10 Fearsome Foes from Scottish Folklore

Lyndsey Croal loves delving into Scottish myths and folklore to find the dark stuff. Here, she introduces us to 10 of her favourite creatures.

Scottish folklore is full of dark and strange forces, and it’s that which first drew me it. I grew up hearing tales told about fairies and changelings, selkies and kelpies, hauntings and unexplained happenings, and I couldn’t help but be drawn in to believing in these phenomena, omens and superstitions. I started writing fiction inspired by my life-long love of folklore around 2018, and I’ve not stopped since. My research has taken me to many a different myth and folk tale, from the macabre to the malevolent, the strange and the gruesome. This has become a collection with often interlinked tales, coming out from Luna Press Publishing in June 2025. 

When it comes to the creatures of Scottish folklore, most of us will know about kelpie and selkie myths, or will have heard tell about trickster fairies and the Otherworld. But there are many lesser-known ones that I personally think deserve more attention, considering how deliciously dark their tales can be. With spooky season in full swing, I wanted to take a look at some of these fearsome creatures and foes from Scottish folklore. Read about them at your peril…

 The Frittening or the Boneless

I’m starting with this one, because it’s one of my favourite tales from islands folklore – gruesome and strange.

The Frittening/The Boneless is a story from Shetland folk tales where a pale, shapeless sea blob was said to have washed up on shore to terrorise the islanders. It would throw itself against windows at night, bring misfortune, steal children, and if you looked too long at it you might lose your mind. There’s been speculation of the origin of this myth – was it the seafoam after a storm, or strange jellyfish washed ashore? Or was it an extraterrestrial visitor from afar? Either way, if you spot a shapeless blob on a beach, I’d probably steer well clear.

Image of Sea Foam via Wikipedia.

The Ceasg

The Ceasg is a Scottish kind of mermaid half-woman, half-salmon. In some tales, she swallowed men whole, trapping them in her stomach. To rescue them, her soul – often contained in an enchanted egg – had to be destroyed. If caught, she could also grant wishes to her captor. 

Image: The Mermaid of the North in Balintore, Photo: Lyndsey Croal

Sluagh

The Sluagh, or Sluagh Sidhe/‘Fairy Host’ are spirits of the unforgiven or restless dead. In some stories they were said to move in clouds, while other sources speak of them as winged hosts, moving similarly to a flight of birds. They were said to haunt the night skies, searching for souls to steal and take back to the otherworld. 

Image via Anna Mazzola Folklore Thursday.

Nuckelavee

Another personal favourite of mine – a the Nuckelavee or “devil of the sea” is one of my favourite, and probably creepiest, creature manifestations in folklore. From Orcadian mythology, it is depicted as a terrifying sea creature, part horse, part man with no skin and black blood. Its breath could cause droughts, spoil crops or bring about a plague. The Nuckelavee is often depicted as at odds with the Sea Mither, the deity that keeps it contained during the summer months. In some stories, the only way to escape its wrath was to step into fresh water, but come across it by the sea at your peril.

Image: The nuckelavee chasing an islander, painting by James Torrance (1859–1916). Via Wiki.

The Marool

The Marool is a large sea creature from Shetland folklore resembling an anglerfish. With eyes all over its head and a flame crest, it is said to be found glowing phosphorescent in mareel or sea-foam. When ships capsize in stormy weather, it is said the Marool sings with joy at the misfortune.

Artwork: Joseph Mallord Turner

Baobhan Sith 

The Baobhan Sith is a vampire-like being in Scottish folklore appearing as beautiful woman to trick and seduce her victims. She would lure young hunters, dance with them until they were too exhausted to escape, then overpower them and drink their blood. She is also said to have had hooves instead of feet which she kept hidden under a long dress, and in some tales could shapeshift into a wolf.

Art: Edvard Munch Love and Pain, 1895.

 The Will-o’-the-Wisp

The will-o’-the-wisp most often appears as a spectral light resembling a flickering flame, roving in remote and wild places. It appears mostly at night, occasionally signalling the way to treasure but just as often tempting the unsavvy or weary traveller towards mischief or danger. This may be why it is also known as Ignis Fatuus in Latin, “Foolish Fire”.

Other names for it include Teine Biorach or “sharp fire” in Scottish Gaelic, or Jack-o’-Lantern in Wales where it is linked to the devil. The latter has become a well-known symbol of Halloween. In the physical form of a carved pumpkin or turnip, the light acts as a guide for those who may go guising on Samhain night, leading children from place to place with tricks or treat in store, just like the will-o’-the-wisp does for travellers when found. 

Image: The Will o’ the Wisp and the Snake by Hermann Hendrich (1854–1931) Via Wikipedia.

The Ghillie Dhu

In the birch woods by Gairloch in the Scottish Highlands, it was said that the Ghillie Dhu – a tree and nature guardian – wandered here and there, cloaked in leaves and moss. Though he’d often help lost children, he wasn’t so kind to adults. I’m particularly fond of this folklore as I grew up in a house called Birchwood in Gairloch, where woodland stretched behind the house, and I found myself thinking of mythical beings lurking in the trees. Similar Green Man lore is a common occurrence in British folklore and beyond.

Image via Wiki here.

The Red Cap

Red Caps are goblin-like creatures living in ruined castles. They wear (as the name suggests) a red cap. The catch: it’s not a normal cap, but one covered in blood. If the blood ever dries, the Red Cap will die, so, it must do what it can to keep the cap wet with blood…including hanging out at abandoned castles, and stalking tourists there. 

(Image: Beasts! By Eugene Smith (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))

The Cat-Sìth 

And finally, I couldn’t not mention this one. The Cat-Sìth appeared as a large black ghost-like cat with a tiny white patch on its chest. They walk on all fours, but when not being watched would stand on two legs. One of the theories about them is that they are actually witches who could transform into a cat nine times before the change became permanent – a possible origin of “nine lives”. They prowled the streets for souls to steal, which they could do by passing over the corpse of someone dead before burial. They were said to be drawn in by warmth, so in the Scottish Highlands, fires would not be lit near bodies during the wake so as to keep the Cat-Sìth away.

It was sometimes said that they could be summoned in a dark ceremony to grant a wish, and around Samhain, houses could leave saucers of milk out so as to be blessed by the Cat-Sìth – those that didn’t could be cursed…

Image: An Illustration from More English Fairy Tales from the story “The King of the Cats”. Via Wikipedia.

So, be careful out there when wandering along the coasts, visiting ruined buildings, trekking across the moors, or stepping into the woods – you never know what you might stumble across… 

A little about Dark Crescent

An omen of spirits dance across the sky. A lonely woman befriends a sea witch as the world ends. The last whale in the world travels north in search of hope. A grandmother seeks revenge on the sea monster that took her family.

Dark Crescent is a collection of seasonal tales inspired by Scottish folklore, landscape, superstitions, and omens. In this book, readers will find reinterpretations of common folklore creatures and phenomenon, like the Kelpie, Selkie, and Will-o’-the-Wisps, as well as lesser known, such as the Sea Mither, Ceasg, Marool, Sluagh, Ghillie Dhu, Nuckelavee, Baobhan Sith, and The Frittening, all with dark and strange lore around them. 

Moving through the seasons, from a darker Autumn and Winter to a more optimistic Summer, the often-interconnected stories cover a wide range of genres, including gothic, weird horror, speculative, dark fantasy, and solarpunk. Many of the tales are also inspired by nature, climate, and the environment, with feminist and eco themes throughout.

Coming from Luna Press Publishing in June 2025. Find out more here.