#Scottish Folklore

[the-evil-clergyman]

The Kelpie by Herbert James Draper (1913)

[hairtusk]

'Wool waulking is a traditional Scottish process of finishing and strengthening newly woven woolen fabrics. It is a significant social and cultural activity, often carried out by women in the Highlands of Scotland. The Gaelic songs that are sung during waulking have a distinctive rhythmic pattern that aids in synchronising the work.'

(Video and text via Inverness Outlanders)

[thefugitivesaint]

Jill Karla Schwarz, 'Tam Lin', ''Fairies and Elves'', 1984 Source I'm going to use this post as the perfect opportunity to direct you to my favorite song from the folk band Fairport Convention from their 1969 album 'Liege & Lief', Tam Lin (which, I'm sure, I've posted about at some point)

[minnesota-fats]

So I was looking up myths and such and found a Cù-sìth, found in both Irish and Scottish folklore. The Cù-sìth is described as a large dog like creature that has shaggy green fur and is as large as a small cow.

And I thought: Thats Cujo!!!!

The Cù-sìth are known for taking dying souls to the afterlife.

[blairstales]

How To Get Free Books On Folklore

I do not believe in gatekeeping knowledge, so this post will be sharing how I get all my folklore books for free, legally.

To explain, when a book gets over a certain age and the copyright is not upkept, it falls under “public domain.” When that happens, many different websites will provide those books as a free download.

This is not restricted to one type of book, either. You can grab anything from Sherlock Holmes to history books, to folklore, and more.

If you are looking for a specific book, you may have to check more than one source, so I suggest bookmarking more than one website.

Example Websites:

Internet Archive

Project Gutenberg

Google Books

Open Library

Electric Scotland (Scottish books)

Sacred Texts

National Library of Scotland: Ossain Collection

Forgotten Books

Hathitrust

For me when I download a book, I then upload them to my Google library so that I can use the search functions as well as bring up the books anywhere, but a popular PC option isCalibre.

If you are interested in Scotland-specific folklore, I do have some suggestions of books you can start with.

Scottish Folklore Books:

(link) A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures by Katharine Briggs (1976)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1900)

(link) The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937)

(link) Notes on Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland by Walter Gregor, M.A. (1881)

(link) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1911)

(link) Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland by J. Maxwell Wood (1911)

(link) Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

(link) Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. Mackinlay (1893)

(link) Folk-Lore From The West of Ross-Shire by C.M. Robertson (1908)

(link) The Fairy Mythology / Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries by Thomas Keightley (1850)

(link) Popular Tales of the West Highlands by John Francis Campbell (1862)

(link) Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales by Sir George Douglas

(link) The Scottish Fairy Book By Elizabeth W. Grierson (1918)

(link)

(link) Popular Superstitions of the Highlands By W Grant Stewart (1823)

[chaoschaoswriting]

Scottish Folklore Resources

Since its spooky season, I thought I'd share this list of short posts about Scottish folklore creatures for anyone seeking inspiration. These posts are mostly based on what I have heard as someone who grew up in central Scotland, so please keep in mind that they may differ slightly from other stories you might here; folklore is very much a living oral tradition and there are usually a few iterations of anything floating about.

With that said, I did do some background research to offer other perspective and fact check my memory as much as one can when dealing with this kind of topic!

The Baobhan Sìth

Cat Sìth

Cù Sìth

Red Caps

The Wulver

[laurasimonsdaughter]

The King of the Cats

A fun little folklore plot that shows up in Scotland, Ireland and England is the death (and succession) of the King of the Cats.

The story usually begins with a man being told, either by a cat or a disembodied voice, to inform a certain person that another person has died. Both persons are called by their full name, usually strange names, which are unfamiliar to the protagonist. When the protagonist comes home he tells what a strange thing happened to him. Upon overhearing the message the house cat jumps up and declares that they are now the King of the Cats, immediately leaving never to be seen again.

There are other versions of this type of story, more widespread over Europe, where there cat may be a fairy or troll in disguise. Or there isn’t a cat at all, but a house gnome or elf instead, and the announced death is that of a relative or enemy. But it’s the concept of a King of the Cats who can be succeeded by a cat that is currently an ordinary house cat, that delights me so.

The name of the deceased Cat King and the successor differ per story:

In this version from Lancashire they are called Doldrum and Dildrum.

In Joseph Jacobs’ version, which is an amalgamation of several English variants, they are called Tom Toldrum and Tom Tildrum. (This version even includes a whole feline funeral procession.)

The oldest recorded version of this story is from the Beware the Cat by Baldwin (written 1553, published 1561). Only the dead cat in question (Grimalkin) is never called the king of the cats, and the cats receiving the message (Puss) is a female cat, who is sad to leave her home.

