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In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ignis fatuus, is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, English folklore and much of European folklore by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk and hobby lantern and is said to mislead travelers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. In literature, will-o'-the-wisp metaphorically refers to a hope or goal that leads one on but is impossible to reach or something one finds sinister and confounding.
A trow, is a malignant or mischievous fairy or spirit in the folkloric traditions of the Orkney and Shetland islands. Trows are generally inclined to be short of stature, ugly, and shy in nature.
A kelpie, or water kelpie, is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lakes in Scottish folklore. It is a Celtic legend; however, analogues exist in other cultures. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil".
The boobrie is a mythological shapeshifting entity inhabiting the lochs of the west coast of Scotland. It commonly adopts the appearance of a gigantic water bird resembling a cormorant or great northern diver, but it can also materialise in the form of various other mythological creatures such as a water bull.
In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. The Crone is also an archetypal figure, a Wise Woman. As a character type, the crone shares characteristics with the hag. The word became further specialized as the third aspect of the Triple Goddess popularized by Robert Graves and subsequently in some forms of neopaganism, particularly Wicca in which she symbolizes the Dark Goddess, the dark of the moon, the end of a cycle; together with the Mother and the Maiden she represents part of the circle of life. In New Age and feminist spiritual circles, a "Croning" is a ritual rite of passage into an era of wisdom, freedom, and personal power.
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The baobhan sith is a female vampire in the folklore of the Scottish Highlands, though they also share certain characteristics in common with the succubus and fairy. They appear as beautiful women who seduce their victims before attacking them and draining their blood.
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The bean-nighe is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ban-sìth that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die. Les Lavandières is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. She is also called nigheag, “the little washer,” nigheag na h-ath, “little washer of the ford,” or nigheag bheag a bhroin, “little washer of the sorrow.”
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The bauchan is a type of domestic hobgoblin in Scottish folklore. It is often mischievous and sometimes dangerous, but is also very helpful when the need arises.
The water bull, also known as tarbh uisge in Scottish Gaelic, is a mythological Scottish creature similar to the Manx tarroo ushtey. Generally regarded as a nocturnal resident of moorland lochs, it is usually more amiable than its equine counterpart the water horse, but has similar amphibious and shapeshifting abilities.
John Gregorson Campbell was a Scottish folklorist and Free Church minister at the Tiree and Coll parishes in Argyll, Scotland. An avid collector of traditional stories, he became Secretary to the Ossianic Society of Glasgow University in the mid-1850s. Ill health had prevented him taking up employment as a Minister when he was initially approved to preach by the Presbytery of Glasgow in 1858 and later after he was appointed to Tiree by the Duke of Argyll in 1861, parishioners objected to his manner of preaching.
In Scottish folklore, the beithir is a large snakelike creature or dragon.
References
- 1 2 Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. p. 23. ISBN 0394409183.
- ↑ Bane, Theresa (2016). Encyclopedia of Spirits and Ghosts in World Mythology. McFarland & Company. p. 32. ISBN 1476663556.
- 1 2 3 4 Campbell, John Gregorson (1902). Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 207–8.
- ↑ Mackenzie, Donald Alexander (1935). Scottish Folklore and Folk Life. Blackie & Son. pp. 250–1.