Well here we are again heading towards another Halloween at the beginning of this Halloween week. Last year on the lead-up to Halloween you may remember that I did a mini-series on funny little mythical creatures known as Fearsome Critters (there are 7-parts in total on 7 different Fearsome Critters), a part of interesting North American folklore from lumberjacks who worked out in the wide strange wilderness, which to them was likely quite an ominous and unsettling place and certainly dangerous work.
This time I am going to be looking at mythical creatures of the United Kingdom, going over five for each day of this week (excluding Tuesday) leading up to the big day itself – Halloween. Halloween is one of my absolute favourite days as it brings back many great childhood memories of Halloween parties at my cousin’s house and also the trick or treating, sweets, chocolate, other food and just general fun times of dressing up and having a good time. One big part of it for me is the pumpkin carving, which I am of course going to be doing this year as I do every year and also buying myself some sweets and chocolate to stuff my face with and perhaps watch some scary/Halloween related things.
Now let’s get into the Halloween spirit by looking at some spooky mythical creature folklore of the United Kingdom, which may or may not have a particular focus on England, although Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland also have some great mythical creature folklore themselves, I mean heck, Wales has a dragon on their flag and the national animal of Scotland is the Unicorn! And let’s not forget about Irish Leprechauns and Banshees and so they will definitely be included on the lists.
Each post will go over five different mythical creatures, including some information on them, a general description, their background and supposed abilities and anything else interesting. The final Paranormal Files blog post will still go up on Tuesday (as it is paranormal related, therefore Halloween approved), which is why one of these posts won’t be on that day.
Number 1 – The Bluecap
The Bluecap is either believed to be a ghost or fairy that may provide aid to those working down within the dangerous conditions of the mines. It was described as looking like a small blue flame and it was said to lead miners to rich deposits of minerals and sometimes also warn the mine workers of impending catastrophe, such as a possible mine collapse.
The Bluecaps did not work for free though and expected payment from those working in the mine, payment equal to that of workers who push the underground wagons. The offerings of payment towards the Bluecaps were often left in quiet corners of the mines for the Bluecaps to collect, likely in hopes of keeping them happy and thus getting continued help from them.
It makes sense that these such superstitions existed down within the hard and dangerous conditions of the mines, such activities enabled the workers to believe that they could do something to improve their circumstances, safety and luck within such terrible conditions.
Number 2 – The Knocker
Another creature of miner folklore, this one coming from Cornish Miners (people from the region of Cornwall in England). This one has great relevance to its name as it was said to warn miners of an imminent cave-in by making strange knocking sounds.
But the Knocker isn’t always helpful and sometimes also decides to be mischievous by stealing the tools and food of the workers in the mines.
Some saw the Knocker as an evil spirit who actually caused the cave-ins to happen by hammering on supports and other vulnerable areas while others believe they mean well and are simply just warning of impending danger.
One of the common descriptions of the creature was a small humanoid (elf) about 2ft in height with a very large head that seems out of proportion from its body size, as well as long arms, wrinkled skin and white whiskers that sprouted out from its face, they dressed in miniature version of miners’ attire.
The folklore of this creature was also brought over by Cornish miners to the United States where it became known as a Tommyknocker, which some also put into the category of “Fearsome Critters”.
Number 3 – The Leprechaun
Leprechaun’s are perhaps one of the most widely known mythical creatures in the West, particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland (where they originate from) and the United States. The typical modern description is of a very small humanoid that is popularly described as being dressed up in green (green hat, coat and trousers), one of the national colours of Ireland. They also often have ginger hair in popular culture including prominent facial hair and are said to be a type of fairy. Older descriptions have them dressed in red clothes instead of green and descriptions have varied over the centuries and from one region to another.
The folklore on the Leprechaun is wide and varied and different from one perspective to another and has evolved over the centuries and into modern times, many folklores call them shoe cobblers and others also say they enjoy playing practical jokes as well, up to the level of mischief but not anything more menacing, some folklore call them the offspring or sons of evil spirits and degenerate fairies and as a result are not either fully evil nor fully good. Leprechauns are also often described as solitary.
In more modern times it seems they have garnered an association with luck and riches through the medium of popular culture, such as gold coins for example, one such is that pots of leprechaun gold can be found at the end of a rainbow, some say this may be guarded by a leprechaun. Some can find some modern depictions of leprechauns offensive and even derogatory stereotypes.
There is much more out there on Leprechauns and is certainly something that deserves its own post.
Number 4 – The Brownie
The Brownie comes from Scottish folklore and is a household spirit or deity that will perform household tasks and farming work at night time while the house owner sleeps. It was important for the house owner to leave out a bowl of milk, cream, porridge or a piece of cake for the Brownie, which was normally left by a hearth.
One should make sure to be respectful of a Brownie as they can be easily offended and thus may choose to leave their home forever, leaving the household to become spoiled. As well as that they may sometimes act mischievous and pull practical jokes or pranks on servants within a household who have decided to be lazy, such as by pinching them or breaking things around them. One should be careful not to anger a Brownie as they may end up becoming malicious, in this instance they may transform into Boggarts and terrify the family.
Sometimes they may simply start habits that become bothersome for the household, such as by hiding/moving certain items such as household keys for example and sometimes a specific routine was required to get said item to return.
Sometimes for their own fun, Brownies may decide to be noisy or leave a mess, for example some may mess up something that has been left tidy while something that has been left untidy will be tidied up. Brownies usually like to be solitary and prefer to work alone and will avoid being seen as best they can, if they are seen it may offend them.
Certain actions may drive away a Brownie such as presenting their offerings incorrectly or sometimes by naming them or trying to baptize them. Presenting a Brownie with clothes may also make them leave as well (this part makes me think that House Elves in Harry Potter have a small bit of inspiration from Brownie’s).
The appearance of Brownie’s is often described as ugly and unsettling, older stories had them as large as or larger than a human but over time they become smaller, their skin is also a brown colour, some descriptions have them covered all in hair while others only have them with hair on their head. They are often naked or dressed in rags. From region to region there are varying descriptions and aesthetics.
Number 5 – The Redcap
And then we will round off today’s edition with the Redcap. The Redcap is an evil Goblin creature with murderous tendencies. Folklore describes them living in the ruins of castles along and around the border of Scotland and England.
The creature is described as being short and having a thickset body, and often looks old, also having visibly long teeth, skinny fingers with talon like claws, big eyes of fiery red and grisly-looking hair that often went beyond their shoulders. They often carried a pikestaff and most relevant to its name, wore a red cap on their head.
This red cap is rather sinister as its red colour comes from it being soaked in the blood of those it murders. You may be in danger of one when taking refuge in their lairs or castles, where they may try and hurl large stones at you, which could kill you. The Redcap is almost invincible and so one should not bother trying to fight it, apparently the only way to defeat them is via reciting religious scripture or by using a crucifix, doing this may cause the Redcap to yell and vanish into flames, and it is said they will leave behind a single large tooth.
And that’s the first part on this week-long Halloween series. Return tomorrow and each day of this week to see the following parts and all the other mythical creatures in the folklore of the United Kingdom!
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