Creature of the Week: Lavellan

In this week’s Creature of the Week we are looking at a creature native of Scottish folklore known as a Lavellan. The Lavellan is a mammal cryptid creature found in Northern Scottish folk tales, particularly in the Caithness region. The creature itself has a number of different names including:

Làbh-allan
La-mhalan
La-bhallan

and is deemed lethal to humans.

Description

Lavellan cryptid is rodent like in appearance, similar to that of a shrew and much larger than a rat. It is regarded as being:

Small
Furry
Has bright eyes
Runs very fast

it’s said they like to live in deep pools of water within rivers.

The Lavellan are regarded as a poisonous creature, being able to injure from 100 feet away using their noxious breath which is deemed lethal to humans. However, tales do give examples of how one may be cured of its poison. Two methods are detailed on how this can be achieved.

First, if you were to preserve a Lavellan’s skin, dipping it in water, this water can be drank and heal the affected person(s).

The second method is to boil a Lavellan’s head and drink the water.

Overall folklorists believe the idea of a Lavellan was constructed as a way to demonise water shrews as their saliva is slightly toxic to humans.

Creature of the Week: Finfolk

Today’s British folklore creature is that of the Finfolk, who come from Orkney. Orkney is a set of islands off the coast of Scotland and the Finfolk or Finnfolk have featured in folklore here going back many, many years.

In general, the Finfolk are shapeshifting sea creatures who travel to the Orkney shores during the Spring/Summer months in order to abduct a human spouse. There are both Finmen and Finwomen who live in one of two places, either in Finfolkaheem (an underwater kingdom) or Hildaland (a paradise island).

Finmen Description

Finmen are described as being thin and tall with a stern face and possessing magical powers. Finmen are very territorial and have been known to cause havoc to fishing boats and ships when they come to near or in ones domain. They are also described as being a crafty creature with a weakness for silver.

Finwife Description

Finwife are depicted as being a beautiful, radiant being with long hair and look like a mermaid, some sources state she has the voice of a siren. She comes to shore to find a husband, if she succeeds in her aims, he will be taken to live in either Finfolkaheem or Hildaland. However if she fails in her mission, she is then expected to marry a Finman who makes her go ashore and work, often as a healer or spinner, where she sends him all her silver earnings. Some descriptions list Finwomen in this situation as having a shapeshifting cat, that delivers messages back to Finfolkaheem.

Method of Abduction

In order to abduct an unsuspecting human they approach (in water) cautiously until they are at a distance where they can leap out and grab their victim. Finmen have an additional tactic, appearing as a fisherman in a boat – I guess to blend in and look less suspicious.

In the event a person is abducted you would live out the rest of your life doing ‘domestic’ duties for your Finman or Finwoman. But there is a chance of escape! For Finfolk have a weakness for silver, so if you are being abducted by a Finfolk throw a silver coin away from you for the Finfolk cannot resist and will go and get it leaving you time to escape (note this is for Finfolk and not other forms of abduction – but I hope you knew that).

If you have any creature suggestions please do let me know.

Creature of the Week: Puck

In today’s ‘Creature of the Week’ I am looking at a mediaeval English folklore being known as Puck.

Puck can also go by the name Robin Goodfellow and anyone who has watched The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will recognise the name.

A Puck is a mischievous domestic, nature spirit often described as a demon or fairy. They like to pull pranks, whether by misleading travellers, turning your milk sour or frightening unsuspecting women.

But if you’re lucky enough they will help around the house with minor housework, sewing or even butter-churning to name a few. A word of caution though, their work can be undone in the blink of an eye if you displease them. So it is best to leave them some treats, they really like milk.

Puck’s are lonely creatures and look to male friends.

They feature in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream as the fairy King Oberon. There are similar creatures in Ireland known as a Pooka or Púca, and in Wales as the Pwcca.

Creature of the Week: Billy Bind

Welcome to ‘Creature of the Week‘ where each week I take a creature from my local folklore (Northumberland, England) and talk about them. This week I’m talking about ‘Billy Bind‘.

