Banshees, Boggarts, and Kelpies Quiz

Answer: horses

Catching an aughisky would gain the person a fine mount, but if the creature came within sight or sound of the sea again, there would be trouble as the aughisky would gallop into the sea, rider and all. The each uisge, on the other hand, would take the form of a horse and offer itself to be ridden. If someone did, it would race into the water and eat the rider. Amphibious spirits that take the form of horses are generally called kelpies.

Answer: leprechaun

The leprechaun is a shoemaker, but if he won his great wealth by his hard work or by finding buried treasure seems to be undecided. The cluricaun feasts in the cellars of drunkards or scares dishonest servants who steal wine. Possibly the cluricaun is really just a leprechaun on his day off.

The far darrig's name means the red man, as he dresses all in red. He mostly pulls pranks, often by manipulating his voice, but was thought to bring luck as well. While the leprechaun is often pictured wearing green, according to Katharine Briggs' "Abbey Lubbers, Banshees & Boggarts" all solitary fairies wear red and the trooping fairies wear green.

Answer: brownie

Brownies were helpful little men, hairy, naked and rough. They would help out around the house if given a regular ration of good quality food. Spying on them (er, who'd want to spy on little naked hairy dudes?), criticizing their work, and giving them inappropriate gifts (such as clothing) would drive them away.

Answer: the Border between England and Scotland

The redcap was described as looking like an old man with broad shoulders and talons like an eagle's for fingers. He dipped his cap in the blood of his victims.

Answer: by stealing their sealskin

The selkies were from folklore of the islands of Orkney and Shetland. The common seal was not supposed to be a sort of fairy, but rather sea-lions, crested seals, and grey seals. Selkies made good wives in folklore but always seemed to find their skins again, which freed them to return to their selkie husbands. The roane were a Scottish version of selkie.

Answer: Black Annis

Black Annis was said to have lived in a cave in the Dane Hills, Leicestershire. She hid in an oak tree to waylay stray children. The sound of her grinding her iron teeth warned the people of Leicestershire to lock their doors and get away from the windows.

Answer: banshee

Multiple banshees wailing was said to foretell the death of an important or holy person or a terrible accident. The bean nighe was known as the Washer of the Fords for its habit of haunting deserted streams, where it would wash the blood from the grave-clothes of those about to die.

Answer: Nuckelavee

The Nuckelavee was apparently to blame for anything that went terribly wrong on the island of Orkney:
"If crops were blighted by sea-gust or mildew, if livestock fell over high rocks that skirt the shores, or if an epidemic raged among men, or among the lower animals, Nuckelavee was the cause of all. His breath was venom, falling like blight on vegetable, and with deadly disease on animal life."

From http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/nuckle.htm

Answer: Oisin

Upon returning from Tir Nan Og (the Land of the Ever-Young), Oisin discovered that the three years he spent there were 300 mortal years. According to folklore, Saint Patrick tried to convert Oisin to Christianity but failed because Oisin wanted no part of an afterlife that didn't allow fighting and hunting. Finn Mac Cumhail is another name for Finn MacCool, by the way.

Answer: dwarf

The industrious sort of dwarves who live in cottages like the ones in "Snow White" are not found in the folklore of Britain or Ireland. The knockers of Cornwall is about as close as it gets.

Answer: Phooka

In humanoid form the Phooka was typically male clad in green rags. The Scottish folktales about the Doonie say that it could also assume the form of a human or pony, but it was not mischievous. The Northumberland dunnie, however, was said to change shape into a pony and played tricks much like the Phooka's.

Answer: shape-shifting

All three were mischievous and could change to many different shapes. Puck is familiar to many from Shakespeare. The brag was said to be able to assume the form of a headless man, a calf, or even four men holding a white sheet.

Answer: Stratford-on-Avon

It's said the fairies can be seen on Midsummer Eve if there is a full moon. No doubt Titania, Oberon, and their court go on vacation when that happens.

Answer: Wales

Gwrach y Rhibyn was a sort of banshee, much like the Scottish Washer at Fords. The Ellyllon are elves.

Answer: shee

Sidhe literally means "people of the fairy mounds". My main source of information for this quiz was Katharine Briggs' "Abbey Lubbers, Banshees & Boggarts" but http://www.pantheon.org and other sites were helpful as well. Thanks for playing, hope you enjoyed the quiz.