Scottish Myth: The Wulver.

 

 

                                                          The Wulver.

 This is a form of werewolf that stalks the lands of Shetland but unlike the common myth, this creature was never human. It has the body of a man but the head of a wolf, and is not seen as aggressive if left to his own devices. He will occasionally leave fish on the windowsills of the poor to ensure that people don’t starve to death.

 

 

Werewolves come in many forms and Scotland's very own werewolf seems to be a far gentler version  the its European counterpart.

 

The Wulver lives in the Shetland Islands, however unlike common werewolf,s the wulver was never  human, he is instead a a man with a wolf's head. 

 

He usually live's in a cave and was covered from head to toe in brown hair; he had a favorite fishing spot on top of a flat stone now  called the Wulver's Stane.

Local legend said the wulver was not aggressive or evil and should be left alone; it was even considered benevolent and would  help the poor with food, lead the lost home and protect the wounded.

 The wulver was a work of fiction by author Jessie Saxby and only dates from the 1930s.

so not an actual cryptid but still a good story.

 

 The real folklore version of the Wulver is Te Cynocephalus /
Cynocephali or Dog Headed People. More on them in a a future post :)

Each Uisge: The Scottish Water Horse.

 

 

 

 

 

The each-uisge, is a supernatural water horse that can  be  found in the Scottish Highlands, it's an extremely aggressive  and possible the fiercest and most dangerous of the water-horses fay.

Often mistaken for the kelpie (which inhabits streams and rivers), the each-uisge lives in the sea, sea lochs, and fresh water lochs.

 

 This creature  is a shape-shifter just like the kelpie, it will often  disguise itself as a beautiful horse, pony, a handsome man or an enormous bird such as a boobrie.

 

If you try to ride it while in horse form,  you will  only be safe as long as its ridden on land. However, the moment it see's even small amount of water it's  skin becomes as sticky as a strong adhesive and it will immediately go to the deepest part of the loch with its victim. After you have been dragged to the bottom and  drowned, the each-uisge will  tear you apart and eat your entire body except for the liver, which later  floats to the surface.

 

 

 

In its human form it often  appears as a handsome man, but can still  be recognized as a water  creature by the water weeds or sand and mud in its hair.

 Because of this, people in the Highlands were usually couscous around a lone animals and strangers by the water's edge, near where the each-uisge was sighted. 

 

The each-uisge has a desire for human women.

 Any woman that it sets its sights on is almost certain  to become its victim.

One old story tells of a  young woman who  encountered a water horse in the form of a handsome young man while she was herding cattle,  he laid his head in her lap and fell asleep. 

When he stretched himself she discovered that he had horse's hooves and quietly made her escape (in an alternate variations of the tale she finds the presence of water weeds or sand in his hair). 

In another account a water horse in human form come's to a woman's house where she was alone and attempted to court her, (other versions claim he tried to rape her) but all he got for his unwanted advances was boiling water thrown in his crotch. He ran from the house roaring in pain. In a third tale a father and his three sons conspired to kill a water horse that came to the house to see the daughter. When they grabbed the young man he reverted to his horse form and would have carried them into the loch, but in the struggle they managed to slay him with their dirks.(daggers)  Despite its amorous tendencies, however, the each-uisge is just as likely to simply devour women in the same manner as its male victims.

 

Cnoc-na-Bèist ("Hillock of the Monster") is the name of a knoll on the Isle of Lewis where an each-uisge was slain by the brother of a woman it tried to seduce, by the freshwater Loch a’ Mhuileinn ("Loch of the Mill").

Along with its human victims, cattle and sheep were also often prey to the each-uisge, and it could be lured out of the water by the smell of roasted meat.

There are also tales of the   each-uisge in the  River Spey in the Cairngorms. The An t-Each Ban was a white water-horse, which despite not being the usual black color was otherwise "traditional", seeking out travelers on stormy nights in its horse form, and leaping with its victims into deep water. 

The yellow horse of the Spey was an even more unusual color and its preferred victims were married couples. Legends also claim  that if a woman could get a hold of the rich bridles and replace it with a cow shackle then she would have power over the each uisge for the rest of her life and that the bridle would bring her good fortune.

 

The aughisky or Irish water horse is similar in many respects to the Scottish version. It sometimes comes out of the water to gallop on land and, despite the danger, if the aughisky can be caught and tamed then it will make the finest of steeds provided it is not allowed to glimpse the ocean.

The cabyll-ushtey (or cabbyl-ushtey), the Manx water horse, sometimes confused or conflated with the glashtyn, is just as ravenous as the each-uisge though there are not as many tales told about it. One of them recounts how a cabbyl-ushtey emerged from the Awin Dhoo (Black River) and devoured a farmer's cow, then later it took his teenage daughter.

