The Sea God

While walking in Lochranza, be on your guard for the Sea God, Mannanan Mac Lir, whose realm is said to include Emhain Abhlach (Arran). They say that in the 1950s, a local girl was driving cattle around the loch when she met a young man who asked her if she had lost a comb. She said not, but he handed her a comb, strong yet light as a feather, and asked her to comb his hair. As she did, seashells and starfish fell from it. Terrified, she ran home to her parents, who immediately went out to look for the man. Nothing remained but the seashells and starfish. A local wisewoman told the family the girl had had a lucky escape, for the Sea God is always looking for a mortal woman to take away to his realm.