wasabiroots
Scotland. The land synonymous to kilts and bagpipes. But it is also a land with many mystical creatures that may just hunt you down or help you out. Thus, here are 7 Scottish folklore creatures:
7. Cait Sith
You’ve probably heard of Cait Sith from Final Fantasy, which is apparently based on the mythological creature with the same name. The appearance of the mythological cat is that it is a big cat(could go as big as a bull) with black fur all over except for a bit of white spot on its chest and they are known to be malevolent.
So the Cait Sith would haunt the Scottish Highlands and stories of it can be found in Ireland as well.
There are a few stories about the Cait Sith. Some say that a Cait Sith is a witch that transforms into a cat. But the witch may transform for only 9 times. Because the final transformation being permanent, this definitely reminds me of the cats and their 9 lives.
Then some stories says that they are fairies which are typical of most Scottish or Irish mythological creatures. Apparently, they like to steal the souls of the dead before the souls can pass on.
Thus, there are old traditions to ward these Cait Sith from getting the souls such as:
- music or laments would be played because the Cait Sith would be distracted to dance,
- fires should not be available in the room where the body is so that it is cold because the Cait Sith likes a warm room and even
- catnip would be spread throughout the rooms of the house except for the room with the body in because even if it is a spirit it is still a cat and they still like their catnip.