![]() In short, you’d avoid a lot of bother if you don’t touch them. From thence on it was known as the ‘kelpie stone’, and passersby would add a stone beside it until the rocks formed a cairn. The man feels his feet touch the bottom, so he lets go of the stranger and climbs out of the river, running away as fast as he can.Įnraged at losing his prey, the kelpie tears a rock from the river bed and throws it 80 yards after the man. Our hero hangs on, and they tumble down the river until they reach the shallows near the bank. The apparently kind stranger carries our hero into the middle of the river, where he tries to throw him off into the raging torrent. The fact that his clothes are wet up to his armpits seems to convince our poor hero that this newcomer has some means of crossing the river unharmed. Yet another man approaches him, and offers to carry him across the river. The man breaks down at the sight, unable to cross the river. Unfortunately, a massive rainstorm has flooded the river and washed away the bridge. ![]() In it, a man needs to cross a river to reach his dying wife at home. A story related in an 1889 issue of The Folk-Lore Journal examines the tricksy nature of the kelpie. You could also survive an encounter with the kelpie in its equine form. As ever, stories vary from place to place. If you didn’t return it, the kelpie would die within a day. ![]() In some stories, cutting off the bridle while it was in kelpie form removed its source of power. It sounds extreme, and completely ignored the concept of consent, but infinitely preferable to using Tinder. This had a similar effect to stealing a selkie skin, forcing the male kelpies to marry the women. In some stories, women stole the bridles from male kelpies. Kelpies had the strength of ten horses so they made good additions to the household. Otherwise, if you stole its bridle while it was in human form, you gained mastery over it. In some of the tales, striking the suspected kelpie made it regain its horse form and run away. As soon as he was settled, the kelpie ran into the water and dragged the man into the deepest part of the pool (1883: 293). Surprisingly, the horse submitted and let him climb on its back. Instead, the man decided the horse would make a wonderful way to cross the river. A horse peacefully grazed on the bank-it didn’t cross the man’s mind this might be a treacherous kelpie. One evening, the river was in flood, and a man heading home realised he couldn’t cross the waters alone. Walter Gregor relates a tale from Braco, Aberdeenshire, about a pool that was the home of a kelpie. ![]() Yet still, stories persist of people who didn’t heed warnings about kelpies. They also warned young women not to trust handsome male strangers. Rowena at Rowena and Foxelle agrees, noting that kelpie stories helped keep children away from dangerous places (2014). Illustration by Warwick Goble Īccording to Lizanne Henderson, quoted in the Scotsman, the kelpie reflects the fears of a coastal population that couldn’t swim (2008). (1920) From The Book of Fairy Poetry by Dora Owen. Kelpie of Corrievreckan wearing a horned helm, riding a gray horse, snatches up a girl named Jessie on the seashore. This at least makes them a useful addition to the local community. Howling or wailing also gave them away, as they warned of approaching storms. (I’m guessing it was also a good idea to avoid standing under any trees in case it was thunder). It made good sense to avoid rivers or lakes if you heard that. Some thought the noise a kelpie’s tail made when it entered water sounded like thunder. People learned to be wary of dark grey or white ponies that appeared lost near rivers or lakes. In horse form, kelpies enticed people to climb on their back for a ride, only to drown them. Not all water horses are malevolent, hence the confusion. Some people prefer to only use the term ‘kelpie’ since ‘water horse’ can refer to a wider range of creatures. Especially since kelpies are usually considered to be black horses. Given the traditional association of horses with power (and white horses with fertility) it’s unclear where the belief came from. After a while, the water gods became evil water horses. It’s possible kelpies date to times when villages appeased water gods with human sacrifices. The Kelpie by Thomas Millie Dow, via Wikimedia Commons
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