The Urisk
(Also known as: Ùruisg, ùraisg, urisg, urisk, ourisk , pheailladh,
peailladh, pealladh or shellycoat.)
What follows are some descriptions and tales from old sources:
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Solitary fairy of Scottish Gaelic tradition, a subspecies of
the fuath, half-man and half-goat, but not satyr-like, despite appearances. In
many ways, the ùruisg is a rougher, hirsute brownie, given to helping at
household chores, especially churning butter and cleaning, in spite of a
reputation for good-humoured sloth. He has a taste for dairy products and is
feared by dairy maids. Every manor house was reputed to have its resident
ùruisg, and a seat in the kitchen close by the fire would be left vacant for
him; he was lucky to have around. The ùruisg craves human companionship but
almost always frightens people away with his unseemly appearance. He was also
known to haunt lonely and sequestered places, notably a certain corrie near
Loch Katrine. In spoken Scottish Gaelic the term ùruisg might also denote a
diviner who foretells future events, or a savage-looking fellow. Urisks lived as solitairy fairies, but met together at stated times.
A Dictionary of
Celtic Mythology, by
The Urisk
There is also in the Highlands a rough hairy spirit, called
the Urisk. The following legend will display his nature and character: To the very great annoyance of a Highland miller, and to the
injury of the machinery, his mill, he found, used to be set to work at night
when there was nothing in it to grind. One of his men offered to sit up, and
try to discover who it was that did it; 'and, having kindled a good turf-fire,
sat by it to watch. Sleep, however, overcame him, and when he awoke about
midnight, he saw sitting opposite him a rough shaggy being. Nothing daunted, he
demanded his name, and was told that it was Urisk. The stranger, in return,
asked the man his name, who replied that it was Myself. The conversation here
ended, and Urisk soon fell fast asleep. The man then tossed a panful of hot
ashes into his shaggy lap, which set his hair all on fire. In an agony, and
screaming with the pain, he ran to the door, and in a loud yelling tone several
of his brethren were heard to cry out, "What 's the matter' with
you?"
"Oh! he set me
on fire!"
"Who?"
"Myself!"
"Then put it out yourself" was the reply.
The Fairy Mythology, by
Thomas Keightley, 1870
The Urisk.
The Urisk was a large lubberly supernatural, of solitary habits
and harmless character, that haunted lonely and mountainous places. Some
identify him with Brownie, but he differs from the fraternity of tutelary
beings in having his dwelling, not in the houses or haunts of men, but in
solitudes and remote localities. There were male and female Urisks, and the
race was said to be the offspring of unions between mortals and fairies, that
is, of the leannan sith. The Urisk was usually seen in the evening, big and grey),
sitting on the top of a rock and peering at the intruders on its solitude. The
wayfarer whose path led along the mountain side, whose shattered rocks are
loosely sprinkled, or along some desert moor, and who hurried for the fast
approaching nightfall, saw the Urisk sitting motionless on the top of a rock
and gazing at him, or slowly moving out of his way. It spoke to some people,
and is even said to have thrashed them, but usually it did not meddle with the
passer-by. On the contrary, it at times gave a safe convoy to those who were
belated. In the Highlands of Bread Albane the Urisk was said, in summer time,
to stay in remote corries and on the highest part of certain hills. In winter
time it came down to the strath, and entered certain houses at night to warm
itself It was then it did work for the farmer, grinding, thrashing, etc. Its presence
was a sign of prosperity; it was said to leave comfort behind it. Like Brownie,
it liked milk and good food, and a present of clothes drove it away.
An Urisk, haunting Beinn
Doohrain (a hill beloved of the Celtic muse) on the confines of Argyllshire
and Perthshire, stayed in summer time near the top of the hill,
and in winter came down to the straths. A waterfall near the village of Clifton
at Tyndrum, where it stayed on these occasions, is still called Eas na h-uruisg, the Urisk's cascade. It
was encountered by St. Fillan, who had his abode in a neighbouring strath, and banished
to Rome.
