Karl Blind recorded this in 1882 and the Folk-Lore Society reprinted it in 1903. There was a man in Whalsay who did not believe in nyogles, or fairies, or spirits. One night he was at the kreigs, rock-fishing, at Skura, and had drawn his budi, his bag, of piltaks, young saithe. On the way home he came to a black horse and mounted it.
The horse began to run, faster and faster, until the man did not know whether he was on the ground or in the air. At last he took out his knife and drove it into the horse, and it went from under him and over the banks in a blue flame.
The horse that carries off a rider and disappears in fire is the nuggle of Shetland tradition. The tale works as a lesson for sceptics. Skura is not found on current maps, so the pin is at the island.
Comments