 Poem of Pulteney
The Green Lady
Caithness
The Fairy Hillock
Selkies »
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The Selikies.
The term "selkie" is simply the Orcadian dialect word meaning "seal". As such selkies are a very common sight across the islands and mainland of Scotland. Heads bobbing above the surface of the waves, they are most often seen watching inquisitively with uncannily human eyes. To the onshore observer it is not hard to see how the legends surrounding the selkie-folk sprang into life. Orkney and Caithness have many stories concerning a magical race of creatures known locally as the "selkie-folk" - the seal people. The selkie-folk were generally regarded not as malicious creatures but rather gentle shape shifters with the ability to transform from seals into beautiful, lithe humans.
Throughout the gathered lore there is no general agreement as to how often this magical transformation could take place - in some tales it was once a year, usually on Midsummer's Eve whereas in others it was "every ninth night" or perhaps "every seventh stream". However often they were able to transform, the folklore tells us that once in human form the selkie-folk would dance merrily on the moonlit seashore or bask on outlying rocks. A common element in all selkie-folk tales, and perhaps the most important, was the fact that when the selkie assumed human form, they shed their sealskins.
Within these magical skins lay the power to shift back into seal form so these had to be guarded at all costs. If one of the selkie-folk lost a skin, they were doomed to remain in human form until the magical skin was found again. Because of this, if disturbed during one of their midnight shore dances, the selkie-folk would quickly snatch up their skins before rushing back to the safety of the sea. The male members among the selkie-folk were renowned for their many encounters with human females - married and unmarried. A selkie man in human form was a handsome creature with almost magical seductive powers over mortal women.
If a girl went missing while out on the shore or at sea, it was inevitably said that her selkie lover had taken her to his watery domain. But if the males of the selkie race were irresistible to the island women, selkie females were no less alluring to the eyes of the earth-born men. The most common theme in selkie folklore is one in which a cunning young man acquires, either by trickery or theft, a selkie-girl's sealskin. This prevented her from returning to her home in the sea and the beautiful seal-maiden was usually forced to marry their captors and sire children.
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