The Kelpie is a Scottish water spirit that is known to haunt streams and rivers throughout the country. It is often mistaken to haunt lochs, which are the reserve of the Each Uisge.
A talented shape-shifter, the Kelpie’s favourite form is that of an alabaster or sea-green horse. While it appears as a gentleman’s mount, there is always something of the water that gives away its disguise. It entices an unsuspecting rider upon its back and plunges into the deepest part of its stream, its tail slapping the water and making a sound akin to thunder. What the Kelpie does with its victim differs from legend to legend. In some, it consumes the unfortunate rider; in others, it simply leaves him shaken.
According to James Mackinley in 'Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs (1893)' - 'Water-horses were not always malignant in disposition. On one occasion an Aberdeenshire farmer went with his own horse to a mill to fetch home some sacks of meal. He left the horse at the door of the mill and went in to bring out the sacks. The beast, finding itself free, started for home. When the farmer reappeared and found the creature gone he was much disconcerted, and uttered the wish that he might get any kind of horse to carry his sacks even though it were a water-kelpy. To his surprise, a water-horse immediately appeared! It quietly allowed itself to be loaded with the meal, and accompanied the farmer to his home. On reaching the house he tied the horse to an old harrow till he should get the sacks taken into the house. When he returned to stable the animal that had done him the good turn, horse and harrow were away, and he heard the beast plunging not far off in a deep pool in the Don.'
I have heard it said that a Kelpie can be created by dumping the body of a horse into a river without the proper funeral rites.
Before and during strong Highland storms, the Kelpie can be heard howling and shrieking to warn of the impending weather.
Despite being a wild and unpredictable spirit, the Kelpie could be forced to submit to a man’s will if he possessed its golden bridle. The MacGregor clan was said to possess such a relic after a clan member saved himself from a water-horse’s wrath. A Kelpie was highly prized, for it was said to have the strength of 10 horses and the endurance of many more.
The Each Uisge is a Scottish water spirit that is known to haunt the sea, sea lochs, and fresh water lochs throughout the country. It is often mistaken to haunt streams and rivers, which are the reserve of the Kelpie.
Rumoured to be the most dangerous of the water-dwelling spirits, the Each Uisge is a feared entity throughout Scotland. Like the Kelpie, it often takes the form of a beautiful horse and stands by the water’s edge as it waits for its victims. Once mounted, its skin becomes adhesive and impossible to pull away from. The Each Uisge then drags its victims into the depths of the water and devours all but the liver.
* Depending on which source you use, you may come across various bits of information that differ from mine. Some sources say Kelpies are white and others say his skin is adhesive like the Each Uisge’s. Both are said to be cold to the touch and a slick, wet coat. Almost anywhere you look, you will read that both horses can take the form of humans. It’s up for you to decide the truth about these mysterious spirits.
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There are accounts of different water horses throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Cabyll-Ushtey, also known as the Alastyn, hails from the Isle of Man http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/isle-of-man/folklore/cabyll-ushtey.html. The Irish have a creature similar to the Each Uisge known as the Aughisky http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/republic-of-ireland/folklore/aughisky.html. Another Scottish water spirit is the Tarbh Usige, which is a benevolent water bull http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/republic-of-ireland/folklore/aughisky.html.
This beautiful piece is an old Manx song written with the water spirit in mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsFhQWGZoSk&list=FLsuS5kxlJcPTaVl7qlKErrg
An excerpt from some Discovery documentary, the story told describes an Aughisky or Each Uisge more than it does a Kelpie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ8licq0JdM&list=FLsuS5kxlJcPTaVl7qlKErrg
A short paragraph in this article on the Loch Ness Monster links the Each Uisge with Nessie. The article mistakenly refers to what would be an Each Uisge a Kelpie. It is the second paragraph under the subtitle A Brief History of Sightings: http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/cryptozoology/the-loch-ness-monster.html
A glossary of Scottish folk creatures: http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/folklore/creatures-of-scottish-folklore.html
A list of wonderful links: http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/links.html
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