The Kelpie: Scotland's Mythical Water Horse (Scottish Folklore)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
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On one dim dark night in Scotland an old highland man was slowly walking through the dense woodland. He had hoped to arrive home before the night fell, but had been waylaid in a local pub. Now drunk and tired the man stumbled through the woods, wishing there was an easier way. When suddenly he spotted a large black horse drinking from a river, it was as if the very forest itself had answered his wishes. The man hurried to the horse and noticed it had a very placid mood, this was not a wild horse thought the man. Standing on a large rock the man threw himself onto the horses back, all of a sudden, the beast lept to action and bolted along the river bank, the man cried and whaled, but the creature paid no attention. The man tried to jimp from his crazed mount, but he was held to the house with some kind of mystical force. The horse leapt high into the air and landed in the deep river, the water did not slow the creature, if anything it gave it speed. The man now completely submerged, struggling for the air he would never breath again, knew in his heart that his life had been taken by the dreaded Kelpie.
Intro Music: Written for me by Bobbin
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Other Music by : Alexander Nakarada alexandernakar...
References:
Briggs, K. (1976) An Encyclopedia of Fairies : Hobgoblins, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. Random House. ISBN-10:0394409183
Campbell, J. G. (1900) Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Glasgow. James MacLehose and Sons
Folklore Society (1888) the Folk-lore Journal. Elliot Stock, London [archive.org/de...]
Holden, R. and Holden, N. (2001) Bunyip’s: Australia’s Folklore of Fear. National Library of Australia, ISBN 0-642-10732-7
Johnson, B. (2021) The Kelpie, Mythical Scottish Water Horse, Historic UK [www.historic-u...]
Kotake, M.H. (2013) Introduction to the Folklore of Scotland. Corpus ID: 161029874 [www.semanticsc...]
MacGregor, A.A. (1937) The Peat-Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands. The Moray Press.
Mythology.net (2016) Nix [mythology.net/...]
Rose, C. (2001). Giants, Monsters & Dragons, An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth. W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 978-0-393-32211-8.
Scottish Places (2021) The River Spey [www.scottish-p...]
Sedgwick, I. (2021) Why Are Kelpies So Feared and Distrusted in Scottish Folklore? IcySedgwick.com [www.icysedgwic...]
Westwood, J., Kingshill, S. (2012), The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4090-6171-7
Hi all, Sorry its a bit late but my video on the kelpie is finally done, Thanks for all the support
This was fab! Cant wait to see what tales you tell next ❤
Aye it's aboot time 😉
It was well worth the wait. Thanks for an excellent job.
I love the Scottish accent and learning about the culture & folklore.
I love that we have these massive Kelpie statues and celebrate our folklore even though they're bloodthirsty. We're such a gothic dark country lol. I'm bingeing your videos and enjoying learning new ones and hearing some auld ones. Thanks again 🏴
Ay, if I my country's folklore included murderous blood-thirsty water horses, I'd be proud and celebrate them, too!!! They're really cool!
Kelpie be like “no such thing as a free ride”
I prefer the male kelpie because we have so many examples of a succubus style creatures The siren the baobhan, sidhe, the sharpie ect ect. But to my mind I can not recall any incubus type creatures besides the kelpie they seem to have completely disappeared from popular imagination. It also serves as a good message for women particularly young women to be wary of handsome strangers.
My daughter has Scottish blood ..
I’m a Turkish girl and live in Oz .. I’m studying Mythology and folklore and plan to visit Scotland one day ❤
I love all the videos. I was born in Scotland and lived nr. Aviemore for a very long time. I had a white horse called Kelpie ( technically, they are called grey horses, even if they are white!) I would love a T shirt for the channel showing a Kelpie on it. My grandmother told me many tales, some I have heard on your channel. Keep up the great work! P.S. Graphics are fantastic!
This reminds me a lot of the Maneto (Manetoa) of central Algonquian tribes in the United states and Canada. Maneto the snake monster is a dreadful man-eating creature that lurks in lakes and rivers and drowns unwary travelers. Manetos have horns and armored scales and are extremely difficult to kill. The only thing a Maneto fears is thunder, for the Thunder Beings are their sworn enemies and have the ability to strike a Maneto dead with thunderbolts.
