According to the legend, as told by Son House another early Blues guitarist, Johnson used to follow him around, attempting to imitate his playing style with little success before disappearing for a few months. Upon his return he was a master musician. When House asked him how he gained his skills he replied that he had sold his soul to the devil.

Over the years more details were revealed and now we have the legend in it’s current form, Johnson is said to have travelled to a crossroads with his guitar around about midnight. While he was sitting there attempting to practice a large black man appeared before him and offered to tune his guitar. Johnson accepted the offer and the man proceeded to tune it and then played with incredible skill before returning it to Johnson and vanishing into the night. When Johnson started to play on that guitar afterwards he found his skill to have increased beyond measure and he went on to carve out his own legend as a blues musician.

Of course while there is little real evidence for this story there is  one interesting fact, Robert Johnson died aged 27 in 1938 leaving behind only 29 recorded songs with 12 alternate takes. The site of his death? A country crossroads near Greenwood Mississippi.

Robert Johnson, Crossroads

The kelpie is an evil creature said to haunt the lochs and rivers of Scotland and Ireland where it lurks, ever waiting for the chance to lure a foolish mortal into its lair and devour them, leaving behind only their heart or liver depending on the story.

The kelpie hunts by taking the form of a fine pony or horse, usually black in colour though variations have been known, it waits on paths near rivers and lochs for its prey. It casts a glamour to conceal its unnatural nature, appearing for all the world as a rare and beautiful member of the equine family, so that any who see it are tempted to draw near and mount. The only discrepancy is its mane and tail which are always dripping wet no matter the weather. Its skin is said to be smooth like a seal’s, but once you touch it you’ve fallen into its trap for the skin suddenly becomes more adhesive than glue. The kelpie then gallops down into the depths of the river or loch it calls home drowning the poor unfortunate who fell for its spell and then devouring them.

While the majority of kelpies take the form of a horse to hunt there are stories of some who prefer the form of a handsome young man with damp hair adorned with water reeds. The each uisge is one such and I found a little story I’ll add at the end of this post.

A brave man could manage on occasion to get a bridle on a kelpie, and if he did he was truly blessed for as long as it remained bridled, for kelpies are said to have the strength of ten normal horses capable of pulling vast loads. A nobleman, one Graham of Morphie, once managed to bridle a kelpie and used it to help build his castle. However once freed the kelpie cursed his line for its forced indenture and the Grahams were dogged by tragedy from then on.

So if you’re ever walking near the shores of a river and or loch in Scotland and spie a fine horse withotu a rider keep your distance for it may be a kelpie out hunting.

A Tale of the Each Uisge

The selkies of the Orkney Islands.

Selkie simply means seal in the Orcadian dialect but the selkies are rather more magical than the garden variety of seals. They have magic in their blood and can take the form of men or women depending on their gender. They achieve this by slipping off their skin, which they then hide while they dance on the beaches, or seek fair lads and lasses to seduce. Many a drowned boy or girl was said to have returned to their selkie lover, though it should be noted that in the majority of the tales they are not vindictive or hateful creatures.

A female Selkie in the midst of the change

The most common tale which I have encountered involves a young man finding the seal skin of a selkie while she dances and then forcing her to wed him, for all a selkie’s magic is tied to their skin and if it is lost then they must remain in their human form until they can reclaim it. In most cases it is one of their children that reveals the location of the skin while the husband is away fishing, and he inevitably returns to find his selkie bride has returned to the sea, sometimes taking their children with her and at other times leaving them behind.

And to finish here’s a fine example of such a tale I was able to find on a site about Orkney Heritage.

The Goodman o’ Wastness

The Goodman o’ Wastness was a handsome, well-to-do young fellow.

Strong, well-liked and with a profitable farm, it will come as no surprise to learn that many of the unmarried local girls had their sights on him.

However, despite their ample attentions the Goodman was a man who was simply not interested in marriage.

Their advances spurned, the local girls soon began to treat the Goodman with contempt.

Describing him as “an old, young man” and “old before his time” in their eyes he was committing the unpardonable sin of celibacy.

