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Celtic Hags

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Many places scattered across the Celtic lands are reputed to host their own terrible supernatural Hags. They may be said to dwell in woodlands or waterfalls, sea-coves or cellars, towers or cemeteries. Though their habitat may vary, these creatures (known by grim names such as Jenny Cut-Throat, Burn the Ladle, and Old Harrow-Tooth, for example) are almost always rumoured to have a great fondness for the taste of young human flesh. Canrig Bwt, the brain-eating Hag of Llanberis in North Wales, was said to sleep under a great stone monolith. The strength and combat skills of the Celtic Hags often also far surpass the preconceptions suggested by their paltry frames. Not all of Britain’s flesh-eating crones may have an antiquity dating back to the Celtic age. Some are likely derived from the memories of certain individuals caught up in the Witch Trials, whilst others were inspired by accounts of real-life murderesses rather than Crone-Goddesses. Old and haggard or conversely at times youthful and seductive, the Celtic Hags tend either to be solitary or to congregate in groups of three or multiples of three. This is most significant in relation to the Celtic War Goddess, the Morrigan. Somewhat confusingly perhaps, the name Morrigan can refer to the War-Goddess as a single personification, but the three separate entities comprising her can collectively be known as the Morrigna. The individual aspects of the Morrigan are usually named as Nemain, Badb and Macha. However each of these individuals could appear as a beautiful young woman, a hideous old crone or as a Crow.


 

Black Annis

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Black Annis is the Hag of the hills, a foul one-eyed, blue-skinned wretch who lurked in the branches of an old Oak tree, surveying the land around for young children playing out after dark to seize, or if need be even attempting to snatch them from their own homes. Claiming her prey, she would drag her victim back to her cave, a dark fetid grotto carved out of the rock of the Dane Hills in Leicestershire by her own monstrous talons, and given the name Black Annis’ Bower. In this foreboding hole she would feast upon her victims’ flesh, after first carefully flaying their skin. These pelts would be used either to drape the walls of her cavern and the branches of the old Oak as grotesque decoration, or as cloth for her garments. It was claimed that Black Annis’ horrifying screeching would carry for miles, but at other times Black Annis cared for a lower profile. On such occasions, to assist stealth and to avoid possible capture, she was said to assume the form of a cat, which gave rise to her also being known as Cat Anna. Although the site of her original bower now apparently lies beneath the foundations of a housing estate, rumours whisper that Black Annis still dwells in the catacombs that run beneath Leicester Castle, hungry still for the taste of young flesh.


 

Cailleach Bheur

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According to Celtic lore, some of the Nature Goddesses would be of a youthful and cheerful countenance at Spring-time, but as the year progressed, and with the turn of the seasons, they would gradually age until come the winter they were gnarled and harsh. Such was the case of the Cailleach Bheur, however following a natural disaster caused by her own unfortunate folly, it is said that her blood froze and her visage grew grimmer. Her skin, frost-bite blue; one of her eyes, eternally frozen closed. As the embodiment of Winter she is merciless as she drifts through the lands leaving death and hardship in her wake, her touch and breath turning all to ice. The only company that she will tolerate is a large Crow that sits upon her shoulder, but sometimes it is said that on occasion Dark Elves may also assist her in misery making. Though immense, her power is not eternal, for once the time has come for the land to warm and bloom again the Cailleach Bheur hides her stave under a bush and turns into a stone, until the seasons once again turn in her favour. Cailleach Bheur’s numerous other names include Mountain Mother, the Old Lady of Gloominess and Gentle Annie.


 

Night-Hags

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Also known as: Night-Mares, Mara, Mera, Mares, Crushers, Drudes, Mare-Demons, Hagges, Haints, Entities, Mallt y Nos, Night-Fiends, Cauchemar, Night-Elves.
Sometimes people who suffered from wasting diseases such as Tuberculosis Consumption were said to look ‘Haggard’ or ‘Hag-Ridden’. This refers to the belief that, as they slept, a Night-Hag had entered their bedchambers and either sat upon their chests crushing them (but not to the point of fatality) and perhaps sucked away at their breath, or their vitality, or alternatively had actually ridden their victims entirely into the air and sometimes over distance. Either way, their human victims were left exhausted and often diseased. The alternative name of Mara and its similar derivatives is said to have meant Crusher in Old-English, and it is from this word that the term Night-Mare originated - initially meaning not a bad dream but an actual external terror. The term Hag-Riding has also been applied when horses who had been left resting have been found to be exhausted and covered in sweat in the morning. Again it was considered that the Night-Hags had been riding the horses around in circles to the point of collapse during the hours of darkness. In some locations it was thought that these fiends on horseback delivered bad dreams to households, thus giving an additional meaning to Night-Mare. An alternatively used term to Hag-Riding is to be Owl-Blasted, which refers to the belief that Night-hags would sometimes take the form of these nocturnal birds.