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The Urisk of Ben Loy (Beinn
Laoigh, the Calf's hill), also on the confines of these counties, came down
in winter from his lofty haunts to the farm of Sococh, in Glen
Orchy, which lies at the base of the mountain. It entered the house at night by
the chimney, and it is related that on one occasion the bar, from which the chimney
chain was suspended, and on which the Urisk laid its weight in descending,
being taken away, and not meeting its foot as usual, the poor supernatural got
a bad fall. It was fond of staying in a cleft at Moraig water-fall, and its
labours, in keeping the waters from falling too fast over the rock, might be
seen by any one. A stone, on which it sat with its feet dangling over the fall,
is called 'the Urisk stone' (Clach na
k-uruisg). It sometimes watched the herds of Sococh farm.
A man passing through Strath Duuisg, near Loch Sloy, at the
head of Loch Lomond, on a keen frosty
night, heard an Urisk on one side of the glen calling out,
" Frost, frost, frost " {reoth,
reoth, reoth). This was answered by another Urisk calling from the other
side of the glen, "Kick-frost, kick-frost, kick-frost" (ceige-reoth, etc.). The man, on hearing
this, said, " Whether I wait or not for frost, I will never while I live
wait for kickfrost" ; and he ran at his utmost speed till he was out of
the glen.
The Urisk of the ' Yellow Water-fall ' in Glen Maili, in the
south of Inverness-shire, used to come late every evening to a woman of the
name of Mary, and sat watching her plying her distaff without saying a word. A
man, who wished to get a sight of the Urisk, put on Mary's clothes, and sat in
her place, twirling the distaff. as best he could. The Urisk came to the door
but would not enter. It said :
" I see your eye,
I see your nose,
I see your great broad
beard,
And though you will
work the distaff,
I know you are a
man.''
The Urisk "could be gained over by kind attentions to
perform the drudgery of the farm, and it was believed that many families in the
Highlands had one of the order attached to it." The famous Coire nan uruisgean derives its name
from the solemn stated meetings of all the Urisks in Scotland being held there.
The Urisk, like the Brownie of England, had great simplicity
of character, and many tricks were played upon it in consequence. A farmer in Strathglass got it to
undergo a painful operation that it might become fat and sleek like the
farmer's own geldings. The weather at the time being frosty, it made a
considerable outcry for some time after.
From its haunting lonely places, other appearances must
often have been confounded with it. In Strathfillan (commonly called simply the
Straths, Strathaibh), in the Highlands of Perthshire, not many years ago a number
of boys saw what was popularly said to be an Urisk. In the hill, when the sun
was setting, something like a human being was seen sitting on the top of a
large boulder-stone, and growing bigger and bigger till they fled. There is no
difficulty in connecting the appearance with the circumstance that some sheep disappeared
that year unaccountably from the hill, and a quantity of grain from the barn of
the farm.
In the Hebrides there is very little mention of the Urisk at
all. In Tiree the only trace of it is in the name of a hollow, Slochd an
Aoirisg, through which the public road passes near the south shore. The
belief that it assisted the farmer was not common anywhere, and all over
the Highlands the word ordinarily conveys no other idea than that which has
been well-defined as " a being supposed to haunt lonely and sequestered
places, as mountain rivers and waterfalls."
Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, Collected
entirely from Oral Sources By John Gregorson Campbell, 1900
The Urisk of Sgurr-A-Chaorainn.
An Urisk once lived in a steep rock at the foot of Sgurr-a-Chaorainn in Lochaber. This
Urisk was, it
appears, very troublesome to the herd of Blar-a-Chaorainn, when he happened to go
the way of Sgurr. Not an evening he passed it but the Urisk put his head out
of a hole in the face of the rock and bawled after him:'* Carl, son of carl,
son of carl. There you have of carls three:—a carl are you, and a carl is your
father, and your son will be a carl, and his son will be a carl, and you all
will be carls, like it or not."
When this herd left Blar-a-Chaorainn, there came in his
place another whom his acquaintances called
Donald Mor. Donald was but a short time on the farm, until
he was as much annoyed by the Urisk as
the herd that had left. Not an evening did he return from
the hill past the rock but the Urisk bawled after him:‘'Donald Mor, I do not like you."
This salutation was
far from being pleasing to honest Donald, but he kept his opinion to himself as
long as he could. At length his patience was so completely worn out by the
Urisk 's continual jeering that he could not contain himself any longer. One
evening, when returning, cold and hungry, from the hill, and the Urisk bawling
after him as usual: "Donald Mor, I do not like you," Donald turned on
his heel in wrath, and bawled as loud as the Urisk himself: "That is but
the return you owe me."
