The Selkie Wife’s Secret

Most relationships between Selkies and humans ended in tragedy. Once these shape-shifting seal people removed their skin and transformed into humans, they were often held against their will and forced into a loveless marriage. Fortunately, a man called MacCrimmon from the Isle of Lewis had a much happier story to tell.

He had stumbled upon a group of Selkies dancing on the beach one night and was astounded by the beauty of one woman. As each figure donned their sealskin again and slipped beneath the waves, MacCrimmon was too stunned to move. The Selkie he had been watching caught sight of the islander and against her instinct, decided to approach.

The pair struck up a conversation and by some miracle, MacCrimmon convinced her not to return to the sea that night. Soon they were madly in love, married and had settled down in Barvas. The Selkie woman still felt a strong affinity to the water though and the longer she stayed away, the weaker she seemed to become.

Her husband knew how much being amongst her own kind in her natural habitat meant to her. When her earthly legs became too frail and she felt the urge to swim, MacCrimmon would carry his wife down to the beach. There she became a seal once more and rejuvenated herself in the Atlantic Ocean.

One morning, MacCrimmon was still up to his waist in water, watching his Selkie wife disappear when an unfamiliar shape swam towards him. Suddenly, an enormous male seal burst to the surface and attacked, dragging him beneath the waves. He tried to reach his dirk as the seal sank its teeth into him, but in his panic the knife was lost amongst the sand.

MacCrimmon was sure that this was the end for him, when suddenly the pressure released and he floated back to the surface. As he blinked the salt water from his eyes, he saw the hilt of his dirk protruding from the seal’s chest and the beach soaked in blood. MacCrimmon’s wife had seen the commotion and returned to rescue him, slipping off her sealskin in time to grab the knife.

It turned out that she hadn’t been completely honest when they first met on the beach that night. She had already been promised to another Selkie and when she decided to stay on Lewis, her betrothed was enraged. Every time she returned to her people, she explained how happy she was with MacCrimmon, but it made no difference. The Selkie man had believed she was bewitched and that killing her new husband was the only way to set her free.