Scottish Myth, Folklore and Legends (2024)

The Loch Ness Monster, often lovingly referred to as "Nessie," is one of Scotland's most well-known unsolved mysteries.

The huge, dinosaur-like creature is said to live in the Scottish Highlands' Loch Ness. "Nessie" features a long neck and one or more water-protruding humps. Approximately 1,500 years ago, a massive creature is reported to have jumped out of a lake close to Inverness and devoured a nearby farmer, marking the first known encounter of the monster. The legend surrounding the Loch Ness Monster has grown since then.

A London physician took a picture in 1934 that appeared to depict a creature resembling a dinosaur emerging from the ocean. Since then, numerous sightings have been reported; however, numerous of these have proven to be false. A newspaper reader reported seeing "Nessie" in 2009 while looking through Google Earth's satellite images of Loch Ness.

Whether true or not, the monster's rumored presence makes Loch Ness one of Scotland's most visited tourist destinations, drawing thousands of visitors year in the hopes of seeing the fabled creature up close.

A 2003 search of the lake with 600 sonar beams and satellite tracking was sponsored by the BBC. Despite their stated intentions, the scientists acknowledged that the lack of any large animals "proved" the existence of the Loch Ness Monster was a myth.

The ghostly horse known by the Scots as the "kelpie" was rumored to haunt Scotland's remote rivers and lochs. Its appearance has typically been described as horse-like, yet it can also take on human shape. Nevertheless, according to other stories, the Kelpie keeps its hooves when it appears as a human, which is how it became associated with the Christian concept of Satan. In his poem "Address to the Deil" from 1786, Robert Burns makes reference to this notion.

To its victims, the kelpie would look like a lost white or dark grey pony, but its mane would always be streaming with blood. Before plunging riders into a muddy grave, it would tempt them to ride on its back.

In one particular tale, the Laird of Morphie captures a kelpie. With the help of a halter with a cross stamp, the Laird was able to harness the strength of the horse-shaped Kelpie. When the construction of his castle was finished, the laird freed the captured kelpie, who was naturally upset with its treatment. The kelpie had been made to carry large stones by the captor. The kelpie cursed the Laird of Morphie, which is why the Laird family is thought to have vanished from the face of the earth.

Legend has it that selkies could change from being seals to being humans and back again. The genesis of the selkie fable is thought to have been in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, where the Scottish term for seal is seldh or selk(ie). There were previously many legends of a guy who discovered a stunning selkie girl lounging on a beach, took her skin, and made her marry him in order for her to carry his children. The selkie woman was frequently spotted giving the sea a tender look. Years later, the selkie discovered her skin and made her way to the sea, returning only to transform back into a seal and abandon her own offspring.

According to some legends, the selkie visits her kids on land once a year, while other legends claim that the kids would see a big seal come up to them and say hello.

The story of the selkie forced to marry a human was published in 1822 in a Shetland translation. In this version, the selkie was compelled to remain on land even though she had already married into her own race in the sea. In several tales from Shetland, selkies entice islanders into the sea in the middle of summer, with the heartbroken people never coming back to land.

A massive sea cave that is entirely made of hexagonally jointed basalt columns, akin to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, is located on the deserted island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides.

Unknown in origin, the name of this place is well-known for its organic acoustics. Some argue that Fingal's Cave got its name from the epic poem's titular hero, which was translated from old Gaelic by Scottish poet and historian James Macpherson in the 18th century.

Others assert Finn MacCumhaill, sometimes known as Fingal, was an Irish general who may have commanded a group of devoted warriors around 250 AD. The Gaels' ancient bard, Ossian, is said to have had Finn for a father. Before the Norsem*n started raiding the Scottish coast, Gaels moved from Ireland to Scotland, and it's likely that they heard about Fingal as well. He was soon highly regarded in Scotland, and this dramatic and breathtaking cavern was aptly named after him thanks to the Ossianic heroic verse and ballads.

According to a different mythology, the Irish giant Finn McCool constructed the Giant's Causeway, which connects County Antrim and Scotland, to enable him to traverse the ocean without having wet feet.

Inspired by the strange echoes in the cave, romantic musician Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and composed an overture, The Hebrides (also known as Fingal's Cave overture). Fingal's Cave is also the name of one of Pink Floyd's early songs.

Off the west coast of mainland Scotland, the Gulf of Corryvreckan, also known as the Strait of Corryvreckan, is a short strait that sits between the islands of Jura and Scarba. The name comes from the Gaelic phrase "Coire Bhreacain," which means "cauldron of the speckled seas" or "cauldron of the plaid".

The third-largest whirlpool in the world is the Corryvreckan. The waters of Corryvreckan can reach waves of over thirty feet (9.1 meters) due to flood tides and input from the Firth of Lorne to the west. The noise produced by the ensuing maelstrom can be heard from a distance of ten miles (16 km).

About the Norse king Breacan, there is another legend. According to a few different accounts, Breacan anchored his boat close to the whirlpool to win over the father of a local princess, who requested that he stay there for three days and three nights.

Three ropes were created for the prince: one from hemp, one from wool, and one from the hair of maidens. It was thought that the rope would become unbreakable due to the maidens' hair's purity. But the hemp rope broke on the first night, the wool rope broke on the second, and the hair rope broke on the third. And then they dragged the boat beneath. A maiden, overcome with shame, admitted that she was not as pure as she had claimed to be, which is why the rope broke, as the lone surviving crew member pulled the prince's body ashore.