The Urisk ceased his jeering; and from that time to this his
voice has not been heard by any other person.
The Urisk of Eas Buidhe.
In Glen Mallie, in Lochaber, there is an eerie ravine called
Eas Buidhe. In this ravine it was
said that the Urisks took refuge; and near it were ihe summer pasture bothies
of some of the farmers in the Glen. One of the Urisks, "The Urisk of Eas Buidhe, Sitting in
Glen Maillie", was very troublesome to one of the dairymaids staying in
the bothies near the ravine. Not a day passed but he came to the bothy where
she lived; and he spent the time sitting at the fire, asking questions, and
obstructing her in her work. She grew tired of him, but she knew not how to
rout him without turning the wrath of the other Urisks against her. At last her
patience with him was so completely worn out that she resolved to get rid of
him, happen what might. One day as he was crouching about the fire as usual, he
asked, among his questions, what her name was. She replied that it was:"Myself and Myself."
“That is a curious name," said he.
"Never mind, that is what I am called."
A pot full of whey hung over the fire, and when she went to
take it off, he was in her way, as usual. This so provoked her that she
intentionally allowed a wave of the boiling whey to fall on his feet, and scald
him. He sprang up quickly from his seat, and ran out, howling and crying that
he was burnt. As soon as the other Urisks heard this, they ran up from the
ravine to meet him, and asked who burnt him. He answered that it was “Myself
and Myself.”
“Oh, if you have burnt yourself, it cannot be helped; but if
anyone else had done it, we would
have burnt him and all that is in the bothies along with him."
Big Alastair and the Uruisg.
Big Alastair was as good and as keen a rod-fisher as there
was in his native place. As soon as he would see the appearance of a good shower coming, he would instantly
throw his rod over his shoulder, and he would hide away at a trotting pace to
the river. On a warm summer evening, with a good drizzling rain falling
accompanied with mist, he, as his custom was, betook himself to the river; and
after getting his rod in order, he therewith cast out the tackle. As soon as
the hook touched the water, the fish began to take better than he had ever seen
them take before. He was hauling the trout in so thickly, one after another, that
he had no time to wait to put them on either withy or string. He just threw
them on the green grass on the bank of the river, with the intention of
returning for them when the fishing was over. His attention was so much on his
work that night came upon him without his observing it. He then gave a look
behind him, and whom did he see, fishing at his side, but a great Uruisg, who
was taking in trout for trout with him, and throwing them with his own catch of
fish upon the grass. There was no help for it, and no use in saying a syllable.
But he and his companion kept on at the fishing until the best part of the
night was overpast. Then the Uruisg cried: "It is time to stop. Big Alastair,
and divide the fish."
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''No! No!" said Big Alastair, “it is not at all time,
while the fish are taking so well."
Without saying more the Uruisg returned sulkily to the
fishing. A good while after that, he cried again: "Stop now. Big Alastair,
and let us divide the fish."
“Have patience a little longer," said Alastair,”
considering that I never before saw the fish in such a taking humour."
The Uruisg did as he was asked, but it was not willingly;
for the day was approaching, and another fishing to accomplish before it would arrive.
So, in a short while, he cried the third time to Alastair to stop. Alastair
knew, from the tone of the monster's voice that there was no use whatever in asking
a longer delay. Whereupon he turned towards him and said: "Whether wilt
thou gather the fish, or divide them?"
The Uruisg answered: “ I shall gather them, and do thou
divide them."
" I do not know how to divide them," said Alastair.
"Pooh! that is not difficult. A spratlum down, and a
spratlum up; a spratlum there, and a spratlum here; and the last big spratlum for
me."
This division pleased Big Alastair very indifferently, for
he understood that he himself was the big spratlum which the Uruisg wished to
have as his share of the fish before the day should come. But what was he to do
to disappoint the nasty fellow? The day was approaching, and if he could keep
the work unfinished until it came, he would be safe. He began to divide the
fish, but to all appearance he was in no hurry to finish that task. When the
fish would not slip out of his hands, he would make a mistake in the counting,
or some other mishap would occur to delay him. The Uruisg was losing his
patience, and no mischance would befall Alastair which did not inflame
his wrath. He would shake his head and shoulders, stamp on the ground with his
feet, and in a voice half angry, half plaintive, cry out: “Won't thou take
care, big Alastair? Won't thou take care, Big Alastair?"