 

Dark Men

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The Fear Dorcha, or Dark Men of Dreams, tend to prey on the sleeping psyche of women. The details of individual dreams will differ, but the fundamental aspect of the Dark Man varies little. He is the figure on the edge - the lurker, the stalker, the intruder. Shrouded in darkness and shadow, always just out of reach for identifiable details to be distinguished, but always close enough to threaten. Emitting a palpable atmosphere of mystery and danger, the presence of the Dark Man lingers after the sleeper wakes. Is he a symbolic representation particular to the sleeper’s own life or psyche? Perhaps, yet Celtic myth relates the tale of the Shadow Man, Aillen Mac Midhna, who would creep into our world on the feast of Samhain, intent on causing suffering. Banished from the waking world by the warrior, Finn Mac Cumhail, perhaps this sinister figure may still linger in dreams.


 

Demon Lovers

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An Incubus is a male spirit that seeks to indulge a mortal woman in carnal activity, whilst a Succubus is a female spirit that likewise preys on the passions of mortal men. However it has been suggested that both spirits are one and the same, and that the Incubi / Succubi adopts only a specific gender in relationship to its particular victim. The nature of these nocturnal paramours preyed heavily upon the minds of the Medieval Church, possibly because many of the alleged victims were members of their own ministry who had prescribed to a life of chastity. (Merlin, the great sage of Arthurian legend was thought to be the offspring of an Incubus and a Nun). The Church scholars deliberated on whether the phenomenon was mere hallucination borne out of celibate frustration, or sinful fantasies made flesh, but this held their own people to blame almost as much as the other considered option that such claims were in fact a cover-up for actual corporeal liaisons with human partners. Frequently, though, those who claimed an encounter with an Incubus / Succubus seemed not to have been pleasured by such a visit but to have been genuinely shocked and frightened. Therefore further attention was concentrated on seeking out an external, supernatural culprit. They questioned whether these night-visitors were perhaps a salacious breed of Faerie, or maybe vengeful Ghosts, but as all were considered agents of the Devil anyway then it was simple enough to label them Demon-Lovers.


 

Korrigans

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Also known as: Corrigans, Loathly Ladies.
The Korrigans are often first encountered in the vicinity of Megalithic monuments, ancient tree groves, wells and springs - mainly in Brittany and Cornwall, but localised across the rest of Britain and Ireland. By night, or in private company, this feminine Fay breed would appear as women so beautiful that they could turn the head and heart of any mortal man; by day or in public view, however, they would appear as hideous old Crones. This would likely prove a troublesome quandary for any man who had fallen in love with only the beautiful aspect, or for those who had not perhaps even glimpsed on the horrid alter-ego until the morning after their wedding. Often this dilemma could test true love against lust or prestige. The French-Celtic Bretons believed that the Korrigans were originally Druidesses or Heathen Princesses who had been cursed by early Saints for refusing to give up the Old Religion.


 

Celtic Vampires

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In Ireland, the Failte na Marbh (Festival of the Dead) was held annually on the 31st October. At this time, the dead would pay a short visit to their living relatives and, after a year in the grave, they were obviously thirsty and famished. It was then the duty of the living kin to provide them with food and drink. If sufficient victuals were not offered, the dead would then feed from the veins of the living. These creatures were known as Marbh Bheo - the Night-walking Dead. On the Scottish Isle of Skye pure vengeance was often thought to be the prime mover for the Biasd Bheulach. These Vampire-like creatures would not only spare their revenge for the specific individuals who had done them wrong in life, or had sent them to the grave, but would exact grim penance upon any living soul that fell within their grasp. In England the dead thought most likely to rise again were suicides & executed criminals, and Northumbria in particular was said to have suffered several Vampire plagues. Prevalent also in both Irish and Scottish lore were Vampires that had no discernible human heritage, and instead seemed to be of a malevolent Fay stock. Such a shadowy creature was the Irish Dearg-Due or Dearg-Diulai - the Red Bloodsucker. Frequently the Dearg-Diulai appeared as beautiful, pale females cloaked in a sanguine-red capes. Attracting warm-blooded males with their feminine charm, seduction soon turned to slaughter.


