Folklore

[Chaoc Kazdul]

I'm looking for some good reference material on the more sinister folklore (ie. the Scot's Kelpie).

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[HConn]

Start here:

www.pantheon.org/mythica.html (http://www.pantheon.org/mythica.html)

www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ (http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/)

Good luck.

[Chaoc Kazdul]

Thanks, I'll take a look through there when I get the chance.

[BlueTexas]

Try A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits by Mack and Mack. It has a large range of nasties, from varied cultures.

[Medievalist]

For a start, look for books by Katherine Briggs; she was the best scholar for folklore of the British Isles. Less useful are books by Spence and Keitley. Campbell Myths and Legends of the Highlands may be of use.

For connections to earlier Celtic mythology see James MacKillop The Dictionary of Celtic Mythology OUP

Keep in mind that there's a fair bit of overlap between Scots folkore and Norse folklore, especially in terms of the Orkneys, and the other outer isles--though Kelpie is definitely Scots in origin; the name is cognate with Scottish Gaelic colpach.

You'll also see the phrase ech usige, literally water horse, used for the Kelpie, which has certain traits in common with the pouka/pooka.

[katiemac]

Any real version of a Grimm's tale should help you out, too.

[katiemac]

Oh, references, sorry. Didn't catch that the first time around. The couple links given are probably your best internet shots.

There's a book I used a couple of years ago to write a paper on fairy tales; it's called "The Witch Must Die" by Sheldon Cashdan, and I remember it being helpful with those sorts of things, although it was written from more of a sociological perspective.

Another one was Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment." Both Cashdan and Bettelheim are (I think) based in sociology and psychology. If you look up any of these on Amazon, there will be a couple of other recommended titles, too. I found both of these at the time in my local library.

However, these are more focused on Western folktales, if I remember correctly.