The Goodman, however, paid these malicious creatures little heed and as is more often the case, the gossips soon turned their attentions elsewhere. When questioned by his friends as to the reason he would not take himself a wife, the Goodman would smile and simply explain:

“Weemin ir lik minny ither tings in dis weary wurld, only sent fur a trial tae man an’ I hae trials aplenty withoot bein’ tried be a wife. If yin owld fool Adam hiddno been bewitched be his wife, he might still be in the Gerdeen o’ Eden the day.”

Women are like many other things in this weary world, only sent as a trial to men and I have enough trials without being tried by a wife. If that old fool Adam had not been bewitched by his wife, he might still be in the Garden of Eden to this day.

One old woman who heard this oft-repeated speech, remarked:

“Tak thoo heed theesel, fur thou’ll mibbe be yursel’ bewitched wan day.”

Heed well what you say, you will maybe be bewitched yourself one day.

“Aye,” replied the Goodman, laughing. “That’ll be when thou waaks dry-shod fae the Alters o’ Seenie tae da Boar o’ Papey”

That will be when you walk from the Alters o’ Seenie to the Boar o’ Papa [Orkney placenames] without wetting your feet

So it came to pass that one fine day the Goodman was down on the ebb when he saw, a short distance away, a number of selkie-folk lying out on a flat rock.

Some of these selkie-folk were sunning themselves in the afternoon warmth while others jumped and played in the clear water. All were naked with unblemished skins as white as snow. Their enchanted seal-skins lay strewn carelessly on the sand and rocks around them.

The Goodman crept closer to their basking rock.

As he neared the place the selkie-folk played, the Goodman leapt to his feet and ran towards them for all he was worth. With a shriek the selkie-folk snatched up their seal skins and quickly retreated to the safety of the sea. However, swift as they were, the Goodman was quicker and he managed to seize a skin belonging to one beautiful seal-maiden.

In the hasty rush to safety this poor creature had forgotten to retrieve her skin.

The selkie-folk swam out a little distance and turned to gaze mournfully at the Goodman. He stared back and realised that all, save one, had taken the shape of seals. Grinning, he put the captured seal-skin under his arm. Whistling a merry tune he set out for home.

No sooner had he left the ebb than he heard the most sorrowful wailing and weeping coming from behind him. Turning, he saw a fair woman following him. She was a most pitiful sight. Sobbing and howling in grief, she held her arms out and pled to have her skin returned. Huge tears ran from her large dark eyes and trickled down her ivory cheeks.

Falling to her knees, she cried:

“O bonnie man! If thur’s inny mercy in thee human breest, gae me back me ain selkie skin! I cinno live in da sea withoot it. I cinno bide amung me ain folk waythoot me selkie-skin.”

Oh handsome man, if there is any mercy in your human breast give me back my seal-skin. I can not live in the sea without it. I cannot live among my own people without my seal-skin

The Goodman was not a soft-hearted man but he could not help but pity the poor creature. Pity, however, was not the only emotion he felt. With the pity came the softer and sweeter passion of love.

The icy heart that had yet to love a mortal woman was soon melted by this seal-maiden’s beauty.

Eventually the Goodman managed to wring from the Selkie Wife a reluctant consent to remain with him as his wife. She had little choice in the matter for as you all Orcadian know, she could not return to her kin in the sea without her skin.

So the sea-maiden went with the Goodman and stayed with him for many a day. She turned out to be a thrifty, frugal and kindly wife and although she was a creature of the sea the Goodman had a happy life with her.

The Selkie Wife bore the Goodman seven children.

Four boys and three girls came from their union and it was said that there were no children as beautiful as them in all the isles. And all the while the sea-wife, and her human husband, seemed content and merry.

But all was not as it seemed – there was a weight in the Selkie Wife’s heart. Many was the time that she was seen to gaze longingly out to the sea. The sea that was her true home.

So to all the islanders and to the Goodman himself all seemed well with his family. But as is always the case in these tales, the bliss was not to last.

One fine day, the Goodman and his four sons were out fishing in their boat. With the menfolk out of the house, the Selkie Wife sent three of the girls down to the ebb to gather limpets and whelks for their tea. The youngest girl had to remain at home because she had hurt her foot climbing on the sharp rocks by the shore. As usual, as soon as the house emptied, the selkie wife set to looking for her long-lost seal-skin.

She searched high and she searched low. She searched “but” and she searched “ben”. She searched out and she searched in but to no avail.