In this Scottish version the successor is unnamed, but the dead Cat King is called Old Peter.

The stories sadly do not say a lot about what it means to be the King of the Cats, apart from some mentioning a sceptre and crown, but Lady Wilde does have something to say about him in her Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (1888):

A most important personage in feline history is the King of the Cats. He may be in your house a common looking fellow enough, with no distinguishing mark of exalted rank about him, so that it is very difficult to verify his genuine claims to royalty. Therefore the best way is to cut off a tiny little bit of his ear. If he is really the royal personage, he will immediately speak out and declare who he is; and perhaps, at the same time, tell you some very disagreeable truths about yourself, not at all pleasant to have discussed by the house cat.

Her second example has a content warning for animal cruelty, so I will put it underneath a cut, but it does imply that the Cat King might be capable of reincarnation…

A man once, in a fit of passion, cut off the head of the domestic pussy, and threw it on the fire. On which the head exclaimed, in a fierce voice, "Go tell your wife that you have cut off the head of the King of the Cats; but wait! I shall come back and be avenged for this insult," and the eyes of the cat glared at him horribly from the fire. And so it happened; for that day year, while the master of the house was playing with a pet kitten, it suddenly flew at his throat and bit him so severely that he died soon after.

[sierrawitch]

Table of Contents

Welcome to my little corner of the internet. I am autumn sierra, a Goidelic (Celtic) and Eclectic Folk Magick practitioner. Here you’ll find my musings and recordings of my practice and its many facets—including history, geography, language, culture, etc. Please stay a while 🌿

Celtic Pagans & Witches Community Page

Returning to the old ways of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and more, this is a space for us to come together, share traditions, experiences, culture, and much more.

Academic Articles

Menstrual Magick: The Goddess Within

Celtic History & Culture

Ogham Master Post

Celtic Customs: Hair

Mallacht, Géisa, Piseógs, Sugáns & Bulláns: Superstition & Cursing

Scottish Saining

What is “Celtic”?

Sacred Animals & Their Correspondances

Proverbs, Sayings & Blessings

Painful Medicine T.D.M

An Open Ear & Open Mind T.D.M.

Intuitive Magick

Rebirth Shower

Healing Doll

Journal Entries

Visualization for the Clairvoyantly Impaired

Manifestation of the Spoken Word

On Religious Guilt

On Consistency

On Spirits and Animism

Polls

“Baby Witch”

[alittleplaytime]

Ceasg Middlere Stimboard!!

🥚 👙 🐚 | 🥚 👙 🐚 | 🥚 👙 🐚

🌼 media: none, scottish folklore

🐝 age appropriate? -

🍯 rqd by: anon <3

🌻 note: i really hope this works okay!! i think i could've done a better job, i'm so sorry :(

[lailoken]

By Rowan Berry and Red Thread,

I put all Evil to its speed...

[hecatesdelights]

The Kelpie is a shape shifting water spirit in Irish and Scottish legends, who most frequently appears out of water as a black horse-like creature that will drag unwary travelers down into the cold waters

[wolfhidewinter]

Daily kickstarter pre-launch post! If you love werewolves and love werewolf world building lore then please consider following The Howling Howff. It's a 52 page support booklet written by werewolves, for new werewolves and is full of illustrations and photos I've taken There are multiple rewards depending on tiers including bookmarks, art cards and posters! KICKSTARTER

[apilgrimpassingby]

Creepy British Folklore Aesthetic

Animal hearts full of nails and needles acting as anti-witchcraft charms.

The spectre of a white lady roaming the battlements at night.

Witch marks carved on floorboards and beams.

Ghostly black dogs roaming graveyards in the blood-red sunset.

Ancient leatherbound tomes with all kinds of ominous illustrations and cryptic Latin text.

Forests of ancient and tangled oaks that admit almost no light.

Stone circles on the moors veiled with morning mist.

A ruined castle from which ravens issue forth in the morning and bats in the evening.

Strange lights and otherworldly music from the barrow outside town.

Constant driving rain tapping on the glass.

Poppets.

The whole village gathered in church on Candlemas, candles lit and huddled together while the Fair Folk ride outside.

Treeless moors where the fog permits no path to be seen

Candles burning blue.

Hares (the preferred form for witches to turn into) running through the village.

Mandrakes

The Sator Square.

The village cunning woman's cottage, cluttered with toad bones, nails, herbs and candles.

The inhuman noises and ethereal lights emanating from the woods that let people know a Witches' Sabbath is happening there.

