the similarity in nature of water spirits lends weight to this argument. Water must have had a duel nature to our ancestors as a life giver but also a life taker reflected in the treachery of water spirits

Group 2: Selkies

Legends 101: SelkiesBy Lisa Asanuma

Selkies are one of my favorite changeling legends, seals that can remove their skins and become human.  They originate in Orkney Islands, and are mainly prevelent in Scottish, Irish and Icelandic tradition. It is said that a selkie can come on land and come into contact with one—just one—human, but then they must return to the sea for seven years before they can come ashore again, though some places say one year.  Selkies in their human form are supposed to be particularly beautiful and attractive.

Male selkies are said to have power over storms, and to sink ships to avenge against seal-hunters, but they also are drawn to women who are unhappy in their romantic life—a woman can even summon a selkie man to her by letting seven of her tears fall into the ocean.

Female selkies tend to have a hard lot in stories.  Just like the males, they can shed their skin and once they put it back on they must return to the ocean for a set amount of time, but if their skin is stolen from them, and hidden (or in some cases, burnt) then the woman must marry the man who has stolen her seal skin. 

Group 3: Nessie

The Legend of Loch Ness By Stephen Lyons Posted 01.12.99 NOVA

"Many a man has been hanged on less evidence than there is for the Loch Ness Monster."—G.K. Chesterton

For at least 1,500 years a legend has held sway in the Scottish Highlands that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious aquatic animal. Find out how this legend got its start and how various possible sightings have kept the legend alive.

This much-debated photo from 1934 may be iconic, but the legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back to before the Roman invasion

of the region. Enlarge Photo credit: Fortean Pictures Library

birth of a legend

When the Romans first came to northern Scotland in the first century A.D., they found the Highlands occupied by fierce, tattoo-covered tribes they called the Picts, or painted people. From the carved, standing stones still found in the region around Loch Ness, it is clear the Picts were fascinated by animals, and careful to render them with great fidelity. All the animals depicted on the Pictish stones are lifelike and easily recognizable—all but one. The exception is a strange beast with an elongated beak or muzzle, a head locket or spout, and flippers instead of feet. Described by some scholars as a swimming

elephant, the Pictish beast is the earliest known evidence for an idea that has held sway in the Scottish Highlands for at least 1,500 years—that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious aquatic animal.

In Scottish folklore, large animals have been associated with many bodies of water, from small streams to the largest lakes, often labeled Loch-na-Beistie on old maps. These water-horses, or water-kelpies, are said to have magical powers and malevolent intentions. According to one version of the legend, the water-horse lures small children into the water by offering them rides on its back. Once the children are aboard, their hands become stuck to the beast and they are dragged to a watery death, their livers washing ashore the following day.

The earliest written reference linking such creatures to Loch Ness is in the biography of Saint Columba, the man credited with introducing Christianity to Scotland. In A.D. 565, according to this account, Columba was on his way to visit a Pictish king when he stopped along the shore of Loch Ness. Seeing a large beast about to attack a man who was swimming in the lake, Columba raised his hand, invoking the name of God and commanding the monster to "go back with all speed." The beast complied, and the swimmer was saved.

When Nicholas Witchell, a future BBC correspondent, researched the history of the legend for his 1974 book The Loch Ness Story, he found about a dozen pre-20th-century references to large animals in Loch Ness, gradually shifting in character from these clearly mythical accounts to something more like eyewitness descriptions.

Group 4: Robert the Bruce and the Spider

Robert the Bruce (and the Spider)(Scotland)

HUNDREDS of years ago there was a king of Scotland and his name was Robert the Bruce. It was a good thing that he was both brave and wise, because the times in which he lived were wild and dangerous. The King of England was at war with him, and had led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of the land and to make Scotland a part of England.                Battle after battle he had fought with England. Six times Robert the Bruce had led his brave little army against his foes. Six times his men had been beaten, until finally they were driven into flight. At last the army of Scotland was

entirely scattered, and the king was forced to hide in the woods and in lonely places among the mountains.                One rainy day, Robert the Bruce lay in a cave, listening to the rainfall outside the cave entrance. He was tired and felt sick at heart, ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more.

