Traditional Shellycoat Stories – Scottish Folklore

There’s no doubt that the Shellycoat is one of the more unusual creatures from Scottish folklore. Unlike its more famous cousins the Kelpies or the Selkies, these beasts are much less common.

Although only found in a couple specific parts of Scotland, it’s still worth knowing more about the Scottish Shellycoat, just in case you bump into one!

What Is A Shellycoat?

You might hear the unusual Shellycoat before you see it. That’s because, unsurprisingly, it wears a coat made entirely from shells! They rattle and clatter as the creature moves around, haunting rivers, bogs and moors. It’s said that this coat would be removed when the Shellyooat rested. If you could get your hands on it, then you had power over the creature!

Underneath its outfit, the Shellycoat is a little harder to describe. Some reports have claimed it’s similar to the Scottish Brownie, small and dark featured. These bogles are far more mischievous than the innocent Brownie though. They love nothing more than playing tricks on unsuspecting visitors, so its worth keeping your wits about you when travelling any waterways!

The Ettrick Shellycoat Story

One dark night, two men were wandering the Scottish Borders when they came to the banks of the Ettrick river. Suddenly, from somewhere in the darkness, they heard a mournful voice crying out – “Lost! Lost!”

Thinking that some poor soul was drowning in the water, they rushed over the uneven ground to save them. Stumbling through the night, every time they thought they were closing on the voice, it sounded a little further away. The strangest part of all, the person in distress seemed to moving further up river!

Trekking further uphill towards the source of the Ettrick, the men were all but exhausted and seemingly no closer to the lost traveller. After several hours, with dawn approaching and the men reaching the crest of the hill, the cry of “Lost!” now carried on down the other side.

The pair collapsed in exhaustion, giving up all hope of saving whoever was in trouble. That was when they heard a burst of laughter accompanied by a rattling of shells. The Shellycoat applauded the two men for persevering so long, chuckling at his own practical joke before disappearing as the sun rose!

Leith Shellycoat Legend

There was once a Shellycoat that hunted the dockyards of Leith, living inside a large, shell coated boulder that lay near the water. Children would be dared to run around the rock three times chanting:

“Shellycoat, Shellycoat, gang awa hame, I cry na yer mercy, I fear na yer name.”

A visiting soldier called Richard, after too many drams in a Leith pub once laughed at the superstitious locals. He bet a gallon of wine that he would walk right up to the Shellycoat Stane and challenge it right there and then.

Most people wanted nothing to do with incurring the wrath of the Shellycoat. Eventually a few took Richard up on the challenge and he marched along the dark streets of Leith alone.

Half an hour passed and the drinkers thought Richard was just stalling for dramatic effect. Then it stretched to an hour and they started to get worried. The men finished their liquid courage and set out to see what had happened to their boastful companion.

They found Richard lying in a heap with broken legs, covered in bruises and soaking wet. Weeks passed before the soldier would talk of what had happened that night.

The Shellycoat had appeared from behind the stone in a defeaning scream like every shell in the sea was crashing on top of him. Then the creature lifted him up like a ragdoll and threw him to Inchkeith Island in the Forth. There, it attacked him with rocks and great clumps of earth while Richard was helpless to resist.

It tossed him in the sea before dragging him back to Leith and dropping him from a great height onto the rock. The last thing he remembered was the sound of the Shellycoat laughing and the clinking of seashells.

You can find lots more stories just like these in the Scotland’s Stories book, available here! If you enjoyed learning about the Shellycoat then you might enjoy tales of the Scottish Mermaids!