Myths & Legends Castletown

[doyle]

does anyone know of a webpage that has any info on it about the selkie or the so called ancient town under the sand?

was trying to explain the selkie story to my boyfriend but dont think i did a very good job.
thanks

Sorry fluff this reply is not about the selkie but I just noticed where you are from. My son and grandaughter live in Reading - we are coming down for a week at the end of May, maybe i'll see you!!

[Billy Boy]

My friend told me that legend has it that the hole in the silkies grave is always wet.....My friends mother also stepped in the hole in the grave and on the way home fell and broke her ankle...

[DRM]

Selkies grave if i can remember correctly is directly over from the gate to the old cemetry and up to the right against the wall behind the far side of the church you are looking for a small square hollow in the ground about 6 inches square lined with flagstone at the end of the gravestone
I can remember being there in the drought of 1976 and it was still damp
Years since I have been there but if anybody wants I will go again just to check and post directions.

[doyle]

thanks DRM, will go back and have another look with my hubby. Will go into new and old cemetery myself but not the old old cemetery - found it a bit spooky to go on my own

[DRM]

would not upload photo

[angela5]

Any news or sightings on the mummy?

[Ricco]

Has anyone else noticed that Doyle's post counter is stuck on 74? Maybe this is the new number 13! Oooooooo!

[darkie@dreamtilt.com.au]

OH thanks unicorn, I thought something spooky was going on.

Must remember when I come back for a holiday not to drink the water

[dunderheed]

i'm intrieged (sp?) , where exactly is the olrig cemetary? i know after having spent almost 15 years in the county i should know where this is but i don't.
anyhoo when i was at school in ayrshire they told us that selkies were almost always men as the mermaid were the female equivelant.

[phoenix]

Any news or sightings on the mummy?

Spotted him on the Paul O' Grady show yesterday, he sure does get around!

[angela5]

Spotted him on the Paul O' Grady show yesterday, he sure does get around!

Now is'nt that just typical. The one day i miss the Paul O' Grady show

[Dog-eared]

Many years ago the Broo Job Creation boys were tidying up Old Olrig Cemetary and decided to clear the floor of the old roofless Kirk , to expose the original flag / gravestone floor. They did a good job scraping out loads of earth , but had nowhere to put it . Since it was good , black , crumbly composty stuff they decided it would do no harm to scatter it over the grass in the old graveyard - it would soon disappear into the grass.
So far so good.


A local farmer went down a few days later to see the good work and discovered the old graveyard was covered with bits of bone and teeth everywhere.


After a wee bit of investigating it was revealed that when the cemetary was getting full , there was a lack of depth in the lairs , so the gravediggers would craftily but diligently dispose of some of the soil from the opened graves to make room for the new inhabitant. This soil they scattered in the old Kirk as it was consecrated ground.

The Job Creation boy's scattered "earth" got washed into the grass by the rain , leaving the bits of bone and teeth on the top.


The farmer even found a set of false teeth and a glass eye there.

( I made the last bit up! )

[phoenix]

LOL nice one Dog-eared! :}

Maybe the Elephant ran the Mummy out of Castletown and he took refuge with Paul o' Grady......

[star glazer]

Selkies grave
I can remember being there in the drought of 1976 and it was still damp
Years since I have been there but if anybody wants I will go again just to check and post directions.

I took a walk round there at the weekend, and it is still damp to this day.
The selkie woman myth lives on.

[angela5]

A Scottish version of the mermaid, selkies were said to be creatures that can take the form of seals or humans, depending on whether they are in water or on land.
Once their seal-skins were discarded, selkies became extremely attractive to humans and it was not uncommon for relationships to form, with the selkie making the decision to stay on land.
No matter how strong the selkie's ties with her mortal family, however, she would always pine to return to the sea, and so to avoid this possibility men would steal the seal-skins and hide them.Without their skins, the selkies were trapped on land.
A Shetland legend tells of a selkie woman who had been married to her mortal husband for many years and had several children by him (as everybody knows, any children produced by a selkie-human union can be distinguished by having webbed hands and feet).
One day, one of her young sons inadvertently discovered the seal-skin which had been secreted away in his father's hiding place and, wondering what it was, took it straight to his mother. Delighted, she seized the skin from him, put it on and slipped into the water, leaving her family, home and distraught husband behind forever.
Still, never mind. Plenty more fish in the sea, eh?

[phoenix]

Omg Ive got slightly webbed toes! I did see my doc about it, he said not too worry as his daughter was the same! :}

[r.rackstraw]

The Church under the dunes is called Coomb's Kirk. It is supposed to be close to the road cutting east of the Thurdistoft road end.