 

Baobhan Sith

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The Baobhan Sith, or Spirit Women, are a strange breed of Scottish Vampiric entities. They most frequently manifest as small groups of beguiling women, dressed in flowing green cloaks that almost conceal the fact that their legs are of a form more befitting Deer. They may also at times take the forms of Hooded Crows. Highland tales relate how they may entrance men with their dancing before sinking their fangs into them. The Baobhan Sith display a fear of cold iron.


 

Glaistigs

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The Glaistig are green-clad Fay women of fair beauty despite their lower bodies which are actually those of Goats. They are solitary creatures of converse character, for whilst they at times may greatly assist children, old people and cattle-farmers, should they chance upon lone male travellers or shepherds then their temperament changes entirely. They will first engage their victim in a seductive dance, before murdering and feasting upon them. In addition to fresh man's blood the Glaistigs also have a taste for fresh cow's milk.


 

Leanan-Sidhe

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Also known as Lhiannan-Shee, The Spirit-Lover, The Dark Muse, The Faerie Sweetheart, The Faerie Mistress, The Dark Seductress.
The Leanan-Sidhe of Ireland and Man sits beside old secluded wells & springs and waits. She bides her time until a mortal man wanders into the vicinity. If he meets her approval then the Leanan- Sidhe will accompany him back to his home and remain there as his lover. In his eyes she is faultless, but more than this she inspires great creativity within him. Enlightened by this beautiful Dark Muse who suddenly appeared to him, the man will develop into a great poet brimming with bittersweet joy and sublime melancholy. Yet there is darkness to the tale, for those who accept the Leanan-Sidhe as a lover are destined to burn bright but fast. Gradually she will drain him of his spirit until he is only a hollow shell, and then death will follow like a blessing. Before leaving her dead lover to find another victim it has been said that a Leanan-Sidhe will first pour the blood and vitality of the man into a great cauldron. From this melting pot it is assumed that the Leanan-Sidhe derives her nourishment, longevity and youthful allure, but that it also the source of the artistic inspiration that she temporarily imparts to her lover-victims.


 

Ganconers

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Also known as: Gancanaghs, Gean-Cannahs, Glanconers, The Love-Talkers, Dark Seducers.
The Ganconer, or Love-Talker, appears only to solitary women (and preferably young and pretty ones at that). Engaging them to sit with him and talk awhile, so pleasant is his appearance and manner that the females instantly forget any reservations they may have had about talking to strange men in lonely places. Such is the Ganconer’s charm and charisma that events soon transcend talk. So attractive does he seem that even the purest and most conservative of maidens succumb to his seductive wiles. Perhaps such conquests are of most pleasure to him, but either way, as the women snuggle up in his arms and begin to daydream of their life together, the Ganconer will vanish with a leery grin, never to be seen by the paramour again. When they realise that he is long gone, it is not shame or humiliation that the ladies feel but total and utter despair. So deep does their longing and despondency instantly become that they cannot bring themselves to eat and they cannot sleep, for their mind always returns to their mysterious lover. Within too long the deflowered maidens pine to death over the encounter, which some consider is the Ganconer’s main objective.


 

Night-Prowlers

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Also known as: Night-Walkers, Haunters.
At night, when most people are sleeping, the Night-Prowler moves about her business, silently keeping to the shadows, her own wizened child hung limply in her arms like a bundle of rags. Instinctively she would know in which house a human baby could be found sleeping and, biding her time, she would linger in the darkness outside until she was certain that the parents too had retired for the night. Careful not to awaken anyone she would lift the latch and enter the household. Once inside she would lay down her progeny by the hearth, then soundlessly leaning over the human infant’s crib she would proceed with her grim task. Returning to her own child she would bathe it by the glow of the fire embers. It was not water that she washed her foul offspring with though, but the still-warm blood of the human baby. When she had finished anointing her kin with the sanguine balm, the Night-Prowler would leave as quietly and as suddenly as she had arrived. Come the morning, the human parents would turn to the cot only to find their own baby cold and lifeless.


 

The Living Dead

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In the tale of Bran the Blessed, this chivalrous Welsh Giant was said to have owned a Cauldron of Healing that originally belonged to the Dagda (the Celtic father-god and original chief of the Tuatha de Danaan). If the bodies of slain warriors were placed into this enchanted vessel then they would return to life, fit for battle but now, for some reason, entirely mute. Following the brutal mutilation of some prize horses by one of his subjects at a wedding feast, Bran felt compelled to relent the cauldron to Matholwch , King of Ireland. This was done in a bid to prevent war as the horses were the King’s own. Despite this gesture, war did eventually break out between the two countries and in the ensuing turmoil the Cauldron of Healing was rent asunder. Without the means to regenerate the dead, the loss of life on both sides was extreme.


 

All artwork and text © Andrew L. Paciorek

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