I was honored to see these in person. My son and I were in Scotland November 2022. They are magnificent!
Your best video by far, both for the tales and the graphics. If Ted Hughes was alive, he would surely have some interesting ideas about the kelpie. I always find it useful to visualise these traditional tales with each character representing a part of our own minds. From that angle, the kelpie is an aspect of the 'unconscious', unmanageable and equally creative and destructive. The tales seem to portray various kinds of negotiation between these aspects of ourselves, for better or worse.
Glad you enjoyed it! thanks
Our first time watching.. the kelpie video was excellent..
Two things that encouraged us to subscribe.,
First your voice.. that beautiful Scottish accent..
Also Scottish we are.. and love folklore.. so
After we subscribed we saw your wolf logo.. and felt content..
Both of us have wolves as spirit animals!
Please keep making videos.. we love them🌹
William and Jen
💜💙🌱🌹🙏
I too am weak to having boiling water thrown upon me 😂
I share the same weakness haha
I just wanted to say this channel has been a huge help for me
I love to listen to folklore, mythologies, monsters and heroes all around the world. I also love to create characters based on the folklore. I have a few characters that are inspired by Scotland folklore and your channel and research gave me alot of inspiration for those characters. Again keep up the work, this channel taught alot about Scotland
Thanks, that means a lot, I ll do my best to continue it 😀
‘An old Highland man’ and a photo of that great Scottish comedian, Stanley Baxter. ❤ A wonderfully funny man, we never missed any if his shows/appearances. ‘Comedians’ today are blah, they could learn a lot from studying the works of the old comedians.
Izat a marra on yer barra, Clara? There is no one quite the same as Mr Baxter
I was looking for some Scottish myths and i'm here your new subscriber. I was really amazed how phenomenal stories you have. I love this video!
(3 years ago i moved from Hungary to Scotland. I'd like to keep this land's legacy and tell my parents how beautiful fairy tale Scotland is!)
Thank you!
Alba gu bráth!
Thanks for watching
@ Mr. Liath . Thank You for the wonderful tale.. 🎉🎉
I have been looking for information on Scottish mythology, folklore and legends for agee. I am very glad that I have found your channel. My surname is Scottish I inherited from my Scottish grandfather through my dad and my great grandmother was Scottish and came from the Highlands. I am a geordie. My maternal grandfather's surname is Anglo-Saxon so I love learning about Scottish and Anglo-Saxon history, mythology, folklore and legends.
Omg I love your Scottish voice!
Thank you for the Video! My Granda is from Buckie, so I was told the stories about the Spey Kelpie as a child. When I went hiking there in 2013 There was a graffity of a white horse underneath one of the bridges over the spey, I immediately was reminded of the kelpie stories. I wonder if the graffity is still there.
In Aztec mythology, the Ahuizotl is a canine type creature with a long tail that has a gripping hand at the end. the Ahuizotl had a close relationship with water gods and is considered the guardian of the lake and other water bodies. This creature lured ppl to their deaths which was usually drowning. It too sured as a lesson for child to be weary of water bodies Interesting that even Mesoamerican mythology has a similar creature
I love the world wide connections we all have through ancient lore, It shows me that all people share many of the same struggles. Fear of deep lakes or fast flowing rivers just seems to be one of those things. thanks for watching
@@LiathWolf Agreed. I really enjoy your deep dives into each individual creature and beings in Scottish folklore, especially your brownie video. Would love to see more like that
@@Petrolacosaurus There is another deep dive comming out this friday 14th on the Glaistig👍 hope you enjoy, thank you for watching
You never let us down. And a Ghillie Dhu T shirt to boot! :)
I absolutely LOVED this video. I just went to your store and ordered the Kelpie t-shirt. I have a tattoo of a Kelpie on my arm. ❤
Thank you so much for the support.
The bit about the kelpies taking the form of a handsome human and seducing village girls reminds me of the bralizian myth of the pink boto (or encantado), a shapeshifter river dolphin who during the nights, turned into a handsome man to seduce and impregnate girls.
I have heard of that dolphin myth before but never knew where it came from, thanks
A wonderful collection of stories kept from so long ago.
I loved this one ❤
Thank you so much for this beautiful video 💖
One of the best kelpie videos on youtube!
