Nuckelavee Tammie saw blood, black as tar, running through yellow veins, and great white sinews, thick as horse tethers… By Mr W. Traill Dennison in
The Twins of Edzell Now the villagers were suspicious of outsiders but courteous enough. She had married into a well-respected local family, and soon people
The Swans Swim Sae Bonnie Dark sister felt a malevolent seed of jealousy bloom within her heart. When once she held her sister’s hand, now
The Two Sisters and the Curse “Who does she fancy Limpet? Do I have a shot Limpet? Can you put in a word Limpet? Limpet?
Sarah’s Second Sight The area around Rannoch has been renowned in times gone by for its seers, those with the so-called second sight… By David
The Kingdom of the Green Mountains At last, the man came across an old man, fixing the tiles of his roof. The soldier asked if
The Cruel Brother At the end of the celebration, her brother John hoisted her up on her horse, and said: “You are high and I
Will-o’-the-wisp In Scottish folklore, will-o’-the-wisps are variously depicted either as mischievous spirits (typically fairies), or even the ghosts of the dead, eager to lead travellers
Am Fear Liath Mòr The Big Grey Man is alleged to be ten feet tall and extremely thin, with long limbs and dark hair. The
Beira, The Cailleach, Queen of Winter But, even Beira was not strong enough to resist the passage of time forever. The time for her reign’s
Maggy Moulach Maggy, standing at barely two feet tall, and sporting a great head of hair – or hairy hands – is most often associated
Cù-Sìth Not only was the Cù-Sìth terrifying, it was also believed to be a harbinger of death. Unlike the Cat-Sith, who could only snatch the
Cat Sìth The Cat-Sìth is, perhaps, the most unusual fairy in all of Scottish folklore. The Cat-Sìth, found both in Scottish and Irish mythology, is
Selkies Selkies are a shape-shifting magical creature, found all over Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland. Selkies typically wore the hide of a seal, which allowed them
The Ghosts of Castle Fraser Once upon a time, a princess found herself a guest of the Fraser family. She was given the Green Room
The Fairy and the Miller’s Wife One of the children reached out to touch her, trying to take a hold of the gold hanging loosely
The Banshee Banshees exist primarily in Scottish and Irish folklore, but a counterpart can also be found in Welsh mythology – and they are women
Jane of George Street It wasn’t just her figure that rendered her unusual. Her clothes, while regal and well-kept, were incredibly out of date. Words
The White Lady of Rownam Avenue I pleaded, and begged, and threatened my schoolmates, but none were willing to trespass the grounds of Rownam at
Kelpies Typically residing near water, and taking the form of a black horse, the kelpie would lure travellers to their death. Words by Liana Paraschaki,
The Swarthy Smith of the Socks “Let us place a bet. I will bet you three hundred marks that I will make something for the
The Boghall Brownie To leave my old haunts, oh my heart it is sair, But the wife gae me blankets – she’ll see me nae
The Mermaid Wife She begged and begged and begged the Shetlander to give her back her skin. But the man, stunned by her beauty and
The Legend of Cora Linn “There cannot be a scene more romantic than this.” By Kevin Robertson-Damer Thirty kilometres south of Glasgow, near the UNESCO
The Wee Bannock It ran and ran, until it came across another large cottage that had just been newly thatched, and seeing the door open,
The Fearsome Redcaps of The Scottish Borders You see, Red Caps live in the ruined and abandoned castles and forts in the Borders, especially ones
William Wallace and Ardrossan Castle It is said that the ghost of William Wallace roams the grounds of the castleon stormy nights. By Aidan Lynn
St. Mungo, The Foundation of Glasgow, and Four Miracles “Here’s the Tree that never grew, Here’s the Bird that never flew, Here’s the Bell that
The Witch of Fife Here, all the Elves, Faeries, and Mermaids of the North were celebrating with Warlocks, Brownies, Pixies, and even the Phantom Hunters,
The Milk White Doo Pew, pew, My minny me slew, My daddy me chew, My sister gathered my banes, And put them between twa milk-white
The Black Bull of Norroway ‘Seven long years I served for thee, The glassy hill I clomb for thee, Thy bloody clothes I wrang for
Sir James the Rose If you visit Crail, take a walk along South Marketgate, past The Golf Hotel along to the Parish Kirk where you’ll
The Good Wife of Auchtermuchty “It’s unfair that you get to stay inside all day while I work in the fields every day,” said the
The Phantom of Loch Leys Our story is set in a castle that no longer stands on an island, that is no longer an island,
The Red Etin His mother said she would make him a cake for his journey and sent him off with a bucket to fetch some
The Watershed Battle an epic battle ensued between these two great giants upon Rannoch Moor: the watershed of Central Scotland…. By David White Thousands of
Tam O’Shanter She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum, A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum By David White & Robert Burns Tam O’Shanter is perhaps
Earl Beardie and Auld Nick One cold Saturday night, Earl Beardie was playing cards with a friend in Glamis Castle. Deep in the castle, sheltered
The Witches of Pollok House Janet calmly proclaimed that the Lord’s illness was a dark spell laid upon him by witches. Her return to speech
The Nuckelavee The terrifying Nuckelavee wasn’t just hairless, but completely skinless as well. Tammas watched as the red-raw flesh writhed….. By Graeme Johncock There are
The De’il of Ardrossan If you walk along the sand from Ardrossan South Beach and glance eastward, you will see the red ruin of Ardrossan
The Vengeful Mermaid “Ye may think on your cradle- I’ll think on my stane, An’ there’ll never be an heir to Knockdolion again”. By Taylor
Gold-tree and Silver-tree Silver-tree went home and begged the king to ready his long ship, saying it had been too long since she had seen
