Hello one and all!
It's Thursday folklore again! Today I'm going to discuss the bean nighe here, a female spirit from Scottish folklore. Some people regard it as the cousin of the banshee, but it differs in quite few areas. For one, the bean nighe only had only one nostril, webbed feet and drooping breasts. Both of these creatures were female messengers of death though. The Scottish writer Dorothy K. Haynes had a tale about the bean nighe that illustrates the aspects of it:
One day there was a small girl, called Mary, walking from home. Suddenly she heard "splash-clap" from the river. Being a very curious child, she had to investigate. She expected to see her mother washing clothes but instead there was a short woman with a mean, weathered face washing shrouds. What astounded Mary were the woman's feet-they were webbed like a frog's and gripped the rocks as she went about her work. The girl ran away as fast as she could from the horrible sight and back home.
The girl told her mother about the odd thing she saw down at the river. Mary's mother really wanted to know who the shrouds were for, so she persuaded her daughter to go back the spot she had seen the washer. She did as her mother told her and, sure enough, the old woman was still there, busy at the river. Mary sneaked up to her, but the old woman spun around and hit the girl with the shroud. the little girl's legs went numb and she couldn't move. Time passed and eventually her mother found her, still standing at the same spot. As she arrived back home with Mary she found she had passed away.
The shroud had been for Mary after all. Quite a somber note to end on but I hope you enjoyed the story!
It's Thursday folklore again! Today I'm going to discuss the bean nighe here, a female spirit from Scottish folklore. Some people regard it as the cousin of the banshee, but it differs in quite few areas. For one, the bean nighe only had only one nostril, webbed feet and drooping breasts. Both of these creatures were female messengers of death though. The Scottish writer Dorothy K. Haynes had a tale about the bean nighe that illustrates the aspects of it:
One day there was a small girl, called Mary, walking from home. Suddenly she heard "splash-clap" from the river. Being a very curious child, she had to investigate. She expected to see her mother washing clothes but instead there was a short woman with a mean, weathered face washing shrouds. What astounded Mary were the woman's feet-they were webbed like a frog's and gripped the rocks as she went about her work. The girl ran away as fast as she could from the horrible sight and back home.
The girl told her mother about the odd thing she saw down at the river. Mary's mother really wanted to know who the shrouds were for, so she persuaded her daughter to go back the spot she had seen the washer. She did as her mother told her and, sure enough, the old woman was still there, busy at the river. Mary sneaked up to her, but the old woman spun around and hit the girl with the shroud. the little girl's legs went numb and she couldn't move. Time passed and eventually her mother found her, still standing at the same spot. As she arrived back home with Mary she found she had passed away.
The shroud had been for Mary after all. Quite a somber note to end on but I hope you enjoyed the story!
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