                As he lay thinking, he noticed a spider over his head, getting ready to weave her web. He watched her as she worked slowly and with great care. Six times she tried to throw her thread from one edge of the cave wall to another. Six times her thread fell short.                "Poor thing!" said Robert the Bruce. "You, too, know what it's like to fail six times in a row."                But the spider did not lose hope. With still more care, she made ready to try for a seventh time. Robert the Bruce almost forgot his own troubles as he watched, fascinated. She swung herself out upon the slender line. Would she fail again? No! The thread was carried safely to the cave wall, and fastened there.                "Yes!" cried Bruce, "I, too, will try a seventh time!"                 So he arose and called his men together. He told them of his plans, and sent them out with hopeful messages to cheer the discouraged people. Soon there was an army of brave men around him. A seventh battle was fought, and this time the King of England was forced to retreat back to his own country.                It wasn't long before England recognized Scotland as an independent

country with Robert the Bruce as its rightful king.                And to this very day, the victory and independence of Scotland is traced to a spider who kept trying again and again to spin her web in a cave and inspired the king of Scotland, Robert the Bruce.

Group 5: Bean-Nighe

Daniel Parkinson

The Bean Nighe is an example of the ominous 'Washerwoman at the Ford' rendered in the Highland tradition. The tradition of 'The Washerwomen at the Ford' seems to have its roots in Celtic legend and myth. She appears in the Irish stories and can be identified as the crone aspect of the triple goddess.

The Bean Nighe: by Daniel ParkinsonThe Bean Nighe could be found at the side of desolate streams and pools washing the bloodstained clothing of those who are about to meet their maker. In appearance she was small in stature, always dressed in green and had webbed feet.

Although the Bean Nighe was often seen as an evil portent she was not always a portent of ones own death as in the Irish version, and if approached in the correct way she would grant wishes. All you had to do was get in between her and the water.

You would then be given the opportunity to ask three wishes and three questions, but three questions would have to be given truthfully in return, in the form of a traditional exchange between humans and supernatural creatures.

The washerwomen at the ford appears in Wales, Scotland and Ireland but there is little reference to a tradition in England, although lonely pools are often haunted by some supernatural creature. This is likely to be related to Celtic survivals in the fore-mentioned countries.

Group 6: Wulver

Most of the werewolves in folklore, film and books are usually these monstrous and ferocious

beasts that turn anyone unlucky enough to cross them into nothing but a pile of bloody pulp.

But among the chaos and gore is one old folk tale of a sweet and kind werewolf.

The unique werewolves I am speaking of are the Galley Trots, also known as Wulvers, which

come from the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The wulver is described as a normal man covered

with short brown hair, but what is not so normal is that this man has the head of a wolf.

As long as the wulvers are left in peace they show no

aggression to anyone. The best known stories about

awulver claim that it would spend its time sitting on a

rock and fishing. That rock is still known today as “The

Wulver’s Stane.” When the wulver was finished fishing

it was known to leave some of its fish on the window sills

of poor families.

But like most supernatural creatures, there are a few bad

stories about wulvers as well. In some versions of the

myth they were mainly associated with old burial grounds

and ancient buildings. Their presence was once thought

to indicate that valuable items or money was hidden

nearby. There was also the belief that to see a wulver or galley trot was an omen of

approaching death. In some parts they said they would only appear to sit mournfully outside the

home of a terminally ill person.

Even those “bad” things pointed out above aren’t actually all that bad compared to

other werewolfstories out there. Sometimes those stories of scary fanged beasts ripping bodies

apart with their claws and then getting shot by a silver bullet get old. So it’s refreshing to have

at least one old folktale about a helpful and compassionate werewolf.

- Moonlight

Group 7: Blue Men of Minch

The Blue Men of the MinchFolklore tells of a tribe of supernatural sea creatures called the Blue Men of the Minch, who used to inhabit the stretch of water known as the Minch, between Lewis, the Shiant Islands and Long Island.They were humanoid in appearance with blue skin, kinned with mermen they would swim alongside ships passing the Sound of Shiant in an attempt to lure sailors into the water, and conjure storms to wreck ships. They lived in deep underwater caves in a clan system ruled over by a chief. Like many supernatural creatures they could be beaten with a cunning tongue, and by making sure you got the last word in a rhyme. Many a sea captain is said to have escaped sure disaster with the sharpness of his tongue, and his skill in riddles.There are a few theories about their origins, it has been suggested that they were fallen angels, and on a more historical note, a folk memory of Moorish slaves marooned in Ireland in the 9th Century by Viking pirates and slave traders.

Creatures of Scottish maritime folklore known in Scottish Gaelic as Na Fir Ghorma [the blue men]. The Minch is the passage between the Outer Hebrides to the west and the mainland and Inner Hebrides to the east; it is known in Scottish Gaelic as Sruth nam Fear Gorm [Stream of the Blue Men]. They swam out to capsize passing ships, but could be thwarted by captains skilled at rhyming who could keep the last word. The Blue Men were thought to be especially active near the Shiant Islands in the Outer Hebrides.

See Donald A. MacKenzie, Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-Life (London and Glasgow, 1935), 85–98.