Selkies, Banshees and Kelpies: A Guide to Celtic Folklore Creatures
Meet the creatures of Irish and Scottish folklore, from selkies and banshees to kelpies, púcas and changelings, with their legends and meanings.
In this article
Celtic folklore creatures come from the traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany. The best known include the selkie, a seal that can shed its skin to become human; the banshee, a female spirit whose wail foretells a death; the kelpie, a shape-shifting water horse that drowns riders; the púca, a mischievous shape-shifter; and changelings, fairy children left in place of stolen human babies. Many are part of the world of the Aos Sí, the fairy folk believed to live in mounds and hills.
Selkies
Where: Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, Ireland, the Faroe Islands.
Selkies are seals in the sea who can shed their skins on land to take human form. The most famous story: a fisherman sees selkie women dancing on the shore, steals one woman's sealskin, and she must stay with him as his wife. She bears his children and seems content, but she always looks out to sea. Years later, one of her children finds the hidden skin. She puts it on and returns to the ocean, sometimes visiting her children from the waves but never coming back.
Meaning: Selkie stories are about longing, belonging and captivity. Modern readers often see the stolen skin as a powerful image for women trapped in unhappy marriages, and for the pull of one's true nature.
The Banshee (Bean Sí)
Where: Ireland, with related figures in Scotland.
The banshee, from the Irish bean sí ("woman of the fairy mound"), is a female spirit whose wailing, or keening, signals that someone in a family will soon die. She may appear as a young woman, a stately matron or an old hag, sometimes combing her long hair. Tradition held that banshees followed certain old Irish families, often those with names beginning "O'" or "Mac."
Meaning: The banshee is connected to the tradition of keening women, who sang laments at funerals. She's less a monster than a messenger of grief.
The Kelpie
Where: Scotland.
A kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit, usually appearing as a beautiful horse near rivers and lochs. When someone climbs on its back, their skin sticks to it, and the kelpie gallops into the water and drowns them. Some kelpies take human form, betrayed only by water weeds or wet hair. A similar Scottish creature, the each-uisge, lives in the sea and lochs and is even more dangerous.
Meaning: Kelpie stories warned children away from dangerous water. The Kelpies, a pair of giant horse-head sculptures near Falkirk, Scotland, celebrate the legend.
The Púca
Where: Ireland (also known as the pooka).
The púca is a shape-shifter, appearing as a black horse, goat, rabbit, dog or even a human. It might give a terrifying midnight ride or play tricks, but it can also be helpful or offer prophecies. In some regions, the last crops left in the field after Samhain (Halloween) were "the púca's share."
Changelings
Where: Ireland, Scotland and across Europe.
A changeling is a fairy child, or an old fairy, left in place of a human baby the fairies have stolen. The changeling might be sickly, irritable or strange. Families used various methods to "test" for changelings.
A sobering note: Changeling beliefs sometimes led to real harm. In 1895, Bridget Cleary of County Tipperary, Ireland, was killed by her husband, who claimed she was a changeling. Historians often link such tragic cases to illness or disability that people didn't understand.
Leprechauns
Where: Ireland.
Before the cheerful green-suited figure of modern St. Patrick's Day, the leprechaun was a solitary fairy shoemaker, often grumpy and cunning. Catch one and he may grant wishes or reveal hidden gold, but take your eyes off him and he'll vanish.
The Dullahan
Where: Ireland.
A headless horseman who carries his own head under his arm. When he stops riding, someone dies. It's often compared to Washington Irving's headless horseman in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
The Aos Sí and Tír na nÓg
Many of these beings belong to the wider world of the Aos Sí, the fairy folk of Irish and Scottish tradition, often believed to be descended from the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of gods in Irish myth. They live in hills, mounds and ring forts, and their otherworld, Tír na nÓg (the Land of Youth), is where time passes differently. In the legend of Oisín, the hero spends what seems like three years there, but returns to Ireland to find three hundred years have passed, a striking parallel to the Japanese tale of Urashima Taro.
Quick Reference
| Creature | Region | Form | Danger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selkie | Orkney, Shetland, Ireland | Seal / human | Low |
| Banshee | Ireland | Wailing woman | Omen of death |
| Kelpie | Scotland | Water horse | High |
| Púca | Ireland | Shape-shifter | Mixed |
| Changeling | Ireland, Scotland | Fairy child | Mixed |
| Leprechaun | Ireland | Small fairy shoemaker | Low |
| Dullahan | Ireland | Headless rider | Omen of death |
Celtic Creatures in Modern Fiction
These creatures appear in many modern stories. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) and the animated film Song of the Sea (2014) are lovely selkie tales. Holly Black's novels draw on darker fairy lore. If you're inspired to write your own, check our guide to worldbuilding.
For more supernatural beings, explore our list of Japanese yokai and our guide to jinn in folklore.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a selkie?
A selkie is a creature from Scottish and Irish folklore who lives as a seal in the sea but can shed its skin to become human on land.
What does a banshee do?
A banshee wails or keens to warn that a member of a particular family is about to die.
Is a kelpie good or evil?
Kelpies are usually dangerous. They lure people onto their backs and drown them in rivers and lochs.
What is a changeling?
A fairy child left in place of a stolen human baby in European folklore.
Where do Celtic fairies live?
In Irish and Scottish tradition, the fairy folk (Aos Sí) are said to live in hills, mounds and ring forts.
