It is a Saturday morning, and I am sitting in the back of a wee red tour bus on the Isle of Skye. Our guide, an engaging and hilarious man named Danny, is telling us about the incredible geology and natural beauty of the island. In the distance, almost obscured by the pervasive mist covering the Scottish highlands, is the Old Man of Storr, a freestanding pillar of stone atop a cliff. In a few minutes, we will all climb out of the bus and attempt to get a picture amidst the blustery winds and freezing rain, but for now we are content to avoid the gales and listen to Danny. He introduces the rock, and continues with his two most common phrases. The first is, of course, “I wish the weather was better for photos.” And the second: “There’s a story about this.”
These words began almost every stop on our tour through the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. There is a stereotype of the Scots as exceptional storytellers and it is no wonder why; there are so many stories to tell! Many of these tales simply retell the dramatic history of Scotland, but just as many involve fantastical creatures in wondrous environments. The latter comprise the varied folklore of the Highlands, and it was these legends that Danny often told us.
So, what is the story of the Old Man of Storr? It is rather long, and I certainly cannot do Danny’s telling of it justice, but I want to share it with you, to give you an idea of the types of tales I heard throughout the trip.
A crofter named O’Sheen once owned the land surrounding the Old Man of Storr. One day, he heard a noise from a collapsed rock and, thinking one of his sheep was trapped, he went to investigate. Upon removing the rocks, he found a tiny brownie (pronounced brew-knees), a small creature somewhat similar to a leprechaun, which can live for a few thousand years. The brownie was so grateful to O’Sheen for freeing him, he promised to use his magic to grant the crofter anything he desired. However, O’Sheen was a very happy man, and he could not think of anything to ask the brownie. The brownie thus told O’Sheen that he would work with him on his land, and maybe discover something O’Sheen needed. O’Sheen agreed, but reminded the brownie that he must do everything without magic, so he could understand how humans did it.
The brownie spent many years working with O’Sheen. He was a hard-worker, but because he was so small, he was not particularly good at catching and shearing the sheep. However, he never used magic, just like he had promised O’Sheen. Eventually, O’Sheen married a bonnie lass and had an incredible wedding party, in which the little brownie and his friends played music and danced through the night. But after the wedding, the brownie told O’Sheen that he must leave for many years, to take care of some things in the brownie world. Although sad to see his friend go, O’Sheen bid him farewell.
After those years had passed, the brownie returned to O’Sheen’s lands, only to find them unkempt and O’Sheen gone. The brownie asked another landowner where the crofter was, and was devastated to learn that O’Sheen and his wife had died while he was away. The brownie wanted to do something to commemorate his friend, but he was too small to restore the land to its former glory without the crofter’s help. So he climbed the tallest cliff in the area and decided to carve it away and build a monument to his friend. He could have simply cast a spell over the land and the rock and created anything he desired, but he remembered O’Sheen’s words about doing everything without magic. Thus, he gathered his tiny brownie tools, and dedicated the rest of his life to chiseling away the rock in the shape of O’Sheen looking out over the land, with his wife sitting behind him. The present Old Man of Storr is as far as he got.
The brownie is just one of the mythical creatures I was introduced to on my trip. Now I can also tell you about the kelpies (nasty water-dwelling creatures who often venture up to land as white stallions), fairies (wee people who live in the hills and crevices of the fairy glens), and selkies (mermaid-like creatures without a fishy tail, who are beautiful on the outside and inside). While I knew that Scottish folklore existed, I had not expected how rich and prevalent it was. We may dismiss these creatures as ridiculous, but many people do believe in them. And the stories they tell are not just entertaining; they connect you to the land and people in an almost spiritual way. My trip to the Isle of Skye would have been amazing if I had just admired the land, but it was the folklore that endowed the land with a special charm, and made it absolutely incredible.
