The Great Paw
A common story in the Highlands is recounted here by John Gregorson Campbell in his 1902 book ‘Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands’. ‘In the big church of Beauly (Eaglais mhor...
Country and County: Highland
The Apparition In A Dornoch Kirkyard
Dating from the13th century, the parish church in Dornoch is a Cathedral in name only and was historically the seat for the Bishop of Caithness until the 17th century. In his book The Peat-fire...
Old Man of Inverfarigaig
‘It may be mentioned here that Loch Ness has its apparition, as well as its monster. It is known to the Highlanders as the Old Man of Inverfarigaig. “The Bodach,” as he is called...
Loch Leetie
According to an article by W Gregor in Folklore [A Quarterly Review Of Myth, Tradition, Institution & Custom] Vol III (1892) ‘This is a loch in Nairnshire. It was the common belief that a bull lived in it. He was often heard roaring very loudly, particularly during frost. (Told by Mrs. Miller.)’
The Fairy And The Bible-Reader
ON a still Sabbath evening in summer, an old man was seated, reading his Bible in the open air, at a quiet spot upon the Ross-shire coast. A beautiful little lady, clad in green, drew near, and addressing him in a silvery voice, sought to know if for such as she Holy Scripture held out any hope of salvation.
The Witch Of Laggan
A hero celebrated for his hatred of witchcraft, was warming himself in his hunting hut, in the forest of Gaick, in Badenoch. His faithful hounds, fatigued with the morning chase, lay stretched on the turf by his side,–his gun, that would not miss, reclined in the neuk of the bothy,–the skian dhu of the sharp edge hung by his side, and these alone constituted his company.
Loch Na Fideil
Loch Na Fideil was reputedly the home of a legendary female creature or spirit known as the Fideal after which the body of water is named (Loch of the Fideal). Depending upon which source you read, she attacks either men or women and children, dragging them down under the water in order to devour them.
Loch Coruisk
The isolated fresh water Loch Coruisk (Cauldron of Waters) on the Isle of Skye was thought to be the abode of a kelpie.
Loch na Beiste
In his ‘Guide to Gairloch and Loch Maree’ (1886), John H. Dixon gave the following account of a creature that was said to live in Loch na Beiste roughly 50 years early. ‘The existence of water-kelpies in Gairloch, if perhaps not universally credited in the present generation, was accepted as undoubted in the last.
The Water Horse Bridle of Nether Lochaber
In Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs (1893), James Mackinlay quotes an anecdote by Rev Dr Stewart, ‘A drover, whose home was in Nether Lochaber, was returning from a market at Pitlochry by way of the Moor of Rannoch. Night came on; but, as the moon was bright, he continued his journey without difficulty. On reaching Lochanna Cuile, he sat down to refresh himself with bread, cheese, and milk.
Recent Comments