One green planet horse myths6/2/2023 ![]() On the Isle of Lewis, Croc-na-Beist, meaning “hillock of the monster”, is a knoll where an each-uisge was said to have been slain by the brother of a woman it tried to seduce while in its human form.Īpart from humans, these malevolent water creatures also fed on cattle and sheep. Representation of each-uisge, a supernatural water horse found in the lochs of Scotland. For this reason, people in the Highlands were often wary of lone animals and strangers they encountered near the water’s edge. Once the victim has drowned, the each-uisge rips the corpse apart and devours it, leaving only the liver to float to the surface. The horse’s skin will become adhesive and the horse creature will immediately take its rider into the deepest part of the lake, drowning him. However, as soon as the horse smells water it is the end for the rider. While it is in its horse form, should a person mount it, then the individual is only safe while the each-uisge is on land. It is a shape shifter disguised as a beautiful horse, a pony, a giant bird or as a handsome man. While the kelpie inhabits rivers and streams, the each-uisge lives in the sea and in lakes. Folklorist Katharine Briggs described the mythical being as “perhaps the fiercest and most dangerous of all the water-horses”. Literally meaning “water horse” it is a water spirit resembling the kelpie, but is far more vicious. The each-uisge of Scotland is known as “Ech-Ushkya” or as the “each-uisce” in Ireland. People in the Highlands were often wary of lone animals and strangers they encountered near the water’s edge. Ultimately, Black Eric fell to his death in the sea - but his tangie continued to terrorize the area. The tangie he rode offered him supernatural assistance while raiding surrounding crofts. Black Eric, a sheep rustler, was known in legends for riding a tangie. Specifically, the tangie has a predilection for young women, whom it allegedly will abduct and devour under water. ![]() Kelpies also apparently warned young women to be wary of handsome strangers. There are some stories, however, in which kelpies are seen in a more positive light and are said to protect small children from drowning in lakes. In time, this practice led to the appearance of the belief in evil water horses. In the past, human sacrifices were made to appease the gods and spirits of the waters. Probably the most well-known of these stories is the one about the kelpie of Loch Ness. In Scotland, almost every lake has a story about a kelpie. For this reason, the kelpie is seen as a malefic entity. While appearing as a human, the kelpie will still have its hooves. ‘The Kelpie’ (1913) by Herbert James Draper. However, some legends say that it can also assume human form. The historian Douglas Harper defined kelpies as demons appearing specifically in the shape of horses. In Scotland, the kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit which resides in lakes and pools. ![]() Shape-shifting and Sacrifices to Water Spirits But before those creatures existed there was a sea horse in Greek myth that was known as a hippocampus. The Scottish Kelpies are some of the more intriguing of these creatures and tales about these water horses have been told far and wide around that country. There are many interesting legends from around the world and through the ages that refer to mythical beings that are similar to horses.
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