[haventacluewhatimdoing]

Guys guys guys so I'm reading a book of Scottish folk tales and I've just been reminded of one I've heard before about a Highlander and a seal (as an aside it turns out I know quite a few Scottish folk tales), and it is PERFECT for a TwoJamie AU. Incoming fic possibly tonight guys I NEED to write this now

[kazenorth]

🌿 The Mirage 🐎

"𝘈 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."

[blairstales]

The Cailleach | Scottish Folklore

The story of the Cailleach can change drastically depending on what area of Scotland you are in, making her a hard figure to pin down as one thing or another.

In some stories, she transforms each year at Tobar na Cailleach(well of the Cailleach) from an old woman into youth, and the change of seasons depict her cycle from youth into elderly age.

In other stories, the Cailleach is more of a villainous figure, that either stubbornly fights back the forces of spring(and is ultimately overcome by the united forces of the sun, dew, and rain), or the Cailleach holds spring prisoner in the form of a beautiful young woman named Bride. Bride is eventually rescued by a young man named Aengus, and their union brings forth spring.

To again bring on winter, she washes her great plaid in the whirlpool of Corryvreckan, a spectacle that heralds the onset of winter storms.

The Corryvreckan Whirlpool

Thanks to her winter and storm association, it is perhaps no surprise mountains named after her, such as Beinn na Cailleach, often become engulfed in storm-clouds during the winter months.

However, there are also stories that reflect a side of the Cailleach that goes beyond her association with winter.

“-… it is undoubted that the Cailleach is the guardian spirit of a number of animals. ‘The deer have the first claim on her. They are her cattle; she herds and milks them and often gives them protection against the hunter. Swine, wild goats, wild cattle and wolves were also her creatures. In another aspect she was a fishing goddess. “ A Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katharine Briggs (1976)

Sometimes, she is a guardian of sacred wells, demonstrated in Alasdair Alpin MacGregor’s “The Peat-Fire Flame” which recounts a tale where the Cailleach’s failure to cover a spring with a stone results in a catastrophic flood and the forming of Loch Awe.

“But one day, weary with hunting the corries of Cruachan, she fell asleep on the sunny hillside. Not until the third morning did she awaken; and by that time her heritage lay beneath the waters of the loch that since then has been known as Loch Awe.” The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937)

Othertimes, she is a source of healing, such as at the ancient shrine of Tigh nam Bodach(sometimes also called Tigh na Cailleach), which is associated with the Cailleach, the Bodach (Old Man), and their daughter Nighean(who is not always mentioned).

“The Tigh na Cailleach near Glen Lyon in Perthshire, Scotland”

At the shrine, there are stones known as healing stones, and they are carefully taken care of. Historically, someone had to put them inside on the first day of November, and take them out on the first day of May. As well as that, they were to be give a fresh bed of straw on winter festival days.

“In what is believed to be the oldest uninterrupted pre-Christian ritual in Britain, the water-worn figures from the River Lyon are taken out of their house every May and faced down the glen, and returned every November. The ritual marked the two great Celtic fire festivals of Beltane(Summer) and Samhain (Winter)and the annual migration of Highland cattle on and off the hills.” Highland Perthshire

So who is the Cailleach? She is the changing of seasons, sometimes a protector of sacred wells and animals, and can even be a source of healing. Basically, she is likely the most complicated subject to study from Scottish Folklore.

Further Reading:

The Folk-lore Journal, Volume 6; Volume 21: The Folk-Lore Of Sutherlandshire  by Miss Dempster

The Celtic Review, Vol 5 (1905): Highland Mythology by E. C. Watson

The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937)

A Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katharine Briggs (1976)

The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A. W. Moore[1891]

Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

Highland Perthshire (website with a blog post)

Historic Audio Recordings

Healing stones at Taigh na Caillich (Track: ID SA1964.72.A24, Date: 1559) “There were healing stones in a house in Gleann na Caillich; the shepherds looked after them. Talk about shepherds in the glen.”

Anecdote regarding Beinn na Caillich and Gleann na Caillich. (Track ID: SA1964.017.B6, Date: 1964) “An old woman and an old man lived in a house in Gleann na Caillich. The shepherd had to put them inside on the first day of November, and take them out on the first day of May. He also had to thatch their house each year.”

Information about St Fillan’s healing stones at Killin. (Track ID: SA1964.71.A5, Date: 1964) There were stones, known as the bodach and cailleach, in a house in Gleann na Caillich in Glen Lyon. Discussion about St Fillan’s stones at Killin. Different stones healed different diseases. The miller was in charge of them. They had to be freshly bedded with straw thrown up by the river on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. This is still done [in 1964]. The person in charge of St Fillan’s relics was known as An Deòrach and he had a croft in a place called Croit an Deòir.