Never Betray A Glaistig

A Lochaber blacksmith named Kennedy was riding home one night when a strange woman appeared from the darkness, blocking his path across a river. She innocently asked if he cared for a companion to ride with him the rest of the way, but Kennedy was no fool. He’d heard the stories about a Glaistig haunting this very bridge, preying on unwary travellers.

With a big smile, he agreed to the company but swept her up in front of him where he could keep an eye on her. Once he strapped his strong iron belt around both of their waists, the Glaistig was powerless. Kennedy growled that he was going to take her back to town and let the people decide what revenge to take on this supernatural creature.

The Glaistig screamed to let her go and that she would make it worth the blacksmith’s while. He would have a rich herd of cattle, the finest house in Lochaber and anything else he wanted in exchange for her freedom. Kennedy thought long and hard about it and agreed that if she could achieve all of that by dawn, then he would shake her hand and let her go.

There was no way that even a Glaistig could manage this on her own. She wailed into the night for her magical helpers and hordes of beasts appeared to saw, hammer and sculpt the new buildings. By dawn they even had a roaring fire going in the smithy and a herd of cows were seeing themselves happily into an enormous barn.

Kennedy was impressed and he released the Glaistig just as he had promised. He couldn’t just let her go and torment more travellers at the river crossing though. She reached her arm out for the final handshake as promised, but Kennedy pulled a red-hot iron from the fire and pressed it into her palm instead. The noise that came from the Glaistig’s mouth as her flesh melted was deafening.

She screamed out a curse that Kennedy’s family might grow like rushes, but they would wither like ferns and none would inherit this fine new house. Then the mysterious figure melted into the hillside, leaving nothing but a blood red stain. The curse held true, with all of Kennedy's descendants growing fast but dying young and the old, cursed blacksmith outlived them all.