5 Fascinating Legends And Stories of Scottish Fairies
Scotland is a place full of magic and mystery with legends around every corner. While there are unique creatures of folklore to find here like Brownies or Kelpies, we also have one you’ll be much more familiar with. There are so many stories of Scottish Fairies to explore, with lots featuring in the Scotland’s Stories book, that narrowing down the list is no easy task!
So just exactly what are Scottish Fairies and where can you find them?
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What Are Scottish Fairies?
The first thing you need to know about Scottish Fairies is that they’re not quite like Tinkerbell. They are thought to be smaller than humans and often called the wee folk or guid folk, but they don’t have tiny wings for flying around. Tinkerbell’s disdainful attitude isn’t too far off though…
Scottish fairy stories do vary a little from place to place, but there are some characteristics that remain constant. Fairies always wear green, love music, dancing and feasting, and they don’t care too much about humans. Time moves differently in the fairy realm so human lives pass in the blink of an eye – we just aren’t that significant to them!
Humans do come in handy occasionally though and Scottish fairies have been known to abduct them from their homes. Usually it’s newborn babies that are taken by the fairies and a changeling left in its place. Sometimes it’s a new mother that’s taken in order to breast feed where fairies are unable. In both cases, either a fairy imposter or enchanted piece of wood is left in their place.
While you might not believe in those legends, stories like that have a way of helping grief. It’s easier to know that your baby or mother didn’t really die, they’re living forever in the fairy kingdom instead.
Where Do You Find Fairies In Scotland?
There are Scottish stories of fairies found from the Borders to the far north and Fife to the Western Isles. The word for fairy in Scots Gaelic is “sith” pronounced shee so that often gives a clue about local stories. Glenshee in Perthshire is known as the glen of the fairies and Schiehallion is the Fairy Hill of The Caledonians!
Generally, fairies are thought to live underground beneath fairy mounds/hills or at least that’s where you’ll find entrances to their world. Those are only visible on certain nights or for special occasions with the openings appearing out of nowhere. Entering is never recommended, but if you do venture in then make sure not to eat or drink any food! You could end up stuck there for longer than you planned…
Most people will visit Skye to find Scottish fairies and the landscape does suggest something otherworldly. There are just as many legends found in the Borders area or the hills and glens of Perthshire though. Head up into the heights of the Cairngorms and you can even find a loch that’s dyed green from the fairies washing their clothes!
As you’ll see from the stories below, you can find stories of Scottish fairies almost everywhere you go!
Fairies of Merlin’s Craig
When a hard-working farm labourer is sent to cut peat for burning at Merlin’s Craig, he has an unexpected encounter. A fairy woman stops him in his tracks, telling him to put the roof of her house back or else! Fergus is terrified, but his farmer boss thinks it’s all nonsense, so back the labourer goes. Fortunately, this time there are no problems and he digs out all the peat he needs.
A year goes by and Fergus is walking home past the same spot at Merlin’s Craig, the scars of his cutting still visible when he gets awfully sleepy. Lying down to nap, he wakes to find himself surrounded by fairies and invited to dance by the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
As the dance comes to an end, the fairies are disappearing into the hillside when poor Fergus realises, they’re dragging him with them! The wee fairy woman he encountered exactly a year ago told him he had ignored their warning and now he was going to pay. He would be trapped inside Merlin’s Craig until the damage he had caused was fixed.
However, it seemed only a day had passed when Fergus was rudely kicked back out into the mortal world. Rushing home, he burst in the front door to apologise to his wife for not returning the night before. The man stopped in his tracks when two teenagers walked into the room. Who were they and where were his two young children?!
His wife stared daggers at him. She screamed that these were his children, but no wonder Fergus doesn’t recognise them! He just turns up with some ridiculous story about fairies after walking out without a word seven whole years ago?!
The Scottish Fairy Ballad of Tam Lin
A long time ago in the Scottish Borders, a young woman called Janet ventured into the countryside to explore. She came across a curious man called Tam Lin who demanded to know why she would try and cross his bridge uninvited. Janet wasn’t a lady to back down and told Tam she would come and go wherever she chose.
I won’t go into details about what happened next, but Janet soon discovered that she was pregnant. She went back to that spot and told Tam the situation, deciding they should be wed. He explained to her that he was a prisoner of the fairy Queen and feared he would even be offered as a tithe to the devil in a matter of days.
He pleaded with her to save him that night, when a party of fairies would be riding down this very road. Tam warned Janet that he would be transformed into all manner of things but not to let go of him until the perfect moment.
Janet waited and just as Tam had said, the Queen and 11 knights rode down the path. When she saw Tam, she dragged him off his white horse and he started to change in her hands. First into a snake, then a lion, then a red hot iron before becoming a smouldering coal. Immediately, Janet threw it into a well and it became a handsome man again. She covered him in her cloak, winning her prize.
Needless to say, the Queen wasn’t too happy but I like to think she had a grudging respect for Janet. From one strong woman to another.
