Wednesday, 22nd November: “The Supernatural”
We were back in the Woolpack, Tillicoultry, for our recent session, where we heard a variety of stories and poems with a supernatural theme. Some new members joined us, too.
On this occasion we heard not one, but two original poems composed by two of our long-standing storytellers, “Ghost” and “Last Summer”. Both thought provoking pieces!
Next we listened to a traditional tale, “Assipattle and the Stoor Worm”. The stoor worm was a fantastical, gigantic sea creature which terrorised communities on the coasts of Scotland and other northern lands.
After that, a local legend of Black Bess was shared. Bess was a female innkeeper of a pub in Alva, which Robert Burns is said to have visited and who was possibly a witch, buried in a shady corner of Alva cemetery, where the sun never reaches and it is always cold…..
Another traditional tale, “Mor of Lochlann” was retold. In this tale, the deceased of a graveyard in Scotland rise up one night to the astonishment of the local woman who is watching over the graves.
We also listened to an original story from our youngest member, “The Viewing” in which a young woman finds that the house she is viewing has a lonely ghost in residence!
And finally, we learned “How Changelings Came to Be”. A changeling is the offspring of fairies or elves substituted by them surreptitiously for a human infant.
It was a wonderful evening filled with laughter and learning!