The Nightmare Nuckelavee

The Nuckelavee, a terrifying Orcadian Myth. 

The Orkney Isles, is an archipelago that lies on the North Coast of Scotland. There are seventy islands in all, of which twenty are occupied. The local residents are called Orcadians, and they have many rich traditions and stories.

There is some wonderful archaeology to be discovered on these isles, from the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae, to Maeshowe passage grave, and The Ring of Brodgar standing stones, all of which are simply dripping with tales and lore. But today we are going to deal with the tale of what one Folklorist, Katharine Briggs, called ‘The Nastiest’ of all the Demons of the Scottish Isles, The Nuckelavee.

The term nuckelavee derives from the Orcadian knoggelvi, which translates to ‘Devil of the Sea.’ This horrible being is a malevolent Sea Demon, with sadly nothing good to redeem it. A entity called ‘The Mither of the Sea’ is said to keep it confined to the ocean during the summer months, but outside this all to brief window, it is free to roam where it pleases.

What form it takes whilst in its dark, salty realm is not clear. But we do have a description of the creature on land, given by a witness called Tammas. This unfortunate islander was walking home one moonlit night when his path drew close to the beach. He became aware of something ahead moving towards him. at first he believed it to be a rider on horseback, but the closer it got, the larger it became, and soon he realised that it was far too big to be a mere man mounted on a steed.

Brave Tammas said he stood his ground, and uttered a prayer. Then the moonlight finally revealed the terrible nature of the thing before him. A horrific melding of man and horse. The beast was skinless, every sinew of muscle and pulsing vein visible. The body of the rider was legless and seemed to grow from the back of his mount. Its arms were long and ended in massive hands. The equine head had an enormous gaping mouth that exuded a pungent, toxic vapour, and a single giant eye, that burned like a flame.

Tammas made the sensible decision and fled. The creature gave chase, but our hero was able to ford a small stream, and so the beast, who could not abide fresh water, was unable to continue pursuit.

Folklorists believe that this bizarre being was used to explain mysterious vanishings and incidents that occurred on those storm battered islands. Orcadian tales are strongly influence by their Celtic and Scandinavian roots, so it is possible the thing has it origins in the story of a mythic creature bought in by Norse settlers, and combined with native tales of the Water Horse.

With such a terrible thing roaming about, it cannot be a surprise to learn that the poor folk of the Orkney Isles, keep themselves locked in doors at night during the dark months.

Here is a song about the Nuckelavee for you to enjoy dear friends, click the link below to listen on youtube.