 A blacksmith from Raasay lost his daughter to the each-uisge. In revenge the blacksmith and his son made a set of large hooks, in a forge they set up by the loch side. They then roasted a sheep and heated the hooks until they were red hot. At last a great mist appeared from the water and the each-uisge rose from the depths and seized the sheep. The blacksmith and his son rammed the red-hot hooks into its flesh and after a short struggle dispatched it. In the morning there was nothing left of the creature apart from a jelly-like substance

 

 

Each Uisge Skeleton 

If you happen to be traveling through the Highlands be weary of any overly friendly horse especially near water.  You Never know when your luck may run out..

 

 

 

 

 

Parting.

  Parting 

By Emily Dickinson 

My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.

Haunted House 👻

Haunted Houses

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All houses wherein men have lived and died
  Are haunted houses.  Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
  With feet that make no sound upon the floors. 

We meet them at the doorway, on the stair,
  Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
  A sense of something moving to and fro. 

There are more guests at table, than the hosts
  Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
  As silent as the pictures on the wall. 

The stranger at my fireside cannot see
  The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
  All that has been is visible and clear. 

We have no title-deeds to house or lands;
  Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
  And hold in mortmain still their old estates. 

The spirit-world around this world of sense
  Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapors dense
  A vital breath of more ethereal air. 

Our little lives are kept in equipoise
  By opposite attractions and desires;
The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,
  And the more noble instinct that aspires. 

These perturbations, this perpetual jar
  Of earthly wants and aspirations high,
Come from the influence of an unseen star,
  An undiscovered planet in our sky. 

And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud
  Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light,
Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd
  Into the realm of mystery and night,– 

So from the world of spirits there descends
  A bridge of light, connecting it with this,
O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends,
  Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss

Irish Folklore: The Merrow 🧜‍♀️🌊

 

 

 

                                                   🧜‍♀️ The Merrow🍀

Mermaids are a global phenomena, every culture (Or at least the ones nearest the sea) have legends dating back century's from sailors encounters the beach side sighting.s.

 

Today we talk about the Irish Mermaid: The Merrow.

 

 Just like the alluring Sirens of Greek Mythology, The beautiful songs of the Merrow (The females ) was used to entice humans to come  closer.

As far as mermaid tales go these mermaids were mostly kind to humans, however they would sometimes ,  attack sailors or anyone else who startled or threatens them.

The Irish were weary of  them  because of their sometimes violent nature, they could be violent or friendly on a whim…and if angered they  could be Very  dangerous. Tales of violence (such as pulling the arms and legs off of their victims) were not uncommon…

Like most mermaid stories, human men  especially sailors  would see the beautiful female Merrow on the shores or in the sea, and they would fall in love with them, despite the risks…some would try to steal their cohuleen driuth (magic caps, similar to a Selkies pelt), so that they could not go back underwater.

 Many marriages (some less than ideal, given the method of “wooing”) were  arranged between Merrow and human men…

The Merrow who lived with men on the land (by choice or force), would often tire of their new lifestyle.

Over time, they would become tired of life on land and long to return to the sea they once called home,  the lucky ones, who still had their magic caps, would eventually find a way home…

Other female Merrow would sometimes lure men with their enchanting voices and good looks, and then take them under the waves to live amongst them. They would dwell together in a bewitched state, sometimes for years or even decades …

The male Merrow would often abducted sailors and keep  them enslaved beneath the sea!

The females had light green hair, or long, golden hair…they always wore enchanted caps which allowed them to swim far beneath the sea’s surface and to live safely underwater.

Next time your on the Irish shore keep a look out that beautiful bonny lass may be more then she appears 

Irish Folklore: The Far Darrig

                  The Far Daring or Fear Dearg.

A far darrig or fear dearg is a faerie. The name far darrig means Red Man, because he  wears a red coat and cap.

 

They are also sometimes known as Rat Boys because of their slightly  fat bodies, dark, long snouts and skinny tails.

The far darrig is usually  a solitary fairy along with the leprechaun and the clurichaun, all of whom are, mischievous  and enjoy pranking humans .

 

The far darrig is most often described as a mischievous prankster as he enjoys  playing  practical joking on people, thought he has a dark sense of humor and  enjoys cruel "jokes".

 

 One of his favorite "jokes" is switching  human babies with changelings.

 

They're also believed to have some connection to nightmares and invading peoples dreams.

Because of  his red coat and cap, along with his darker sense of humor, it's possible that the Far Darrig has relation to the English Redcap........Though the Redcaps are Far more sinister..

 

 

                                                                     ..Redcap..

 

Napoleon Believed in a Little Red Man of Destiny

 

Napoleon seemed to have interactions or at least a belief in  A Little Red Man(Most lily a different spirite, not a Far Darring.

Napoleon interpreted his dreams and he liked to tell ghost stories. He firmly believed in a Little Red Man of Destiny who foretold his future, and let this belief influence his decisions. A thoughtful historical look at Napoleon should include his superstitions and folklore beliefs, and an assessment of how much they influenced his actions.

The Little Red Man of Destiny was a legendary ghost who had appeared at the Tuileries Palace.

(Red Man post coming soon.)