On a farm called Pitempton, a farmer resided with his nine exquisite daughters. The farmer sent his oldest daughter to fetch water from a neighboring well after a long day at work. He dispatched his second-oldest daughter when she didn't come back, and so on.

He went to look into it after everyone had failed to return, only to discover his nine beautiful daughters' murdered bodies scattered all over the well's surface. The farmer was horrified to find a massive dragon that resembled a serpent curled around their broken bodies, feasting on the blood of the helpless victims.

The farmer ran, fearing he would be the ninth victim of the evening. He called his neighbors, who came back with weapons to kill the beast.

The dragon tried to flee, possibly realizing it would not be able to withstand the rabble of people, but a young man named Martin managed to track it down. He battled the dragon with just a wooden club, finally killing it to the cheers of "strike, Martin" from the crowd.

After the dragon was slain, the area known as "Strike-Martin" was renamed Strathmartine, a moniker that is still used today to refer to a Dundee school and street. Situated on the northern outskirts of Dundee, the village of Bridgefoot (formerly known as Kirkton of Strathmartine) is one mile north of Martin's Stone, which stands alone in a field.

A statue of the dragon will be directly in front of you as you stroll down the city's High Street.

In Orcadian tradition, the Mester Stoor Worm, also known as the Stoor Worm, was a monstrous malevolent sea snake that could kill both humans and animals with its foul breath and contaminate plants. It has been described as a sea dragon and is most likely an Orkney form of the Norse Jormungandr, also known as the Midgard snake, or world snake.

The Stoor Worm would awaken every Saturday at dawn, open his enormous mouth, and yawn nine times. Next, according to the old stories, "although he was a venomous beast, he had a dainty taste," he would want a feast consisting of seven virgins.

One country's ruler, facing the threat of the beast's appearance, was counseled to sacrifice seven virgins to it every week. Eventually, in desperation, the king declared that anyone who could defeat the monster would receive a magic sword, his kingdom, and his daughter's hand in marriage.

The beast was vanquished by Assipattle, the youngest son of a nearby farmer; as it passed away, its teeth fell out and became the islands of Shetland, Orkney, and the Faroes, while its body became Iceland.

It is mentioned that Assipattle's killing of the dragon is comparable to other stories in the same genre. This is said to be because the stories were developed during an era of enlightenment, when the practice of offering human sacrifices to giant creatures and other monsters was starting to decline.

Scotland is known for the distinct sound of the bagpipes, especially in the cities and during festivals and festivities. What occurs, then, if the piper himself simply disappears? Numerous ghostly piper tales can be found throughout Scottish folklore and history.

A shadowy system of tunnels was rumored to run from the Grennan Cove to the Clanyard Bay cliffs, close to Stranraer, in the past.

Before a piper bravely entered the caverns one day, the locals thought that fairies resided in these tunnels and caves and that no one dared to go inside and disturb them. He and his devoted brown dog performed loud pipes music.

For hours on end, the music persisted and gradually faded until it was no longer audible. The dog suddenly lost all of its fur and fled the cave, screaming with fear! The piper vanished from sight.

The caves are long gone, yet on summer evenings, people have reported hearing the sound of bagpipes emanating from a distance below the surface.

Maybe it's simply a trick of the mind, maybe it's the wind whistling through the ancient underground caverns, or maybe, just maybe, it's the piper's ghost, playing his Scottish tunes for eternity.

Glasgow's Gorbals neighbourhood was being terrorized back in the 1950s.

In the Gorbals, there were rumors of murdered children going missing, and the person responsible was supposed to be a seven-foot vampire with iron teeth who lived in the Southern Necropolis. The children made the decision to take care of this monster once and for all—by themselves—after the adults refused to believe them. Hundreds of small children from Glasgow's Gorbals poured into the eerie Necropolis cemetery in 1954.

It took a local head teacher to eventually disperse the gathering after the police were called but were unable to move the kids.

According to local historians, the homicidal ghost known as "Jenny wi' the Iron Teeth" haunted Glasgow Green, and this is what caused the widespread terror. "The Vampire with the Iron Teeth" was the title of an American comic book at the time.

The story went global after it was published in the local press. A peculiar coalition comprising of Christians, communists, and the National Union of Teachers attributed the widespread panic on American horror comic books that were imported.

When the effort finally made it to Parliament, it produced the Children and Young People (Harmful Publications) Act of 1955, which is still in effect today.

The Gorbals Vampire's tale has been portrayed in a stage play and a graphic novel, and a massive painting of the creature watches over a nearby railroad arch.

For his role in the Scottish independence battles and movies like Outlaw King, Robert the Bruce is a well-known figure in Scotland and around the world. In 1274, he was born in Lochmaben Castle, where he held the titles of Overlord and Knight of Annandale. After ascending to the throne in 1306, he made an attempt to rid Scotland of the English threat.

Following his defeat by the Earl of Pembroke in combat at Methven in 1306, Robert the Bruce fled into hiding, purportedly in the Western Isles. At the lowest moment of his life, he spent three months living in a cave, trying to figure out what to do next, and thinking about fleeing the nation and never coming back.

But according to legend, Robert the Bruce saw a spider weaving a web at the cave's entrance as he was waiting. The spider's task was made harder by the unfailingly stormy Scottish weather, which damaged the meticulous work of the creature drop by drop. In the end, the spider's web worked against all the obstacles.

Robert the Bruce made the decision to rise up and engage in another battle after being motivated by the spider's efforts. The saying "If at first you don't succeed, try try and try again" is attributed to him and is still in use today.