The Otherworld and Fairy Mounds

2024-08-06

Did you know that the answer to why Nessie will never be caught is in folklore?

To begin, I’m going to try to break down the Otherworld as I understand it from my experiences reading folklore, but as simply as possible in modern terms.

The otherworld is a world that is not separate from ours, but instead overlays it. Think of the Otherworld as a world that blankets ours.

The Celtic Otherworld is like that hidden realm of subjectivity lying just beyond the horizon of mortal existence , which we cannot behold when we would , save with the mystic vision of the seer .

“The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries” by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1911)

There was one story where this stuck with me, though I can’t remember its source. In it, a baby was taken by a fairy. The mother could feel the baby was nearby and could sometimes even hear her baby, but she could not reach it. It was beside her and yet just beyond the veil in the Otherworld.

This otherworld has the kingdom of the fairy queen, which is often called Elphame, as well as the land of the dead. Think of those two as separate territories. I keep them as separate stories, due to fairies like the cait-sith.

The land of the fairies is often said to be a place of beauty, and any dwelling lavishly furnished. If they mean to trap a human there, they need only to offer a meal. The problem is that humans in folklore don’t always know they are in the Otherworld, they simply think they are in a nice place with nice people. If they eat the meal, they are trapped.

One of the biggest challenges to the fairy world is that time passes differently than ours. Sometimes, a person can be gone for what seemed like years for them, when only moments passed here. Other times, a short amount of time has seemed to pass, only for the human to return to the human world, and discover the world has changed drastically, before time catches up and turns the human into dust.

All idea of the flight of time was lost by them under the beauty of fairyland and the joy of life in it. When the fairy-thralls did at last return to earth, they found their places filled by others, and the memory of them well-nigh dead. It was only after many explanations the remembrance of them returned to friends and acquaintances, and they themselves came to know how long they had dwelt in fairyland.

Folklore of the North East of Scotland by Walter Gregor (1881)

For most of the year, our world and the Otherworld are separated by a veil. This barrier is often too strong to pass through, but there are places that act as exceptions. In these special places, the otherworld leaks into our world, like bridges between worlds. These “bridges” are things like fairy mounds and fairy rings. They exist in both worlds, and is often hidden to ours.

Fairy mounds act as a home for fairies who like to visit both worlds. Sometimes, humans are tricked to enter these places, or do so by accident, and are trapped. In most tales, they can only be rescued after a year and a day. (Note: a year and a day plays a big part in Scottish folklore and customs. For example, hand-fasting was originally a ceremony for a temporary marriage, which would last a year and a day. After which, the couple would decide if they wanted to be married for real).

They were believed to dwell inside green sunny hillocks and knolls, beside a river, a stream, or a lake, or by the sea-braes, in gorgeous palaces furnished with everything that was bright and beautiful.

Folklore of the North East of Scotland by Walter Gregor (1881)

So, putting it bluntly, the fairies who live in these mounds lock or unlock a gate to our world as they please. They also guard these areas from other fairies. For example, the home of kelpies are only ever said to be inhabited by kelpies. This explains why fairies like Kelpies don’t simply disappear when they are in danger, and instead run for their watery homes; to get through to the fairy world, they must reach a portal.

For cross-quarter days, the veil thins, allowing all sorts of fairies to our world. During Samhain, the veil is at its absolute weakest, and that is when even the dead are said to walk with us.

So now, back to Nessie. The folklore answer to why she is never caught would be because there is a “bridge” between our world and the other world that likely is also her home.

Sìthein (pron. shï-en) is the name of any place in which the Fairies take up their residence. It is known from the surrounding scenery by the peculiarly green appearance and rounded form. Sometimes in these respects it is very striking, being of so nearly conical a form, and covered with such rich verdure, that a second look is required to satisfy the observers it is not artificial. Its external appearance has led to its being also known by various other names.

Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1900)

Historical Audio Recordings:

• (link) A girl is trapped in a mound and forced to bake. A fairy helps her escape, and is gifted with the ability to use a sickle faster than anyone(1969)
• (link)(link) A woman is taken into a fairy hill at Creag Hàstain, North Uist A fairy helps her escape and is gifted with the ability of being outstanding workers.
• (link) They dug into a fairy knoll while ploughing. After that their animals died and they had to leave Uist
• (link) A man carrying a five-gallon whisky jar went into Cnoc Glas, a fairy hillock on Barrapoll machair. The hillock closed and the man danced there for a year, until he got out the following Hogmanay.
• (link) A young man taken by the fairies is rescued by a young lady and marries her.
• (link)A woman in a fairy knoll made to spin wool.
• (link) A tailor danced for a whole year inside a fairy knoll and did not feel the time passing.
• (link)A man who spent seven years in a fairy knoll.