But Alastair would suffer his remonstrance to go in at one
ear and out at the other. At length the red cock awoke, and relieved him from the
strait he was in. He crowed on a knoll above the river, and straightway the
Uruisg went out of sight. Alastair took with him the fish, and returned home. But
from that day to the day of his death he did not go to fish trout on the river
after nightfall.
Folk Tales and Fairy Lore, by Rev. James MacDougall, 1859
Ourisks were supposed to be a condition somewhat intermediate,
between that of mortal man and spirits. They were generally inclined to
mischief, but, by kind treatment, were often prevailed with to be very
serviceable to the family which they haunted, and by which they were
accordingly considered as an acquisition. Their grand rendezvous was in ben
venew: Coirre nan Uriskin merits the notice of the traveler, besides for its
magnificent scenery.
Sketches descriptive of picturesque scenery, on the southern confines
of Perthshire: including the Trosachs, Lochard, &c. together with notices
of natural history, by Graham, Patrick, 1806
Uraisg, a monster, half-human, half-goat, with abnormally
long hair, long teeth, and long claws, frequenting glens, corries, reedy lakes,
and sylvan streams; an unkempt, untidy man.
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A glen in Killninver, Argyll, is called 'Gleann-uraisg,' 'Gleann na
h-uraisg,' glen of 'uraisg,' glen of the 'uraisg.' Many stories are told of
the 'uraisg' possessing this glen, the appearance, the action, and the speech
of this supernatural creature being graphically described. The 'uraisg' is not
unfriendly to the friendly beyond showing them scenes, and telling them of
events above the world, upon the world, and below the world, that fill them
with terror. Strong men avoid the glen of the 'uraisg' at night. In the Coolin Hills, Skye, there is a place called 'Coire nan uraisg,' corrie of the
'uraisgs,' and adjoining it another place called 'Bealach Coire nan uraisg,' the pass of the corrie of the
'uraisgs.'
The Carmina Gadelica, by Alexander Carmicheal, 1900
The urisks haunt parts of the Coolin Hills in Skye, like the
glaistig. The urisks were, as satyrs, associated with the glaistig. Its
partiality for a fis diet is mentioned, as its connection with streams, marshes
and the sea.
Peailladh was a fuath
(evil spirit) and in Lewis Peallaidh is applied to the devil. Our Peaillaidh
(shaggy one) was reputed to have been been the chief of the urisks, some of
whom were harmless and friendly to individuals, while others were hostile and
dangerous as water demons. There is a
footprint on a Glen Lyon rock (caslorg
Pheallaidh) reputed to be that of Peallaidh and a cataract called eas
Pheaillaidh. An urisk might also be called a fuath, although not all demons
reffered to as fuath were necessarily urisks.
A form of Peallaidh or the urisk on the east coast of
Scotland and in the Lowlands was shellycoat. He When shellycoat appeared, he seemed to
be decked with marine productions and in particular, with shells, whose
clattering announced his approach. From this circumstance he derived his name.
A shellycoat haunted the old house of Gorinberry situated on the river
hermitage in Liddesdale.
has been referred to as a water
spirit who has given his name to many a rock and stone upon the Scottish coast.
A Shellycoat was reputed to haunt a rock on the shore of
Leith and according to local writers the boys were wont to run round the rock
three times, repeating the couplet:
‘Shellycoat,
shellycoat, gang awa hame,
I cry na’ yer mercy, I
fear na’yer name’
The Demon was reputed to trash severely those who offended
it. Uriks and glaistigs simirlarly dealt with those individuals who had
incurred their displeasure.
Certain of the supernatural beings remembered as urisks were
black. One of them was known in Perthshire as Triubh-dubh (black trews).
Scottish Folk-lore and Folk Life, by Donald A. Mackenzie, 1935
Source pictures:
4. https://seliniartemisekati.blogspot.com/2017/11/urisk-urisk-e-un-elfo-il-panas-di-scozia.html
5. cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Shellycoat
Nico
5. cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Shellycoat
Nico