Also known by many other names, including:

Billy Blin
Billy Blynde
Billie Blin
Belly Blin

It is a creature that is not seen, but rather features in local ballads in England and the Scottish lowlands as a household spirit. With some arguing Billy Bind may be a folk memory of the God Woden/Odin.

The most well known ballads the Billy Bind feature in are the ‘Child Ballads’.

In 5c the Billy Bind encourages the hero not to marry his bride as she is pregnant by another.

Then in 53c one provides magical assistance and information that the man the lead character likes is about to marry another and is able to reach the man in time.

Looking at the ballads it would appear that the Billy Bind is an advisor, a sort of helper if you will. This is also shown in modern day literature.

Creature of the Week: Habetrot

Welcome to ‘Creature of the Week’. This week I am looking into a Habetrot.

If this is your first time joing ‘Creature of the Week’, hi I’m Bethany Rose and each week I take a creature from my local folklore (Northumberland, England) and talk about them, it is a way for me to learn about my local folklore and share them with the world.

Now a Habetrot (as you could probably guess by now) is a being from the border regions of England and, Scotland. I’ve not found much on its appearance other than it is said to to have ‘deformed’ lips and uses a spinning wheel.

One source seems to suggest a Habetrot was once a spinner Goddess, but is now deemed a fairy spirit.

Folklore tradition featuring a Habetrot stems from an old superstition around it being unlucky to walk upon the graves of stillborn and unbapatised children’s graves. It’s said that if you do, you would catch ‘grave-merets‘ which is an illness causing difficulty breathing, trembling limbs and burning skin.

The only way for a person to be cured was to wear a sack made from linen, but not just any linen. It had to be linen grown in a field with manure from farmland that hadn’t been touched in 40 years, which has in turn been spun by a Habetrot, then bleached by an ‘‘honest‘ bleacher in an ‘honest‘ millers mill and then sewn together by an ‘honest’ tailor.

While this is not fully believed today, it is still superstitious to walk on graves. But that is graves in general, not still-born/unbaptised children’s graves.

Creature of the Week: Dunnie

Welcome back to ‘Creature of the Week’ here on Paranormal Archives. If this is your first time joining the series, each week I take a creature from my local folklore (Northumberland, England) and talk about them.

This week I’m talking about a small brownie like creature called a ‘Dunnie‘.

There’s not much wrote about them but what I can say is that they tend to be found along the Northumberland side of the Anglo-Scottish boarder, wondering the Cragg’s and Cheviot Hills.

Dunnies can shapeshift and take the form of a horse to trick a person into mounting and riding, but they disappear leaving the person in the muddiest part of the road.

Some sources state that a Dunnie can also disguise themselves as a plough-horse but vanish as soon as a ploughman were to take it’s reins.

Overall they are harmless but mischievous beings, just like a Brag (see previous post dated 1st July 2020).

The most famous Dunnie is The Hazlerigg Dunnie.

Creature of the Week: Changeling

Hello and welcome to another Creature of the Week post. In today’s post I am going to be talking about a being that features in folklore throughout Europe, and that creature is a Changeling.

Apparently a Changeling can also be called an ‘Auf‘ or ‘Oaf‘, although I have not come across that where I live in the UK.

A Changeling is a human like creature, they are believed to be a fairy put in place of a human child after fairies steal a baby.

This was a common belief during the medieval period, mainly as a way to explain unexplainable diseases, disorders and disabilities.

In Irish legend it’s said one can identify a Changeling in a number of ways, mainly through observations. The following are the most common ways to identify a Changeling:

The child will appear sickly.
The child won’t grow like a ‘normal‘ child.
The child will have noticeable physical characteristics, e.g. a beard.
The child will be smarter than their age.
The child will have notable behaviours e.g. jumping, dancing, able to play an instrument well.

It’s stated that a fairy will take human children for a number if reasons, such as to use them as a servant, because they love the child or simply out of malice. Centuries ago it was believed that fairies would only take unbaptised children but once baptised they could not be taken.

To ward off fairies to leave your child alone, you can place an inverted coat or open scissors where a each child sleeps (why I don’t know) or you could constantly watch your child.