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In honour of Samhain yesterday, this is a thread of some Scottish/Celtic mythical creatures 
tw // blood gore
(Some of these creatures are a little gross, I'll put an
emoji on them/ones that mention blood so you can skip them if you want)
tw // blood gore
(Some of these creatures are a little gross, I'll put an
emoji on them/ones that mention blood so you can skip them if you want)
Red Caps:
Described as "a short, thickset old man with long prominent teeth, skinny fingers armed with talons like eagles, large eyes of a fiery red colour, grisly hair streaming down his shoulders, iron boots, a pikestaff in his left hand, and a red cap on his head".
Described as "a short, thickset old man with long prominent teeth, skinny fingers armed with talons like eagles, large eyes of a fiery red colour, grisly hair streaming down his shoulders, iron boots, a pikestaff in his left hand, and a red cap on his head".
Red Caps are a type of malevolent, murderous goblin who are said to inhabit abandoned castles on the Scotland-England border. When travellers take refuge in their lair, they fling huge stones at them to kill them, they then soak their caps in the blood, giving it a crimson hue.
Red Cap must kill a regularly so that the blood on their hats don't dry out. They are incredibly fast and, in spite of the heavy iron pikes and iron-shod boots they wear, outrunning a Red Cap is said to be impossible.
Kelpies:
Described as a powerful and beautiful black horse inhabiting the deep pools of rivers and streams of Scotland, preying on any humans it encounters. kelpies take their victims into the water, devour them, and throw the entrails to the water's edge.
Described as a powerful and beautiful black horse inhabiting the deep pools of rivers and streams of Scotland, preying on any humans it encounters. kelpies take their victims into the water, devour them, and throw the entrails to the water's edge.
Kelpies have the ability to transform themselves and can take on the outward appearance of human figures. Despite kelpies regularly being drawn as females in human form, Kelpies almost always appear as a male figure, very few stories talk about kelpies taking a female form.
There is a tourist attraction in Falkirk, Scotland called The Kelpies. The Kelpies are two, 30-metre tall sculptures depicting horse/kelpie heads
Baobhan Sith:Female vampires in Scottish Highlands folklore, they appear as beautiful women who seduce their victims before attacking them and draining their blood. They are described as beautiful women dressed in green that hides deer hooves they have instead of feet
Unlike most vampire stories they don’t have pointed fangs to bite into victims necks. When attacking they use long and sharp fingernails then drink the blood from the open scratch wounds. They look very ordinary until they attack, then their normal hands turn into talons
If they attack and kill a woman she will return as one of their kin. Most of the Baobhan Sith where previously enchanters or witches who keep on using their skills after death. They only come out when the darkness falls, during the day they rest in buried coffins.
Nuckelavee ( tw // blood gore gross ):Described on land as a man's torso attached to a horse's back as if it were a rider. The male torso has no legs, but its arms can reach the ground from its position on top of the equine body, the legs of which have fin like appendages.
The torso has a large head that rolls back and forth. The horse head has an enormous gaping mouth that exudes smelly toxic vapour and a single giant eye. It has no skin and black blood flows through yellow veins, it's powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass, tw // gore
The Nuckelavee is a malevolent sea demon from Orcadian myth, it's breath was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock, and it was considered responsible for epidemics and drought. There are no descriptions of the demon when it resides in the sea, only when it goes on land
Cait Sìth:
This is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat (as large as a dog) with a white spot on its chest, which haunts the Scottish Highlands. They are said to steal souls, before the gods receive them, by walking over corpses before burial
This is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat (as large as a dog) with a white spot on its chest, which haunts the Scottish Highlands. They are said to steal souls, before the gods receive them, by walking over corpses before burial
On Samhain, it was believed that a Cat Sìth would bless any house that left a saucer of milk out for it to drink, and those houses that did not let out a saucer of milk would be cursed into having all of their cows' dry of milk
Some believed the Cat Sìth was a witch that could transform into its cat form and back nine times. If these witches chose to go back into their cat form for the ninth time, they would remain a cat till death. some think this is how the idea of a cat having nine lives originated.
Ghillie Dhu:
He is a solitary male fairy. Kind and reserved yet sometimes wild in character but had a gentle devotion to children. Dark-haired and clothed in leaves and moss, he lived in a birch wood within the Gairloch and Loch a Druing area
He is a solitary male fairy. Kind and reserved yet sometimes wild in character but had a gentle devotion to children. Dark-haired and clothed in leaves and moss, he lived in a birch wood within the Gairloch and Loch a Druing area
The Ghillie Dhu appears at night and guides lost children home. If adults trespass on his territory however, he would crush them into compost for the trees with his bare hands. He doesn't eat meat and instead eats berries and nuts
Cailleach:
The Cailleach is a divine hag, a creator deity, a weather deity, and an ancestor deity. She is also known as Beira. The goddess of the cold and the winds. Her tools of creation and destruction included her hammer, with which she could break mountains and control storms
The Cailleach is a divine hag, a creator deity, a weather deity, and an ancestor deity. She is also known as Beira. The goddess of the cold and the winds. Her tools of creation and destruction included her hammer, with which she could break mountains and control storms
She appears mainly as a veiled old woman, sometimes with only one eye. Her skin is deathly pale/blue, while her teeth were red and her clothes adorned with skulls. She could leap across mountains and ride storms. In Manx tradition, the Cailleach could transform into a giant bird.
a creator deity that shaped much of the known landscape
The Cailleach was neither fully good nor fully evil. Through her association with storms and thunder, she was a natural and wild destructive force but she also cared deeply for animals both wild and domestic during winter.
The Cailleach was neither fully good nor fully evil. Through her association with storms and thunder, she was a natural and wild destructive force but she also cared deeply for animals both wild and domestic during winter.
She's immortal. As winter changes to spring she becomes young again. In Manx legend, half of the year she is a young woman and the other half, an old crone. The last grain harvested was dedicated to her, and used to begin the next planting season. The Cailleach returns on Samhain
Púca (Phooka):
A Pooka is a shapeshifter and can take any form it chooses. Usually, it is seen in the form of a horse, dog, rabbit, goat, goblin, sometimes an old man. Traditionally a Pooka is seen as a dark, sleek horse with a long wild flowing mane and luminescent golden eyes.
A Pooka is a shapeshifter and can take any form it chooses. Usually, it is seen in the form of a horse, dog, rabbit, goat, goblin, sometimes an old man. Traditionally a Pooka is seen as a dark, sleek horse with a long wild flowing mane and luminescent golden eyes.
Púca have the power of human speech. In Ireland, the Púca is feared as it appears only at night and enjoys creating havoc and mischief. Seeing or interacting with a Púca can also be a sign of oncoming doom.