The Dream Makers The girl carried on with her work, learning more all the time. Every day it was the same and every night the
The Kelpie and the Water Bull Long ago, on the island of Islay there lived a crofter with a huge stock of cattle… Words by
Conall and The Thunder Hag One day during the height of summer, the Thunder Hag came to Scotland in a black chariot drawn by ferocious
The Witch and Warlock of the West Bow One fateful Sunday morning, the church community was to bear witness to an event most peculiar, and
Rashiecoats Now more downcast than ever, the Princess returned to the henwife once more, and the henwife said “this time, ask yer faither fur a
King David and the White Stag This story goes right back almost 900 years to 1127 during the reign of King David I. Back then,
Whuppity Stoorie “Pitter patter, Haly Watter.” Then from her pocket she drew a small bottle with something oily inside it and daubed the liquid around
Assipattle and the Mester Stoor worm One day, a terrible evil reached the shores of the kingdom: The Mester Stoor Worm, king of all sea
Martin and the Dragon “Tempted at Pitempton,Draigled at Baldragon,Stricken at Strathmartin,And kill’d at Martin’s Stane.” By Rebecca Brown The City of Dundee is full of
Bride, Angus and the Cailleach And so winter gave way to spring, and then summer and autumn as Angus and Bride continued to rule, only
Michael Scott & The White Snake Before Michael Scott became the legendary Borders Wizard who cleaved the Eildon Hill into three, he was just an
The Baobhan Sith Before long, the women were singing an enchanting song and the hunters needed no more invitation to dance. They all seemed completely
Samhain While the supermarket shelves are stocked with plastic scythes and witches hats, this time of year meant something much different to our ancestors. By
The Headless Drummer Boy …round and round and round, rat-tat-tatting on his drum. On closer inspection, frightened castle servants would observe that the unknown young
The Gorbals Vampire After school, hundreds of children of all ages armed themselves with blades and crosses, stakes and dogs and descended upon the city’s
The White Lady of Balgay Bridge Never cross Balgay Bridge at night, lest you meet the same fate as the White Lady… By Rebecca Brown
The Son of the King of Eirin On the morrow the son of the King of Eirin saw the King of the World, who said
The Dark Knight of Kilbryde a young lady of the Cromlix family fell deeply in love. However, the ruthless Knight taking advantage of the violent
The Sailor & The Champion The crowd began to jeer at the champion for not making quicker work of the Highlander; and the champion, stung
Bruce and the Spider If at first, you don’t succeed: try, try, try again. By Rebecca Brown The tale of Bruce and the Spider is
The Kelpie of Loch Ness Macgrigor drew his hefty claymore and struck the Kelpie’s nose. The Kelpie yelped in fright and rushed backwards… Words by
The Worm of Linton Upon arriving at what Sommerville took to be the lair of the beast he….. By David White The Worm of Linton
Gold-Tree & Silver-Tree Silver-tree went home, blind with rage. She lay down on the bed, and vowed… By Joseph Jacobs Once upon a time there
The Fairies of Merlin’s Craig Fergus stepped back in shock, this tiny creature just spoke and what more as it drew nearer, he could
Sgathach’s Warrior School When dawn was about to break the clash of swords could be heard and the loud exclamation of one man could also
The Frog Prince “Deep in the woods, there is a well. They say that the water from the well is sourced from a prince’s blood,
The Swan of Loch Sunart Young love, as it always has, believed in only the dreams planted by the sprites and had little interest in
The Brownie’s Coat He leapt off the horse outside the house of the mid-wife and banged upon her door. Upon answering the mid-wife…. Words by
Scotland’s first-footing Tradition Tradition asks for a very particular type of first-footer: dark haired men are preferred. By Rebecca Brown Scotland claims many traditions around
The White Cow of Lewis Aine growing short of food, like much of the island had been forced to sacrifice her cow for which she
The Kelpie’s Chimney A legend, still told around Scottish fires to this day although the origin is lost in time, speaks of a Kelpie which
The Legends of Heather Ale From the bonny bells of heather They brewed a drink long-syne, Was sweeter far than honey… By David White The
The Battle of the Birds There was once a farmer who was seeking a servant, and the wren met him and said… By Joseph Jacobs
Mill o’ Tifty’s Annie My heart was broken first by love, Noo my brither’s broke my body. By Francis James Child At Mill o’ Tifty
Thomas the Rhymer He leapt off the horse outside the house of the mid-wife and banged upon her door. Upon answering the mid-wife…. By Charles
The Laird of Balmachie’s Wife In the olden times, when it was the fashion for gentlemen to wear swords, the Laird of Balmachie went one
The Witch of Laggan As the hunter sat listening to the howling storm as it whistled by, there entered at the door an apparently poor
Taken by the Fair Folk Her husband, one evening after sunset, while riding in his own field, heard a most pleasant concert of music, and
Angus & Bride The Battle of Seasons The story of the struggle between Angus and Beira is the story of the struggle between spring and
The Brownie’s Coat (early text) This an older and briefer text depicting the tale of the Border brownie. Good for those looking for less of
The Smith and The Faeries Years ago there lived in Crossbrig a smith of the name of MacEachern. This man had an only child, a
The Battle of the Birds I will tell you a story about the wren. There was once a farmer who was seeking a servant, and
The Gold of Largo Law It is supposed by the people who live in the neighbourhood of Largo Law in Fife, that there is a
The Sprightly Tailor A sprightly tailor was employed by the great Macdonald, in his castle at Saddell, in order to make the laird a pair
The Story of Crail’s Bluestane If you visit Crail, take a walk along South Marketgate, past The Golf Hotel along to the Parish Kirk where