Post by dreamy on Jul 6, 2005 5:18:43 GMT 10
Beasties, banshees and behemoths
DIANE MACLEAN
SCOTLAND holds a deep attraction for strange creatures. They may be impressed with the scenery or perhaps they relish the sometimes dour temperament of the locals. Whatever the case, you would be forgiven for thinking that Scotland’s mountains and glens are filled with a monstrous pot-pourri of beastliness.
Cairnpapple Hill grave, West Lothian. Could it be the final resting place for very large people?
Giants, it would seem, have roamed our countryside for thousands of years. A large number of place names are associated with these greedy, boastful and altogether disreputable fellows. Achaglachgach in Fetlar, Shetland Islands, boasts giant graves, and they are also thought to be buried beneath Cairnpapple Hill in West Lothian.
Indeed, if you buy into the whole giant thing, then you will not be surprised to hear that the standing stones on the Isle of Lewis are not ancient neolithic ruins, but actually giants turned to stone by St Kieran in the sixth century. (This would make a more convincing story if St Kieran had actually visited Lewis or indeed even set foot on Scottish soil.)
Our next candidate in our rogues' gallery of ghastliness may be a giant or could be something altogether different. The Grey Man of MacDhui our very own yeti - or big-foot - can be found striding the hilltops of Ben MacDhui in the Cairngorms scaring the daylights out of climbers.
Although there have been whispers of something big in the hills for centuries, the first properly recorded sighting was by a Professor Norman Collie from the department of Organic Chemistry at the University of London – clearly no flipperty-gibbet sees spooks in the shadows type. While he was out walking in 1891, Collie heard footsteps following him. Not any old footsteps either, but judging by the time-span between footfalls, a colossus. He saw nothing but was overcome by a sense of terror.
This feeling, along with the sound of footsteps, has been felt by many a walker on the lonely hills. An actual figure was seen by the mountaineer AM Kellas, whilst the Honorary Sheriff George Duncan insists he saw the Grey Man in 1914, curiously wearing a top hat and a robe – much like himself. So it's not possible the sheriff just saw his own shadow then is it?
So how exactly did the Callanish standing stones get on the Isle of Lewis - by very tall men?
If huge giant things roaming the Scottish hills were not enough, we have also had to contend with huge dragon things too. If you had been around in the 12th century you could have visited the Linton Worm who lived in a hollow outside Jedburgh on Linton Hill in the Scottish Borders (still called Worms Den to this day). The dragon terrorised the country, eating cattle and generally making a nuisance of himself. He was finally dispatched at the point of a peat-coated lance by a courageous - some would say reckless - lad called Sommerville of Larison. There have been no more dragon-sightings since. Well, for now.
Bringing up the rear in our tale of terrors is an assorted bag of hags. They can be best described as wild women and old crones who roam the countryside with mayhem in their wake.
There is the banshee with her one nostril, projecting front tooth and webbed feet, who wails and laments as she sits by the river washing the clothes of a man doomed to die. Then there is the Baobhan Sith, an evil spirit who appears either as a hooded crow or as a beautiful girl who quite sensibly wears a long flowing green dress in order to hide her deer's hooves. If you're male and you meet this young lady, then you will be in for a mixed bag of pleasures as she first dances you off your feet (great!), then sucks your blood (not so great!). Oddly, given their penchant for blood, they are not overly keen on iron.
So if you are still minded to go traipsing over the heather of an evening, then you'd be well advised to carry something metal. Or eat a lot of spinach. That would leave them with a nasty taste in their mouths.
This article: heritage.scotsman.com/myths.cfm?id=605112005
DIANE MACLEAN
SCOTLAND holds a deep attraction for strange creatures. They may be impressed with the scenery or perhaps they relish the sometimes dour temperament of the locals. Whatever the case, you would be forgiven for thinking that Scotland’s mountains and glens are filled with a monstrous pot-pourri of beastliness.
Cairnpapple Hill grave, West Lothian. Could it be the final resting place for very large people?
Giants, it would seem, have roamed our countryside for thousands of years. A large number of place names are associated with these greedy, boastful and altogether disreputable fellows. Achaglachgach in Fetlar, Shetland Islands, boasts giant graves, and they are also thought to be buried beneath Cairnpapple Hill in West Lothian.
Indeed, if you buy into the whole giant thing, then you will not be surprised to hear that the standing stones on the Isle of Lewis are not ancient neolithic ruins, but actually giants turned to stone by St Kieran in the sixth century. (This would make a more convincing story if St Kieran had actually visited Lewis or indeed even set foot on Scottish soil.)
Our next candidate in our rogues' gallery of ghastliness may be a giant or could be something altogether different. The Grey Man of MacDhui our very own yeti - or big-foot - can be found striding the hilltops of Ben MacDhui in the Cairngorms scaring the daylights out of climbers.
Although there have been whispers of something big in the hills for centuries, the first properly recorded sighting was by a Professor Norman Collie from the department of Organic Chemistry at the University of London – clearly no flipperty-gibbet sees spooks in the shadows type. While he was out walking in 1891, Collie heard footsteps following him. Not any old footsteps either, but judging by the time-span between footfalls, a colossus. He saw nothing but was overcome by a sense of terror.
This feeling, along with the sound of footsteps, has been felt by many a walker on the lonely hills. An actual figure was seen by the mountaineer AM Kellas, whilst the Honorary Sheriff George Duncan insists he saw the Grey Man in 1914, curiously wearing a top hat and a robe – much like himself. So it's not possible the sheriff just saw his own shadow then is it?
So how exactly did the Callanish standing stones get on the Isle of Lewis - by very tall men?
If huge giant things roaming the Scottish hills were not enough, we have also had to contend with huge dragon things too. If you had been around in the 12th century you could have visited the Linton Worm who lived in a hollow outside Jedburgh on Linton Hill in the Scottish Borders (still called Worms Den to this day). The dragon terrorised the country, eating cattle and generally making a nuisance of himself. He was finally dispatched at the point of a peat-coated lance by a courageous - some would say reckless - lad called Sommerville of Larison. There have been no more dragon-sightings since. Well, for now.
Bringing up the rear in our tale of terrors is an assorted bag of hags. They can be best described as wild women and old crones who roam the countryside with mayhem in their wake.
There is the banshee with her one nostril, projecting front tooth and webbed feet, who wails and laments as she sits by the river washing the clothes of a man doomed to die. Then there is the Baobhan Sith, an evil spirit who appears either as a hooded crow or as a beautiful girl who quite sensibly wears a long flowing green dress in order to hide her deer's hooves. If you're male and you meet this young lady, then you will be in for a mixed bag of pleasures as she first dances you off your feet (great!), then sucks your blood (not so great!). Oddly, given their penchant for blood, they are not overly keen on iron.
So if you are still minded to go traipsing over the heather of an evening, then you'd be well advised to carry something metal. Or eat a lot of spinach. That would leave them with a nasty taste in their mouths.
This article: heritage.scotsman.com/myths.cfm?id=605112005
