On this page we will examine something of our Scottish fairies. The Scottish fairies bear little resemblance to the kindly fairy-folk of Ireland. By way of explanation: the Irish fairy-folk, the leprechaun and the "leavnin sidhe," for instance are all Gaels - the kindliest and the most hospitable race in the world. But the Scottish fairies are Picts, the original inhabitants of Caledonia. It could be expected then, that they could be mischievous or devilish, being a product of such a barbaric and bloodthirsty race. The Romans said of them, "To robbery, murder and outrage, they give the lying name of government, and where they make a desert, they call it peace." (I think we still have some of those types of leaders in the Middle East. I wonder if that is where the Picts came from?)

From such an ungracious race, then, come our Scottish fairies. Not all of them are bad, of course. On the contrary, some of them are quite good-natured, and quite prepared to be helpful. But their offers of help should be politely refused or, if accepted, accepted with great caution. In those limited areas where the Vikings are predominate, the fairies are sometimes known as Trolls. (Remember the Troll that lived under the bridge?) In the Gaelic, they are spoken of as "Daoine Sithe," which translates roughly to "Men of Peace." In some parts of Scotland they are often called "Guid Nichbouris," or "Good Neighbors." In all probability, these friendly and rather flattering names were first given to them in a propitiatory sense. After all, one should not be rude to them when they possess such powers as they undoubtedly do. The fairies can do almost anything and it is felt that one would do well to curry their favor. It is believed that they are sometimes responsible for destroying crops ~d livestock; and even running away with a man's wife, right in his face! It is said that there is not a handsome lad in all the country who is safe fram the attentions of the fairy wanen. They are said to use guile and cunning to lure their victims from their homes, wives and sweethearts and the "Queen of Fairies" is said to be the most cunning of all. In the Hebrides and Shetland Islands, the fairies will often go to great lengths to secure a human mate. They will swim from island to island looking for the right lad or lassie. When they do this, they usually change themselves into seals. They will watch the shore carefully and sing an enchanting song and will, in some way, entice their victim to the water' s edge. Then they will send an object, floating in to the water ' s edge, which will attract the attention of the intended victim. As the victim steps into the water to claim the object, they will be pulled under the waves and will know nothing more until they awaken in fairyland.   It is generally believed that there are usually no fruits from a human-fairy union; however, it is a well known fact that the members of Clan MacCodrum, are descended from a seal. Mermaids are very well known in Scotland. The northern shores seem to be their favorite haunt. Sometimes they may be seen sitting on a rock or relaxing on the beach, combing their long, luxuriant hair. Known in the Gaelic as the "Maighdean Chuain" she is also fond of taking a handsome lad as a lover, and will frequently heap all sorts of precious jewels, gold and silver upon him. But the real danger is that she will lure him beneath the waves where he will be kept a prisoner, bound by long slender chains of gold. There is always danger in the love of a mermaid, for no matter how kindly or beautiful she my be, the affair will always end in disaster. That is why sensible fishermen, whenever they haul up a mermaid in their nets, will always let her go.