Thanks for watching
I agree with Colin Wilson, that they were a type of giant slug like animal. That would explain it's shape changing and it's sticky nature.
This video was informative and educational as usual! I always get excited when I see that ou have a new video uploaded!
Do you have a video on the Each Uisge? Sort of the sea and ocean dwelling cousin of the Kelpie. We have a story here on Prince Edward Island about the Each Uisge but I’m curious about its tales in the homeland! Loving your videos by the way!
Great video! Wonderfully informative too. Another Scottish TH-camr (Wee Scottish Lass) greets her viewers with "Welcome my wee Scottish Kelpies!" Not sure how to take it now that I know how malevolent Kelpies are. :-)
Wonderful voice and articulation.
I have a beautiful Australian Kelpie dog called Dusty my Kelpie has to have a water 🌊 game every day l have to hose her for about an hour every day her expression on her face is amazing i always pat her and say you have the water spirit cheers Stephen 🍀✌️✌️🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🦄🦄🍀
I’m Aussie and love Kelpies! Such hard working dogs .. One my child was playing with at the park even protected her after some ‘ weird looking guy’ strolled into the park walked around and walked out again..
I have the entire incident on video as I was filming my girl playing with the gorgeous chocolate coloured Kelpie.
Suddenly he looked to the left and you can see the feet of the man he went up to .. has to be seen to be believed !
Anyway have a blessed day ❤
You have a wonderful voice and I love your content. Thank you.
This was interesting, and just in case it is real, it's a good warning to people who don't know the stories.
Thank you for sharing
Wonderful, thanks!
Ay lad, ever heard of sawney bean? I'd love to hear you cover it
That I have, great suggestion, I'll look deeper into it.
Another great one - thank you very much. Always such a pleasure to listen to your videos. 💙
Waterspirits are quite common in Suriname as well, they seem to be more good natured however, people sing somgs about them till this day and some even get possessed by them, in which case they will chill in the river for a few days and then return.
Thanks so much for this wonderful tale! It might be my favorite so far. Also, I could listen to your lovely voice for hours. Would you mind sharing the area of Scotland where you were raised?
awesome vid Liath loved it
Imagine a brave but stupid person mounting a domesticated but lost and confused horse that gets spooked, and runs into a river where it could shake free of the univited rider, where he almost drowns and screams "Kelpie! Definitely a Kelpie! Has to be supernatural, I am always able to ride horses 100% of the time. I am innocent. It was a Kelpie, that tricky bastard."
yes hahah
yer awesome Lad! Keep it up! Slainte!
Really interesting video
Nicely done dude...
Cheers min
Really enjoyable. Thank you
Great video mate, stumbled upon your channel by mistake but i love ya content, ive subscribed 😁
Listening to the accent🫠❤
Thank you for your amazing channel. 💜👏
This should be a thing in DnD.
It is in my Campaign🐴
I am a hobby artist and your video has given me an idea for a drawing or painting. Perhaps it will be good. Maybe one day I can work with you as well.
That sounds great, I am always looking for beautiful art. If you are interested in working together send me a message at liathwolfinquires@gmail.com. thanks for watching
this was well done im a Scottish descent
I personally think kelpies are Scotland's most nightmarish monsters
Yeah being dragged under the water sounds like a truly horrible way to go
The Kelpie 🥰
I am Scottish & Irish. By Blood. I am of the Clan Carmichael.
Hello Stanley Baxter 😂❤
In Greek/Roman Poseidon/Neptune the god of the sea and water made horses.
Thats quite an interesting connection I never knew about, thanks
In the end you say there are good kelpies but i heard no one story of a good kelpie or?
What if nessy in the loch is a kelpie which is why no one can find it if nessy is a water spirit then no one can discover it in science the loch Ness monster Might just be a kelpie
The Tibetans have water horses. Do you know of the rhyme or saying about the River Tyne? Tweed said to Tyne why do you run so slow. Tyne said to said to Tweed when you drown two ,I drown twa
17:50 Imaging dating a Cute Girl and one night her Father opens the door... crossdressing and atacks you with boiling water
I mean we have all been there, at least once haha
Any good books on these monsters?