She could not find the skin.

The time passed and the sun swung to the west, lengthening the shadows. The peedie lass, seated in a straw-backed chair with her sore feet on the creepie, watched her mother carry out the frantic hunt.

“Mam, whit ir thoo luckin’ fur?” she asked.

Mother, what are you looking for?.

“O’ bairn, dinna tell, bit ah’m luckin’ fur a bonnie skin tae mak a rivlin dat wid sort thee sore fit.” replied the Selkie Wife.

Oh child, don’t tell but I’m looking for a pretty skin to make a shoe that would cure your sore feet.

“Bit Mam, ” said the bairn. “I ken fine whar hid is. Wan day when ye war oot and me Fither thowt I wis sleepin’ i’ the bed, he teen a bonnie skin doon, gloured at hid for cheust a peedie meenit, then foldit hid an’ laid hid up under dae aisins abeun da bed.”

But Mother, I know where it is. One day when you were out and my Father thought I was asleep in bed, he took a pretty skin down, glowered at it for a short time, then folded it and put it away in the aisins over the bed.

When the Selkie Wife heard this she clapped for joy and rushed to the place where her long-concealed skin lay.

“Fare thee weel, peedie buddo,” she said to her child as she ran from the house.

Rushing to the shore she threw on her skin and with a wild cry of joy plunged into the sea. Shifting again into her selkie form she swam out through the waves where a selkie man was waiting for her and greeted her with delight.

All the while, the Goodman was rowing home and happened to see these two selkies from his little boat. His wife uncovered her beautiful face and cried out to him.

“Fare thee weel. Goodman o’ Wastness. Farewell tae thee. I liked thee weel enough fur thoo war geud tae me bit I love better me man o’ the sea.”

Farewell Goodman of Wastness. Farewell to you. I liked you because you were good to me but I love my husband from the sea more.

That was the last the Goodman ever saw of his sea-wife.

Often though, in the twilight of his years, he could be seen wandering on the empty sea-shore, hoping once again to meet his lost love.

But never again did he look upon her fair face.

Chironex Fleckeri: World's most venomous animal.

You’ve quite possibly heard of both terms, but had never thought about the difference. A venomous animal injects the venom into the prey while hunting or as a defense mechanism. There are many diverse animals that are venomous. The most powerful venomous animal in the world is believed to the the Chironex fleckeri. A type of box jellyfish. It’s venom is excruciatingly painful and is strong enough to kill 60 humans in as little as 3 minutes. A small tip for anyone who may encounter one of these animals. Using alcohol or rubbing the wound is a BAD IDEA. Pour vinegar on it.

A poisonous animal or plant is only harmful when consumed or touched.
These animals or plants tend to spread the poison through multiple parts of their bodies.
A good example is poison-ivy. When you touch it, it will cause your skin to irritate. Then it will develop severe itching and possibly non-colored bumps.

Poison-Ivy

Some animals, like the Slow Loris, blur the line between poison and venom, though.
This is due to the fact that they secrete a poison from their elbow, which they douse on their young to keep them alive.
However, they also lick this patch, which gives them a venomous bite.

Slow Loris

Shrunken Head

The Peruvians and Ecuadorians shrank heads due to their religious beliefs. They believe that the spirits of the dead person could try to get revenge, and they believed they could harness the dead person’s ‘power’ by having their head. It also served as a warning for anyone who challenged them. How was it done? They first removed the skull from the head.  Then, the fat and flesh would be removed. The eyelids were sown shut, and the mouth was held together with splinters. To make the head shrink, they would boil it with herbs. Afterward, they would dry it using hot rocks and sand, while the preparer molded it, so it would maintain some human features. In the end, the lips were sown shut and the head was decorated.

Shrunken Head

Shrunken Head trading also occurred. When it was realized that shrunken heads existed, many people decided they wanted to have their own. You could buy one for around twenty-five dollars. But what was most common was that they would be traded for a gun. One head = One gun. It was eventually outlawed, though. And in the current society it is illegal to trade shrunken heads in most countries.

Shrunken Head Replica

Want to buy one? Like I mentioned, they’re illegal. But there are replicas made through different methods. Most are made using leather and animal hides. But don’t worry, the replicas look real, just like the replica above.