The Nuckelavee

Of all the supernatural beings once believed to roam Orkney, none was as feared as the creature known as the Nuckelavee.

The Nuckelavee was a creature of abject terror, and spoken of with bated breath until comparatively recent times.

Although many folklore creatures had a dualistic nature, the Nuckelavee was a creature of sheer evil. His sole purpose was to plague the islanders - a task from which he rarelyt rested.

According to the old Orcadians, who lived in constant fear of the Nuckelavee, only the power of the Mither o' the Sea kept the beast in check. Were it not for the fact that she restrained him in the summer, and that his terror of fresh rainwater kept him hiding in the winter, they were sure that the Nuckelavee would have driven mankind from the Northern Isles long ago.

Despite the fact that his home was considered to be the sea, the Nuckelavee was known to wander freely on land. It was during these landward excursions that he was most often encountered by mortals - usually seen riding a steed as monstrous as himself.

Grotesque hybrid

The surviving accounts vary, with some storytellers merging the two monsters so that rider and horse become one - a vile hybrid of man and beast that, they swore, was Nuckelavee's true shape.

From the few recorded descriptions of the Nuckelavee, we learn that his head was similar to that of a man only "ten times larger". He had an incredibly wide mouth that jutted out like a pig's snout and a single red eye that burned with a red flame.

Hairless, his body was also skinless, its entire surface appearing like raw and living flesh. It was said that his thick, black blood could be seen coursing through his veins, as his sinewy muscles writhed with every movement he made. His long ape-like arms hung down to the ground and from his gaping mouth spewed a foul, black reek.

All in all, not a pleasant sight to encounter on some lonely stretch of coastline.

The Ghost of Pembrey Hills

They hide a secret



The Pembrey hills stretch deep into Burry Port territory and provide a beautiful background to the seaside town, which is sandwiched between the hills and a rugged, wild coastline that faces the Gower.

These hills have proved popular for many years, especially during the summer season when schoolchildren free from the classroom would roam the hills to build dens, rope swings and use cardboard sheets to slide down the steeper areas, abandoning all thought for personal safety.

They were a fabulous place for picnics too owing to spectacular views of the coast. If you ever happen to find yourself in Burry Port, drive up to the 'Lookout' on the narrow lane from Isgraig and you will see exactly what I mean. Stunning!

But there is a darker story linked to the Pembrey hills.

Will Mani lived in Pinged and was a very cruel man with a foul reputatation. He beat his wife regularly, whether drunk or not and of friends he had few because people wisely chose to stay away from him. He would hide in the hedgerows on the hills and rob travelers who were going to Carmarthen on buisness. Mani was a brutal thug and seemingly proud of it.

In 1788 he added murder to his bumper list of crimes, after he killed a woman who was out walking on the hillsides. There was never any doubt of guilt. The cuff from his coat was found in his victim's hand and was identified by the tailor who made it. Will Mani's fate was sealed and he was hanged then gibbeted on the hill at Pensarn in Carmarthen.

It is said that his ghost still haunts those hills in Pembrey.

The Devil In The Shawl

Salem: Can you spot the devil?

'Salem' is a painting by Sydney Curnow Vosper, and shows the inside od a Baptist chapel in Cefncymerau, Llanbedr in North Wales. The central character Siân Owen of Ty'n-y-Fawnog who as you can see is making her way to her families pew to get ready for worship.
But this painting has an eerie story to it. It is said the the devil's face can be seen in the Welsh ladies shawl.
Its also believed that the shawl’s elaborate brightness is a comment by Vosper on the sin of vanity.
I have have a copy of Salem in my games room and its one of my favourite paintings. Not only because of the creepy story but its a wonderful look back at how life used to be in Wales.

Ghosts of Carew Castle

In the 17th century Carew castle's lord, Sir Roland Rees, a former pirate catptain, kept a Barbary Ape, inside the castle. Rees had acquired the creature on one of his many voyages. Rees was a very ill-tempered and mannered individual, and would host banquets at the castle just to shout insults and laugh at his guests. The ape, whom he named Satan, would mimick him and laugh at the guests too.
One stormy night, when there was strong wind and rain, the ape grew restless while Rees drank heavily in the dinning hall. There was a knock at the door and a Flemish tradesman appeared to deliver his rent, but had only half the money needed. Rees was already upset at the man because he did not approve of his son's relationship with the man's daughter. In a drunken rage, Rees loosened the ape’s chains and goaded it to maul the tradesman close to death. The tradesman escaped but, weak through loss of blood and struggling to make his way out, collapsed in semi-consciousness.
The tradesman was rescued by a benevolent servant who tended to his wounds and hid him away in his quarters, intending to let him go when the violent storm past. As the two men talked a violent cry and mad laughter was heard coming from the dinning hall. They rushed to the scene to find Sir Rees dead on the floor, his throat gashed open, and the ape burning in the fireplace. The ghosts of the ape and its master are said to haunt the castle to this day. Footsteps are reported reguarly, objects throw themselves, and the mad cackling laughter of an ape echoes through the halls.

The Devil Makes A Claim

Only his initials survive, time has taken the rest of the man now only known as W.E.. Being somewhat of a thug, a drunkard and a regular brawler he was not a man many people looked forward to bumping into. He once spat in the face of the village parson and punched him, and when a parish clerk unwisely interfered, W.E. beat the hapless clerk severely.
Rumours in the Welsh village were that this brutish man had sold his soul to evil, and he was proud of the many wicked deeds he committed. In fact he revelled in them, believing it great to hold such terror over people. Villagers always imagined W.E.'s end would be violent and shocking and they were not wrong.
One evening the bully disappeared. His house was checked but nothing. The next morning a search was made of the area and a body was discovered on the edge of a river. W.E. had been found and it was a cruel sight. An obvious struggle had occurred between the drunkard and someone (something?) unknown, and it was evident that the fight had started some distance away from the river.
The dead mans footprints showed that he had dug his heels in deep into the earth as if to resist his attacker who was seemingly intent on dragging him to the water.
Indeed as the search party continued to take in what they had found, they realised that W.E. had put up a desperate struggle.


A Hell Of A Fighter

There was an oak tree near the river and one of its boughs had its bark peeled right off. It was clear that the towns reprobate had clung to this bough for dear life until it had snapped because he still clutched it in his death. But the most violent part of the attack had taken place closer to the murky river water. There the body had been dragged underneath roots of trees and pulled through a hole barely big enough for a fox to slip through let alone a grown man. That crushing force extinguished the life of W.E..
But what of his assailant? Could it be that the towns infamous brawler had picked a fight with someone more fierce than himself? Footprints were found all over the grisly scene, however they all belonged to the wretched corpse. No evidence of there being another person could be seen. Not a thing.
Due to this and the fact the dead man had led a cruel, evil life, people in the town believed that W.E.'s final fight had been against something he had no hope of beating and that his murderer was no man but the Devil himself.

Bigfoot Returns?

A new video has been posted on Youtube showing a supposed Bigfoot wandering about near some trees in Kansas, USA. Personally I think it was more man-in-monkey-suit than Sasquatch but you can check it out here and see what you think. The mother in the video seems quite convinced.

Soul Taxi

Psychopomps (literally meaning 'guide of souls') are spirits, creatures, or angels in many religions whose job it is to ferry newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Bear in mind their role is not to judge the dead, but simply provide safe passage. Psychopomps have been associated in lots of different different cultures with ravens, crows, horses, owls, cuckoos and even sparrows.

Mirror of Death