Kelpie research

Source: https://www.icysedgwick.com/kelpies-folklore/

Many of the lochs and ponds of Scotland feature tales of kelpies. Unlike the gentle selkies of Scottish lore, kelpies are altogether more dangerous beings. Most accounts describe the kelpie as taking the form of a horse. They lure bystanders to climb on their back, before plunging headlong into the nearest body of water to drown their victim. The victim becomes magically stuck to their back, unable to free themselves.

Kelpies usually take equine form in stories, though some tales have them take human form. These accounts often have the kelpie become a human with hooves, though you’d imagine people might have noticed that. They’re sometimes considered to be fairies, while others consider them to be nature spirits.

Katharine Briggs equated the kelpie to other nature fairies such as Peg Powler in the Tees, the glaistigs of Scotland, the Brown Men o' the Muirs, and the mighty cailleach of the mountains (1957: 272).

When kelpies appear in male form, they’re said to be very hairy. They jump out at lone travellers on deserted roads to crush them to death. Female kelpies are depicted as being seductive and hyper-sexual. They take the form of beautiful women and lure men to their deaths in the water.

The Kelpie by Thomas Millie Dow

It’s possible kelpies date to times when villages appeased water gods with human sacrifices. After a while, the water gods became evil water horses. Given the traditional association of horses with power (and white horses with fertility) it’s unclear where the belief came from. Especially since kelpies are usually considered to be black horses. Some people prefer to only use the term ‘kelpie’ since ‘water horse’ can refer to a wider range of creatures. Not all water horses are malevolent, hence the confusion.

In horse form, kelpies enticed people to climb on their back for a ride, only to drown them. They targeted children in particular. People learned to be wary of dark grey or white ponies that appeared lost near rivers or lakes. A dripping mane often gave kelpies away. Some thought the noise a kelpie’s tail made when it entered water sounded like thunder. It made good sense to avoid rivers or lakes if you heard that. Howling or wailing also gave them away, as they warned of approaching storms. This at least makes them a useful addition to the local community.

An image from The Book of Fairy Poetry depicting a kelpie.

Kelpie of Corrievreckan wearing a horned helm, riding a gray horse, snatches up a girl named Jessie on the seashore. (1920) From The Book of Fairy Poetry by Dora Owen. Illustration by Warwick Goble.

According to Lizanne Henderson, quoted in the Scotsman, the kelpie reflects the fears of a coastal population that couldn’t swim (2008). Rowena at Rowena and Foxelle agrees, noting that kelpie stories helped keep children away from dangerous places (2014). They also warned young women not to trust handsome male strangers. Yet still, stories persist of people who didn’t heed warnings about kelpies. Walter Gregor relates a tale from Braco, Aberdeenshire, about a pool that was the home of a kelpie. One evening, the river was in flood, and a man heading home realised he couldn’t cross the waters alone. A horse peacefully grazed on the bank—it didn’t cross the man’s mind this might be a treacherous kelpie. Instead, the man decided the horse would make a wonderful way to cross the river. Surprisingly, the horse submitted and let him climb on its back. 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).

In some stories, cutting off the bridle while it was in kelpie form removed its source of power. If you didn’t return it, the kelpie would die within a day. As ever, stories vary from place to place.

You could also survive an encounter with the kelpie in its equine form. A story related in an 1889 issue of The Folk-Lore Journal examines the tricksy nature of the kelpie. In it, a man needs to cross a river to reach his dying wife at home. Unfortunately, a massive rainstorm has flooded the river and washed away the bridge. The man breaks down at the sight, unable to cross the river. Yet another man approaches him, and offers to carry him across the river. 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 The apparently kind stranger carries our hero into the middle of the river, where he tries to throw him off into the raging torrent. Our hero hangs on, and they tumble down the river until they reach the shallows near the bank. 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. Enraged at losing his prey, the kelpie tears a rock from the river bed and throws it 80 yards after the man. From thence on it was known as the ‘kelpie stone’, and passersby would add a stone beside it until the rocks formed a cairn.

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‘The Kelpie’ by Herbert James Draper

Possible Stories for project:

Story 1

There are numerous stories about the kelpie which vary depending on the region. One of the most common and well-known stories about these mythological creatures is the Scottish tale of ten children who one day came across a beautiful horse by the river. The children were fascinated by the beauty of the creature and wanted to ride it. However, nine of them climbed onto the horse’s back, while the tenth kept a distance. As soon as the nine children were on the kelpie’s back, they got stuck to it and couldn’t get off. The kelpie chased the tenth child, trying its hardest to eat him, but the child was quick and escaped. In an alternate version of the story, the tenth child stroked the creature’s nose with his finger which got stuck to it. Realizing the danger he was in, the child cut off his finger and cauterized it with a piece of burning wood from a fire he found burning nearby. In a more gruesome version of the tale, the child’s entire hand was stuck to the kelpie, so he took out his pocketknife and cut it off at the wrist. By doing this, he managed to save himself, but his nine friends were dragged underwater by the kelpie, never to be seen again.

Story 2

Once, there was a family that lived near a loch and they had many cattle. Amongst their cattle was a pregnant one who gave birth to a large, black calf. The calf looked dangerous with red nostrils and it also had a bad temper. This calf was known as a ‘fairy bull’. One day, the farmer’s daughter, who knew all about kelpies, was taking a walk along the Lochside, keeping an eye out for saddled water horses. Soon, she came across a young, handsome young man with long hair and a charming smile. The young man asked the girl for a comb, saying that he had lost his, and couldn’t untangle his hair. The girl gave him hers. He began to comb his hair but then couldn’t reach the back so she decided to help him. As she combed his hair, the farmer’s daughter noticed that the hair was damp and that there were seaweed and leaves in his hair. She found this quite strange but then she began to realize that this wasn’t any ordinary young man. He had to be a beast from the loch. The girl began to sing as she combed and soon, the man was fast asleep. Quickly but carefully, she stood up and began to run home in terror. She heard the sound of hooves behind her and knew that it was the man who had woken up and turned into a horse to catch her. Suddenly, the farmer’s fairy bull stormed into the path of the horse and two began to attack each other. In the meantime, the girl continued to run until she was finally home, safe and sound. The kelpie and the bull fought and chased each other to the Lochside where they slipped and fell into the water. They were never seen again.

Definition from the 'Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore and Symbols' by Gertrude Jobes.

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