Scottish Myth: The Blue Men of Minch.

 

 

 

 

The turbulent waters between Scotland and the Isle of Lewis  is called The Minch and like many large bodies of water, there are legends of otherworldly creatures lurking below it's depths.

The strait between the Island of Lewis and the Shiant Isles was known in the 19th century as ‘the stream of the Blue Men

They are a personification of the unpredictable and dangerous waters they inhabit.

The Blue Men of Minch are blue skinned men  similar to mermaids with tails and webbed hands. Also known as storm kelpies, they can use their powers to create storms to capsize ships and drown sailors. 

 

 

                                                                         The Shiant Isles  

The Blue Men are the source of many sea shanties.

Poetry was the primary form of defense against them. The chief "Blue Man" would recite two lines of poetry, and the captain of the ship would have to complete it to stop the attack.

 

They live in underwater caves in a clan system, while generations of folklore say they can only be beaten by making sure you get the last word in a rhyming duel.

Old legends claim that many Ship Captains escaped a watery fate thanks  the sharpness of his tongue, while those less fortunate are left to perish in the cold and raging waters common to the region.

However, innocent fishermen who have done nothing to anger the Sea Kelpies will be allowed pass through the area safely.

While they  sleep  the weather would remain calm but they could create storms whenever they wished too do so especially when angered.

 

 

The Blue Men can also help the locals, with a Samhain or Halloween tradition involving the lighting of a candle by the sea.

Ale is then poured into the water in order to encourage the Blue Men to leave seaweed on the beach as fertilizer

Physically they  are the same size as an average  human , but their strength if far greater then a normal man.

They wear a blue cap's on their head  and have grey faces which often  appear above the waves when they are surveying the seas.

 

 In summer weather they skim the waved just below the surface but when the wind is high they revel in the storm and swim with heads erect, splashing the waters with delight. Sometimes they are seen floating from the waist out to sea, and sometimes turning round like porpoises when they dive.”