You get a two for one deal again today because, although I’d planned on kelpies, you know I can’t resist delving into a little myth and the Kraken is a particularly scary beast! So, let’s call it a bonus, and the Kraken a formidable opponent to the squad! Not that kelpies are all puppies and rainbows – rarely are they depicted as benevolent.
Digital Art / Drawings & Paintings / Fantasy
Kelpies
Also known as water kelpies, they are part of Scottish folklore. Kelpies are a shape-shifting water spirit, inhabiting the lochs of Scotland. They are associated with the horse and appear either in horse or human form, or a combination of the two. Here’s a thought – wouldn’t it be fun to combine two myths together and have an amalgamation? A blending of the kelpie and centaur – a keltaur or a cenpie (no that one definitely doesn’t work!)
But I digress. Though there are differing views on whether kelpies live in or beside the water, most will agree that they are spirits of the loch. Due to a belief that kelpies retain their hooves, even in human form, this lead to an association (in Christianity) with Satan. Robert Burns alludes to a Satanic association in his poem Address to the Devil.
Kelpies can be found in works of art, The Kelpie, for example, by Herbert James Draper. In 2013, two thirty metre steel structures were erected in Falkirk – The Kelpies.
Do you have anything to share about these intriguing creatures. How do you think they are presented in film or literature?
Digital Art / Drawings & Paintings / Fantasy©2010-2015 MaBuArt
Kraken
The Kraken is a legendary sea monster from Scandinavian folklore, said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland. A truly horrifying monster, often described as a giant squid. Early stories compare the Kraken’s size to that of an island and, according to folklore, the beast was often confused for one! It is not, as some believe, part of Greek mythology, though a Kraken did appear in the movie Clash of the Titans. Who could forget Liam Neeson (as Zeus) and those magic words ‘Release the Kraken.’ He just has one of those voices…ahem, back to the point. The Kraken from the movie may have been based loosely (and I stress loosely) on Scylla, who was said to have been one of Poseidon’s conquests and turned into a monster by a jealous Amphitrite – nothing worse than a woman scorned!
Whether you envisage a giant squid with tentacles or a huge monstrosity with rows and rows of sharp teeth, the Kraken would make an excellent big bad. Since we have a water theme going, how would the kelpie (with or without a few friends from the squad), defeat such a beast?
As always I welcome your thoughts.
Until next time. Thanks for stopping by.
Mel
Melissa Barker-Simpson 
I’d love to hear from you.