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What are Scottish Mythical Creatures?

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Scottish Mythical Creatures

According to folklore, Scotland is home to all sorts of fantastic beasts of myth and legend.
Here you can learn more about these Scottish mythical creatures.

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'Scottish Mythical Creatures'

What are Scottish mythical creatures?

Next time you’re looking for a wonderful story to share around the campfire, why not take
some inspiration from Scotland’s many myths and legends? You might have heard of the
Loch Ness Monster, but it doesn’t end there. From the dark and gloomy kelpies to the helpful
household brownies, there is plenty of magic to be found in stories from both the highlands
and the lowlands.

Keep reading to find a list of our favourite Scottish mythical creatures before we delve deep
into what makes them so fascinating.

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7 Creatures in Scottish Folklore to Learn About

1. Loch Ness Monster

2. Kelpie

3. Selkie

4. The Blue Men of Minch

5. Bean-Nighe

�. The Wulver

7. Brownie

You might have noticed that some of the names featured in this list are not in English or
Scots. Gaelic folklore has given a whole host of brilliant myths that authors, artists, and
musicians from all walks of life have taken inspiration from.

Do you know much about any of these creatures already? By the end of this page, you might
have found a new favourite legend.

The Loch Ness Monster

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Let’s get started with an old favourite. Also known as Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster is a

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household name all over the world.

Nessie is said to live in the waters of Loch Ness, one of the largest lochs in Scotland by the
surface area it covers. More than that, it contains more fresh water than all of the lakes in
England and Wales put together.

Although nobody knows what the Loch Ness Monster might look like, it’s depicted as a long-
necked creature with lots of humps. This has led to the belief that she might be a species of
Plesiosaur from ancient times.

The Search for Nessie

To find the first known mention of Nessie in history, we have to travel back in time to the
sixth century AD and the life of Saint Columba. That’s over a thousand years ago! It is said
that Columba was in staying in the land of the Picts when he had a chance encounter with a
‘water beast’ in the River Ness. Legend states that this monster attacked and killed a local
man before Columba stopped it from taking a second. People believe that this is evidence of
Nessie’s existence, but sceptics disagree.

The Loch Ness Monster came to international attention in 1933 with a famous photograph.
That picture has since been identified as a hoax, but it didn’t stop the obsession with the
legend of this giant creature. Thousands of tourists visit Loch Ness every year trying to catch
a glimpse of her in the murky depths. One thing is for certain: she must be very good at
hiding!

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Kelpies
A kelpie is an evil water horse that haunts Scotland’s rivers and streams. Almost every body
of water in Scotland has a kelpie story, but chief among them is Loch Ness. This might be
because the loch is so huge and has many small settlements near it.

In most versions of the legend, it takes the appearance of a beautiful black horse. It would
appear to someone, usually a child, as a tame pony. One of the things it can’t hide is its
dripping wet mane.

The kelpie would try to entice them to ride on their backs, but once they were on, the rider
might find that they couldn’t get off! From there, it would carry them at a breakneck pace
towards a watery grave. They’re said to possess the strength and endurance of one hundred
horses.

Don’t worry, though – if you ever have an encounter with a kelpie and find yourself stuck, they
do have a weakness. If you can take a hold of its bridle, legend states that you could control
it to go where you want.

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What is the meaning of the kelpie myth?

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Tales of kelpies dragging children into the nearest river or loch could have been used as a
warning to keep children away from the water’s edge. If you know that there’s a chance of a
kelpie showing up, you might not choose to mess around near somewhere so dangerous.

Some say that a kelpie can transform itself into a human, except for its feet, which would
stay as hooves. They might also have had wet or weed-entwined hair. This has been
associated with the Christian idea of the Devil, who also has hooves. The legend could have
been used to warn young women away from handsome strangers!

Kelpies in Popular Culture

The myth has proven popular both inside and outside Scotland. The famous Scottish artist
and sculptor Andy Scott created The Kelpies – a set of two sculptures found between Falkirk
and Grangemouth. These are two giant horse-heads made out of steel.

Not only do they represent the myth itself, but they’re also a monument to the workhorses
used in Scotland throughout the country’s industrial history.

Selkies
Up in the northern isles of Scotland, you might hear stories of the beautiful selkies. In Gaelic
stories, mermaids and selkies have the same name: maighdeann-mhara, or ‘the maiden of
the sea’. That doesn’t mean there are no male selkies, however.

