Scottish Fairies
Creatures of Scottish Folklore
Baobhan Sith
A very dangerous female vampire who haunted the highland regions.
Bean Nighe
The Scottish version of the washer woman at the ford. She always wore green and had webbed feet. She was not always a death portent, and would grant three wishes in certain circumstances.
Baisd Bheulach Read More »
Ballad of Tam Lin
Oh, I forbid you, maidens all
That wear gold on your hair,
To come or go by Carterhaugh,
For young Tam-Lin is there.
There's none that goes by Carterhaugh
But must leave him a wad;
Either gold ring, or green mantles,
Or else their maidenhead.
Now gold rings ye may buy, maidens,
Green mantles ye may spin; Read More »
The Bean Nighe
The Bean Nighe is an example of the ominous 'Washerwoman at the Ford' rendered in the Highland tradition. The tradition of 'The Washerwomen at the Ford' seems to have its roots in Celtic legend and myth. She appears in the Irish stories and can be identified as the crone aspect of the triple goddess. Read More »
Boabhan Sith
The Baobhan Sith is a particularly evil and dangerous female vampire from the highlands of Scotland. They were supposed to prey on unwary travellers in the glens and mountains. The name suggests a form of Banshee.
A common tale is told of 4 young friends who set off on a hunting trip in the glens, benighted the men take refuge in an abandoned Shieldig (small cottage). Read More »
Brownies
A widespread name for a fairy or supernatural creature, they were small in appearance and wore brown coloured clothing.
Like many mischievous spirits they were thought to be attached to houses or families and could be helpful in menial household tasks. If offended they became malignant and mischievous, creating poltergeist activity and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Read More »
The Caillech Bheur
The Cailleach Bheur was a blue hag, said to frequent parts of the Scottish Highlands. Associated with winter, she was reborn on every All Hallows Eve and returned to bring the winter and the winter snows. She carried a magical staff, which froze the ground with every tap. Read More »
The Cait Sith & The Cu Sith
Cait Sith - Literally translates to fairy cat, the creature was said to haunt the Highland region. The cat was said to be as big as a dog and completely black, apart from one white spot on its breast. Like a real cat it could be ferocious if stumbled upon. Read More »
Doon Hill and Robert Kirk
Doon Hill and the Old Kirk in Aberfoyle, will forever be associated with the Reverend Robert Kirk, who wrote the Secret Commonwealth in 1691. The book is an essay on the nature and social structure of supernatural beings or fairies. Robert was a seventh son, said to have been gifted with second sight. Read More »
Dun Borranish
This ruined dun is said to have been the home of a giant called Cuithach, who in the tradition of most giants, laid waste to the surrounding area by stealing cattle and killing local people. Read More »
Each Uisge
The Each Uisge, is a name for the Highland supernatural water horse, supposedly the most dangerous of the Scottish water dwelling creatures. The monster inhabited the sea, sea lochs and fresh water lochs and is sometimes mistaken in writing as the Kelpie, which is supposed to inhabit rivers and streams. Read More »
Eynhallow, Ancestral Home Of The Finfolk
On 14th July 1990, eighty-eight bird watchers got off a ferry organised by the Orkney Heritage Society and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at the uninhabited Eynhallow Island. Only eighty-six returned for the journey back, which sparked a huge search and rescue operation involving the police and coastguard. Read More »
Fachan
The Fachan (Fechan or Fachin or Peg Leg Jack) is a found in Scots-Irish Folklore. A Fachan's appearance is so terrible it was known to cause heart attacks. It has one eye, one leg, one withered arm coming out of it's chest and a mane of black feathers. Read More »
Fairy Boy of Borgue
In the village of Borgue there lived a young boy who the locals suspected had a relationship with the faeries. Read More »
The Fairy Boy of Leith
The story of the Fairy boy of Leith is relatively unknown today, and doesn't appear to have been recently recounted since its last appearance in the 1970s Reader's Digest compendium, Folklore, Myths a Read More »
The Glaistig
The Glaistig was a solitary supernatural being of the Scottish Highlands, with the upper half of a woman and the lower half of a goat, although she was also believed to appear in human and animal form. Her skin was grey, and long golden hair fell about her body. Like many of the fairy races she was often seen clothed in green, in the form of a long flowing robe, which covered her goat half. Read More »
Hermitage Castle
Hermitage Castle has a long and colourful history, the castle was a bastion of power in the 'debatable land': land that was exchanged between English and Scottish hands during the border wars and skirmishes. The castle is steeped in folklore and legend, and there have been reports of varied strange phenomena in recent years. Read More »
Inchmahome Priory
Situated on an island in the middle of Lake Menteith, the only 'Lake' in Scotland, Inchmahome Priory is a ruined Augustine (The Black Cannons) priory founded in 1238 by Walter Comyn, who was the Earl of Menteith. The Earl is likely to have founded the monastery for the good of his soul, and to show of his status as an important landowner. Read More »
Isabel Gowdie, Witch of Auldearn
Isabel (Isobel) Gowdie was a young housewife from Auldearn in Nairnshire who is remembered not just for being tried as a witch, but for her detailed confession. Her trial was in 1662 and what makes her confession so interesting, apart from the detail, is that is that it was supposedly taken without the use of torture. Read More »
Isle of Yell Mermaid
In July 1833 a team of six fishermen entangled a mermaid in their fishing lines off the Isle of Yell. Read More »
John MacInnes And The Each-Uisge
According to Mr. J. Calder Ross in 'Scottish Notes and Queries' (1893) "John MacInnes found the labour of his farm sadly burdensome. In the midst of his sighing an unknown being appeared to him and promised a horse to him under certain conditions. These conditions John undertook to fulfil. Read More »
Kelpie
The Kelpie is the supernatural shape-shifting water horse that haunts the rivers and streams of Scotland. It is probably one of the best known of Scottish water spirits and is often mistakenly thought to haunt lochs, which are the reserve of the Each Uisge. Read More »
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. Read More »
Loch Ness Water Horse
James Mackinlay in his Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs (1893) tells of another creature that was said to lurch in Loch Ness. 'A noted demon-steed once inhabited Loch Ness, and was a cause of terror to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Read More »
Loch Treig Water Horse
The freshwater Loch Treig (Loch of Death) has been a reservoir since 1929, however prior to this it had a reputation of being the home to some very dangerous Water Horses or Each Uisge. Read More »
Lochranza
Lochranza is situated at the Northern Tip of Arran, the loch contains a small island with a ruined castle, which was mentioned by Sir Walter Scott Read More »
