Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

The Kelp o th' loch reminds me of two different myths (although the Cait Sith escapes me and I'm wondering how that is associated with lochs and horses) So I decided to hunt down the 'origins' ofthese beings.

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.

The Each Uisge had the ability to shape shift, and could disguise itself as a fine horse or pony. To lure people into the water it would stand by the waters edge in one of these forms, and wait for somebody to approach. If a man was to mount the horse, it would immediately set off into the deepest part of the loch, the rider being unable to free himself because of the adhesive qualities of the creature's skin. Once in its element, the unfortunate victim would drown, and be devoured completely apart from the liver, which would float ashore, a sure sign that the water horse had claimed another victim.

Another disguise the Each Uisge could take was that of a handsome man, and because of the danger of these creatures, people were wary of lone animals and strangers standing by the waters edge, in places reputed to be haunted by the Each Uisge.

As well as human victims the Each Uisge also ate cattle and sheep, and could be lured from the water and killed with the smell of roasted meat. One such tale is recorded in 'More West Highland Tales' by McKay: A blacksmith from Raasay lost his daughter to the Each Uisge. In revenge the blacksmith and his son made a set of large hooks, in a forge they set up by the loch side. They then roasted a sheep and heated the hooks until they were red hot. At last a great mist appeared from the water and the Each Uisge rose from the depths and seized the sheep. The blacksmith and his son rammed the red-hot hooks into its flesh and after a short struggle dispatched it. In the morning there was nothing left of the creature apart from a jelly like substance.

It has been theorised that the folklore of the water horse stems in part from real encounters with water dwelling creatures in the deep lochs. These are paralleled today with sightings in places such as Loch Ness and Loch Morar. Of course it could be the other way round and what people are seeing is archetypal images somehow portrayed onto the water. In truth nobody knows and the similarity with folklore and modern sightings may be pure coincidence.

Cait Sith
The Highland fairy cat. J. G. Campbell describes it as being as large as a dog, black with a white spot on its breast, with an arched back and erect bristles. This, probably, would be when it was angry. He says that many Highlanders believed that these cats were transformed witches, not fairies. An even larger and more ferocious cat, the demonic god of the cats, appeared in answer to the wicked and ferocious ceremony of the Taghairm, which consisted in roasting successive cats alive on spits for four days and nights until Big Ears appeared and granted the wishes of the torturers.

The last ceremony of Taghairm was said to have been performed in Mull and was described in detail in the London Literary Gazette (March 1824). The account is quoted by D. A. Mackenzie in SCOTTISH FOLK LORE AND FOLK LIFE. But Big Ears was a monstrous demon cat who had only a slight connection with the Cait Sith.

In reality, the Cait Sith is almost certainly what is now known as the Kellas Cat - a large black hybrid between feral domestic cats and Scottish Wildcats. Specimens of these impressive hybrids were examined scientifically in the 1980s.

Cait Sith is also a game character from the RPG (Role-Playing Game) called "Final Fantasy 7". It's an excellent game. Anyway, Cait Sith (pronounced: Cat Shee) rides around on the back of a huge stuffed Mog he magically brought to life. He holds a Megaphone in his hand, which is his weapon(!) and he's always shouting orders and creating dopey attacks. His hobby is fortune telling, but like his personality, it's pretty unreliable.

Nucklevee/Nucklavee
The most horrible of all sea monsters, from Orkney. Its name means "Devil of the Sea" and it loathes mankind and all things human.

It is described as having the lower part like a great horse, with fleshy fins that flap about the front legs. The horse's mouth is as wide as a whale's, with breath like steam, and with a single red eye in the middle of its head. Atop this (or growing out of it) sits the likeness of a huge man, with no legs but arms long enough to reach the ground. This too has a head, three feet wide, and so heavy that the neck does not fully support it, but instead allows it to lol from side to side. Perhaps most striking of all, however, is that the Nucklavee has no skin; its black blood can clearly be seen flowing through its yellowing veins.

But fear not! The Nucklavee is very much a creature of the ocean (if not your own imagination) and its one weakness is that it cannot stand fresh water. You might want to bear that in mind, in should you run into it...