The Celtic Selkie

Have you witnessed a seal turn into a human? In this episode, we discuss the Norse and Celtic mythology of the Selkie, a creature that is known to exist as a seal in the water, shed its skin, and become a human on land.

But, how believable is the selkie? Listen now!

Are there women dancing off the shores of the UK and Ireland?

Do seals hold ancient magic?

Are the fae at play in the sea?

What is up, Bizarros?! This week we dive into some Celtic Mythology and swim with the Celtic Selkie.

What is a selkie?

The Selkie, or Selkie Folk, are fantastical creatures that are seals when they are in the water, but when they leave the water and go to land, usually on islands, they tear off their grey seal skins and take on a human form.

Selkie can be both genders, but most stories are about Selkie women dancing, laughing, and frolicking, and a seaman sees and steals their seal skin and forces them to take on a human husband.

The Scottish people call Selkies “selkie folk because they are known as seal folk in Scotland.

The Selkies exist in Norse Mythology, Irish Mythology, Greek Mythology, and Icelandic Folklore. 

The way to spell Selkie changes based on where you are in the world, but other ways of spelling it are silkies, sylkies, and selchies.

They are found off the coasts of the Norwegian lands Scotland, Ireland, and the islands in between.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, some writings claimed that the Selkies were actually fallen angels condemned to live in animal forms.

The women of the selkies on stories always kind of end up trapped in a marriage and are more fearful of people.

However, Selkie men have more freedom as a seal and as a man. Not being scared of much, but both Female Selkies and the males are described as genuinely good-natured and well-meaning.

However, neither of the sexes forms lasting relationships. They always find their way back to the ocean.

Do Selkies Have Powers?

They are very fast in the water; they hunt, eat, sleep, and live their lives mostly in that world.

On land, they have some special abilities that separate them from normal people.

They have above-average balance and agility. They have extreme strength and can breathe in the air and water.

They have voices that have the ability to lure men into a trance.

It’s bad luck to hurt a Selkie. Selkies are immortal unless eaten by a shark in their seal form or killed by a human.

But if a human hurts a Selkie, they are said to be cursed with bad luck that will eventually kill them, usually involving water.

How Did This Celtic Legend Start?

The bottle imp

Origin stories range from the mundane of travelers wrapped in seal furs to keep warm in the ocean to the supernatural.

Maybe these creatures are the reincarnation of the loved ones of the dead or people that became trapped in seal forms.

Duncan Williamson wrote about why people may have come up with the theory.

‘The importance of the silkie is its part in the Other World or after-life. For instance, if you were a fisherman and you lived with your daddy in a little croft by the seaside, and you had your brother, your grandfather, or your uncle lost at sea, what would you do if their body was not found? But if you thought for one instant that [he] never returned because he had joined the seal people, he’d become one of them, then how would you feel?

Now, this is the legend. That’s why it was told. To make people feel comforted if their loved ones were never found. They probably joined the seal people and became seal folk. And you’ll see them again.”

Selkie Myth Stories

Most myths about Selkies are about how a woman was on the land and got her Selkie Skin stolen and became a human woman and was sad about it.

There is a famous story called the Selkie wife that follows this concept. It’s similar to a story I’m going to tell, but the twist is better in the story we will go over.

A Selkie Story From Wilderness Ireland

There are many famous stories that revolve around selkies in Ireland. One particular famous selkie story is that of Thady Rua O’Dowd, a clan chieftain who was tasked with finding himself a bride upon rising to clan leadership.

Apparently, choosing a wife was more difficult than he realized, and he could not make up his mind.

Out walking on the beach to clear his head, Thady stumbled upon a beautiful maiden combing her hair.

Though unclothed, she had a magical cape or coat next to her. Of course, all in Ireland knew of the sea people, the selkies, and Thady was no different. He quickly snatched up her selkie cloak to hide away, professing his love at first sight for her.

Without her fishtail, the selkie, called Eve, had no choice but to return his love and marry him. Together, they ruled the lands and raised their seven children, but Eve always longed for the sea.

Legend has it that though the selkie cloak was well hidden, one of their children spotted Thady checking on it and told his mother of the “bag of gold.” When Thady was away from home, Eve checked the spot her child told her about – and lo and behold, her fish tail.

