Mermaid M887
‘A mermaid was cast ashore by the sea in the country of Alba. One hundred and ninety five feet was her length, eighteen feet was the length of her hair, seven feet was the...
Category: Scottish Fairies
Lochan-Nan-Deaan
The following extract is taken from Folklore [A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution & Custom] Vol III (1892). ‘This is a small loch on the side of the old military* road between Gorgarff and Tomintoul. The road passes close by its brink on the west side. On the other side of the road is an almost perpendicular rock, between 400 and 500 feet high.
Tobar-Fuar-Mòr (The Big Cold Well)
The following description of The Big Cold Well is taken from Folklore [A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution & Custom] Vol III (1892). ‘This well is situated at the bottom of a steep hill in a fork between two small streams on the estate of Allargue, Corgarff. There are three springs that supply the water, distant from each other about a yard.
Tobar-na-glas a Coille (The Well in the Grey Wood)
‘This well lies near the old military road, near the top of the hill that divides the glen of Corgarff from Glengairn. In a small knoll near it lived a spiteful Spirit that went by the name of Duine-glase-beg, i.e., the Little Grey Man. He was guardian of the well and watched over its water with great care.
When Witches Communed With Fairies
Our modern conventions tend to view the realms of fairies and witches separately. Witches have been viewed as evil, while fairies are seen as benevolent, cute, and kind. As scholars reevaluate witch trials and the confessions of those accused, we are coming to new conclusions on accused witches.
Orkney’s Terrible Trows
Trows are fascinating creatures found only in the folklore of the Orkney and Shetland islands. But, describing them accurately is difficult because sources are not clear. Folklorists have long insisted that the word “trow” is a corruption of “troll,” and that Orkney’s Trows descend from their Viking ancestors’ stories of Trolls.
Folklore And The Fin Folk of Orkney
Folklore is an integral part of any cultural heritage. Sometimes written off as childish fairytale, folklore deserves to be recognized as a valuable treasure trove of information about our own past. The tales and legends of folklore are the result of oral tradition handed down by mouth through the generations.
Lochan-wan (Lambs’ Loch)
The following extract is taken from Folklore [A Quarterly Review of Myth, Tradition, Institution & Custom] Vol III (1892). ‘Lochan-wan* is a small loch, in a fine grazing district, lying on the upper confines of Aberdeen and Banffshire.
The Cailleach
From high mountain pass, exhaling ice breath, (2).
Comes Cailleach clothed in summers death.
Cold fingers search under starlight’s lantern
Staff cracks dew to frosted mantle, (3).
In the stags hoary frosted bark,
Riding with wolves on the cloak of the dark. (4).
From mountain, hillock, stone and spring (5).
The Undreamed Region: Barrows In Folklore & Archaeology
Hills, mounds and burial sites. Places which have a timeless allure. Such places can be seen and regarded as mythically liminal, a place that it is not a place. A place outside of time. A place where the living freely walk with the dead. Barrows are just such places.
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