All the books I used are referenced in the description, thanks for watching
@@LiathWolf great video
nice intro :)
interesting
Suprised the use of the child touching a horse head and sticking too it wasn't used. That clip is from the 2005 Brothers Grimm staring Matt Demon and Heath Ledger. The scene shows how the girls hand sticks to the mouth of a horse unwilling to free. However, then the horse swallow the girl to keep her alive for later
Im not exactly sure if this can happen to you but it might be a good idea to credit every piece of art in your videos just in case, there have been alot of TH-cam channels that have used art in their videos and got many copyright strikes for single videos
Are there any stories or lore of the Ceasg?
I have a book and it had a wee story about 2 cats and the fox
There are quite a few animal tales from Scotland, many seem to involve a fox haha, also wolves appear alot.
I question the interpretation of malevolent if the being could be tamed by the rightful soul...Malevolent seems to be very individual according to how information is processed. Malevolent often comes from a perspective outside of where the story originates and then transposed onto modern day versions. The same as a Brave Warrior may not be seen as a brave warrior by some other observer.
kelpie = Water Horse 🐎
Horse = Dragon 🐉
Crocodile = Water Dragon 🐊
Kelpie = Crocodile 🐊
And if you look deeper you will find out that according to mainstream science their was a prehistoric terrestrial, species of crocodile that lived all over the UK hunted both on land and in the water and it had hooves for feet they say they went extinct millions of years ago but ….. what if they didn’t 🤔
I have The Kelpie from pictish art as a Tattoo it is my fav one.
Funny wee story. I was in Edinburgh National Museum of Scotland couple days ago having a look at the pictish art to get some inspiration. I already have the cobra with the rod. The eagle the crescent crown and of course the Kelpie. Anyways I was with my friend who was in mid sentence telling me to not to touch a stone I was climbing over the other exhibits to see. I know I am a terrible human being. The exact timing was perfect I touched the stone and every alarm starting sounding. security staff rush in telling us to leave the wing. My friend was almost about to have a panic attack thinking it was my fault. Was a fire that was outside the museum but the smoke had made the alarms sound. I thought is was hilarious but her wee angry face didn't 😂
It would be nice if the stories weren't 97% "...a guy was out by himself and killed by a magical water horse situation and was never seen again...".
Oh, someone is not fond of MLP. I wonder who that might be? Let's ask the fella at 1:58... oooh _never_ mind.
I've gotta say, all the images of fanged horses is scary af.
I've seen a female Kelpy go a little way into the water before letting a male Pegasus mount her.
Of course, he has nothing to worry about, she was just making sure his sperm stays at a cool temperature.
Its humans they don't like. But since I'm not a human the 2 went about their business without even caring that I was there.
Is that like our Banshee ?
Similar, yes, but also the Scottish Caoineag and Baobhan sith have many similar traits as the Banshee or Bean Sí
Shame that something beautiful can be evil but my always told stay away from strangers
👍
Uisge beata? Doesn't it just mean whiskey? An alcoholic spirit that tastes pretty damn good? 21:52
Uisge beatha, means water of life and is somtimes used to mean whisky, but it is thought that the word Whisky comes from from a mis pronunciation of the word Uisge.
Maybe they wouldn't be malevolent if the automotive industry wasn't reliant on converting them to mechanical animal measured by horsepower
Could this be symbolic for the constant occupation attempts made by other tribes or groups? The fact a cross protects one would make me assume Kelpies are possibly catholics or the occupations of religion on a pure tribal people
Its totally possible, with many of these really old Scottish stories, its almost impossible to know for sure where they came from and why they came about. So much of our history has been lost, due to the purging of our culture by the english and the christian church. the invasion of both these forces outlawed our cuture, history and traditions.
What a very clever consideration. thanks
just don't trust a horse by rivers/locks
Bro i have Sean kealpie in real life and i tamed it baye just saying i swear i will never hurt the ocean
There is a solution to the kelpie problem, Don’t ride random horses
Haha, yeah I agree, That probably has alot to do with the origin of the tales
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:)
I wonder if there is a story of a village man who captured a kelpie in the form of a woman, by stealing its silver necklace and marrying it. it sounds weird, but I wonder if there's a story like that.
Valyrian Steel would destroy this horse 😜