With the return of the fishtail, Eve could not resist the temptation of the sea.

And so she left to go back to the ocean with her children. But she could not take them all and instead turned five of them into rocks, swimming off into the waves with the remaining children under each arm.

Here is another mythical encounter from Scotland from scotlandstories.com

Scottish Folklore: The Selkie & The Hunter

“Donald made his living hunting the seals around the coastline and never paid any attention to the old legends. To him, a seal was nothing more than a way to make money.

One day, Donald saw a huge seal stretched out on the rocks. He knew how valuable a skin of that size would be, so he crept up with his sharpest knife and plunged it deep. His prey bellowed in pain before diving into the sea, taking Donald’s best knife with it.

Donald was furious at losing both his catch and his knife. He was still sulking about it that night when there was a knock at the door.

A tall, handsome stranger stood outside and asked for the famous seal hunter. His lord had requested a large number of skins and would be delighted if Donald accompanied him to his hall.

Donald wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity like this! Without hesitation, he leapt up on the stranger’s horse, and off they sped.

He started to get a little nervous when the horse took the cliff road. Those nerves turned to sheer terror as the horse galloped directly towards the edge and dived into thin air.

As they plunged into the sea, Donald was dragged far below the waves to a hidden door in the rocks.

On entering, he saw a great host of seals with sad looks on their faces. The big seal from earlier was lying in the middle of the room with a horrendous gash on his side.

The stranger that Donald had arrived with then presented him with a blade, and a cold dread came over him. He instantly recognized his best knife.

His host said to him, “Donald, you will have guessed that we are no ordinary seals. We are Selkies, and even though you have slain many of our kin, we mean you no harm. I brought you here because you are the only person who can save our King.

Only your hands can close the wound they opened.”

Donald was distraught at the pain he had caused these creatures.

He didn’t know what good it would do, but he stepped up to the dying Selkie and reached out with his hands. Slowly and tenderly, Donald pushed the wound closed, and as if by magic, it started to heal.

The Selkies barked their approval as the King raised himself up, and Donald sighed with relief.

Luckily for Donald, Selkies aren’t vengeful beings and allowed him to return home on one condition. He willingly promised never to hurt another seal in his life.

Reddit Selkie Story

Reaction to someone asking if anyone has ever seen anything

I have a super vivid memory from When I was really young (like 6-8). I lived on Long Island, and my parents took me and my little brother to the beach all the time.

I grew up around oceans and water, so my parents trusted me to run around the shore without too much supervision as long as I didn’t swim where I couldn’t touch the bottom.

I remember I was collecting shells and rocks on the bay while my mom was feeding my little brother, and I climbed around these huge brown rocks that were halfway in the water.

There was a boy who looked about a little older than me, sitting in the middle of the rocks.

I didn’t really think it was weird because I was like 7, and I just asked him what he was doing. He didn’t say anything, but he smiled and picked up a few shells from the water and put them in my bucket. When he came more into the light, he looked super pale (almost light blue), and his hair looked like green clumpy seaweed.

His eyes were huge and black, but I was taught it’s rude to comment on what people look like, so I didn’t say anything. I just hopped off the rocks into the shallow water, but he followed me.

He said something to me, but it wasn’t in English, and he just kept going into the deeper water and bringing me cool shells.

My mom called for me to leave, and I said bye to the kid and thanked them for the shells, and walked up the shore to my mom. I told her about the boy but she said she didn’t see anyone even though she was watching me.

I don’t know. I did have a pretty active imagination as a kid, but I remember this so vividly. I’m really into mythology now as an adult and can’t help to think that maybe he was some sort of water faerie or merperson or something… Or maybe just a weird boy who was good at swimming and needed a hair brush.

My mom not seeing him could mean that I imagined him, or that whole thing about faeries only letting children see them.

Are Celtic Selkies Real?

What do you think, Bizarros?

Does this Irish Folklore ring true to you? Are Selkies sitting on islands forced to take fishermen husbands?

Does the echo of selkie have seductive powers that drive people crazy?

Are Selkies believable, or do you think this is a big fish tale?