When they’re in the sea, selkies take the form of seals. Sometimes, they come up onto the
land and shed their skin to walk around as a human. Depending on what story you’re
listening to, selkies might be able to transform only once a year on Midsummer’s Eve.

While most mythological water creatures end up as nasty and mean-spirited like the kelpies
or the Blue Men of Minch, selkies are kind and helpful. Unfortunately, many selkie stories are
romantic tragedies. You see, if you hide a selkie’s skin while they’re in human form, they can’t
return to the sea.

Many versions of the tale end with someone hiding a selkie’s seal skin to keep them as his
Help
wife. Once the selkie finds the skin, they can’t resist the call of the sea, and they leave behind

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their family to return to the water.

Similar stories also occur for women who have disappeared without a trace. It’s often said
they’ve gone to be the wife of a selkie under the sea.

The Blue Men of Minch

The stretch of water that lies between the Isle of Lewis and mainland Scotland is known as
The Minch. Like many bodies of water in Scotland, freshwater or saltwater, it’s also inhabited
by its own watery mythical creatures.

The Blue Men of Minch are also known as storm kelpies. They’re blue-skinned men who live
in the water of The Minch. They spend their time looking for sailors to drown or boats to sink,
using their powers to create storms.

The only way to avoid the wrath of the Blue Men would be to have a quick-witted and sharp-
tongued captain. Before they attacked a ship, the chief of the group would shout out a line or
two of poetry. The captain would have to complete the rhyme, or else the Blue Men would
sink the ship!

Because of this, these Scottish mythical creatures have inspired many sea shanties.

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The Bean-Nighe
Bean-Nighe is a Gaelic phrase meaning ‘washerwoman’. She’s described in some stories as
an ugly hag, dressed all in green. She only had one nostril and one big tooth, and her feet
were webbed. Other tales say that she can look like a beautiful young woman.

Either way, you could find the Bean-Nighe wailing by shallow streams and small pools of
water. Here she would be washing the blood from the clothes of those who were about to
die.

The Bean-Nighe’s a misunderstood mythical creature – a fairy that was only seen as an
omen of death. She didn’t actually cause the death of the person whose clothes she was
washing.

Instead, she simply knew who they were. If you approached her carefully, you could even ask
her politely for their name, and she would tell you! Other versions of the myth allow anyone
who sneaks up on her to ask for one wish.

The Wulver
Werewolf stories are very common to find around the world. Not to mention, they’re a
favourite monster of the silver screen. However, did you know that there’s a special kind of
werewolf that originates in the Shetland Islands?

The wulver didn’t transform under the full moon like other werewolves of legend.They take
the form of a man with a wolf’s head, covered from head-to-toe in brown hair. It would live in
a cave and fish for hours on a flat rock, known as the Wulver’s Stane.

The wulver was not an evil, aggressive monster. In fact, this mythical creature was said to be
very helpful. If someone was lost and couldn’t find their way back to the village, the wulver
would help them find their way home.
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Families who were poor or were taking care of a sick relative would find some fresh fish left
on their windowsill. If someone was about to die, they’d also sit outside their house as a part
of their role of guarding the wounded.

Brownies
Brownies (sometimes named as ‘broonies’ in Scots and ‘brùnaidh’ in Scottish Gaelic) are
helpful household spirits in folklore. They lived in houses and came out at night to perform
chores or work on the farm overnight.

Doesn’t that sound grand? No sweeping up or cleaning dishes! Well, you had to be careful not
to take advantage of them, because according to legend, brownies were easy to offend.
Someone in the house had to leave out a bowl of milk for the brownies by the fireplace for
their services.

Often brownies would pull pranks on people who didn’t pull their weight in completing
chores, so that’s something to think about next time you put off cleaning your room!

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More Resources on Scottish Mythical Creatures

What you’ve read above is just a small selection of the many myths and legends that make
up Scottish folklore. Scotland is a magical country with a long, storied history, and that
comes with many spooky, supernatural stories.

Want to learn more about any of the creatures above, or even discover some new ones, like
the Trows or the Ghillie-Dhu? Check out some of the following resources:

• Scottish Myths and Legends Role-Play Masks

• The Kingdom of the Seals Story

• Scottish Myths and Legends Blether Stations

• Scottish Mythical Creatures Note-Taking

• Unicorns Differentiated Reading Comprehension

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