The Smith & The Fairies of Islay
There was once a blacksmith who worked his forge every day with help from his teenage son, until out of nowhere, the boy fell gravely ill. He still had a huge appetite and never seemed to be full, but was bed bound and clearly wasting away.
The smith was distraught at losing his boy and went to ask the advice of a wise, old traveller. That man nodded sagely. That wasn’t his son lying in bed, but a fairy changeling! To be certain, he told him to pour water into empty eggshells and carry them into the room as if they were incredibly heavy before spreading them out on the floor.
As the smith carried out the instructions, the figure in the bed burst out laughing and cried “in 800 years I’ve never seen anything as strange as that!” Now certain it was a changeling, the smith threw the figure into the fire, where it shot up and away through the chimney.
The smith wasn’t going to stop there though, he wanted his child back so asked the wise man for more advice. He was to go to a nearby hill on a specific night where the entrance to the fairy kingdom would be open. With him he took a bible, a little knife and a cockerel.
As he approached the hill, he saw a shining light coming from an entrance not usually visible, stabbing the knife into the ground to stop the hole from closing. Then with the bible as protection, he entered to find his son slaving away over a forge. He loudly demanded that the fairies let the two of them leave together, but the gathered crowd just burst out laughing.
All that noise woke up the cockerel which started crowing in alarm. The fairies couldn’t stand the sound so they threw the father and son back outside, with the smith quickly grabbing his knife on the way out. Suddenly, the hillside went dark and quiet behind them.
Once the boy had recovered from his ordeal and was back helping, he saw his father struggling to forge a sword impressive enough for a clan chief. With a sigh, he told his father to step aside and in no time at all he had crafted the most elegant blade they had ever seen.
It seemed the boy had picked up something useful from the fairies during his time under the hill!
The Fairy Flag Of Dunvegan Castle
There are few places as steeped in Scottish fairy stories than Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. Visitors to the castle might not think much of a faded, battered, torn bit of cloth but this is the famous Fairy Flag. This is the most valuable belonging of the Clan MacLeod and they have a fascinating legend about its origins.
There was once a young Macleod chief who met a woman who was so beautiful, intelligent and articulate that he fell madly in love. The girl felt exactly the same way, but there was just one complication – she was a fairy princess.
They asked her father for permission but he knew that if his immortal daughter spent a human lifetime with Macleod, she would be heartbroken when he inevitably died. Instead, he granted them one year and one day married, then he would take her home. By the time that year was up, a son had been born.
Before the princess left, she made MacLeod swear that he would never leave the child to cry. That sound would reach her ears and be too much for her to bear. Macleod grieved badly, so his clansmen threw a huge birthday celebration to try and cheer him up. They went all out and the chief couldn’t resist tapping his feet.
However, the baby’s nursemaid also couldn’t resist getting involved and she left the boy sleeping soundly to watch the party. Soon the baby woke up and began to cry. The sound of the music was so loud that the nursemaid couldn’t hear her ward, but even in the fairy realm, his mother could.
When Macleod went to check on his son, he found him swaddled in a strange, silken shawl. Nobody could explain where it had come from, but when the nurse admitted that she had stepped away for a few moments, the chief knew that his wife had visited.
The shawl became the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan and if the clan were ever in need, all they had to do was wave it and the fairy folk would come to their aid. So far it has won the Macleods battles, saved Dunvegan Castle from fire and even cured a herd of sick cattle!
Scotland’s Fairy Minister From Aberfoyle
The small Doon Hill, rising amongst the woods behind Aberfoyle, is one of many believed to be a fairy hill. One man was so sure of this fact, that the fairies had to get rid of him before he could share their secrets.
The Reverend Robert Kirk was minister of Aberfoyle in the 17th century, but as well as his Christian belief, he was fascinated by folklore. Being a seventh son is said to have given him an insight into the otherworld and rather than scold his parishioners for old-fashioned beliefs, he became convinced they were right.
Kirk collected oral folk stories and could often be found wandering Doon Hill where he claimed the fairies lived. The minister compiled everything he knew about these secretive, supernatural beings into a book that would become known as The Secret Commonwealth. Unfortunately, he would never see his work published.
At 47 years old and apparently in good health, the body of Robert Kirk was found on the side of Doon Hill in mysterious circumstances. There were no marks nor an evident cause of death, so people began to whisper. News spread that he had angered the fairies who had taken him into their realm before he could do any more damage.
His grave lies in Aberfoyle Old Parish Church, but it’s thought that part of him lives on still. On Doon Hill, there’s a tree covered in old rags which some people believe holds the spirit of Robert Kirk the Fairy Minister.
The story is entirely true and Robert’s book was eventually published. Read it at your peril though, who knows if that’s enough to invoke the wrath of the fairies.
If you enjoyed these stories of Scottish Fairies, then you might want to hear about some darker versions – The Baobhan Sith!
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