Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland, First Series
History
Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland, First Series
Atlantic Coast (Ireland) -- Social life and customs; Folklore -- Ireland; Ireland -- Social life and customs
* * * * *
There was a man lost his wife and a hag was put in her place, and
she came back and told him to come out at night where she'd be riding
with the rest, and to throw something belonging to her after her--he'd
know her by her being on a white horse. And so he did and got her back
again. And when they were going home he said, "I'll have the life of
that old hag that was put in your place." But when they got to the
house, she was out of it before him, and was never heard of again.
There was a man telling me it was in a house where the woman was
after a youngster, and she died, that is, we'll call it died, but she
was _taken_, that the husband saw her coming back to give the breast
to the child and to wash it. And the second night he got hold of her
and held her until morning, and when the cock crowed she sat down
again and stayed; they had no more power over her.
* * * * *
Surely some go among them for seven years. There was Kitty Hayes
lived at Kilcloud, for seven years she had everything she could want,
and music and dancing could be heard around her house every night,
and all she did prospered; but she ate no food all that time, only
she took a drink of the milk after the butter being churned. But at
the end of the seven years all left her, and she was glad at the last
to get Indian meal.
* * * * *
There was a man driving cattle from Craughwell to Athenry for a fair.
And it was before sunrise and dark, and presently he saw a light by
the side of the road, and he was glad of it, for he had no matches
and he wanted to light his pipe to smoke it. So he turned aside,
and there were some people sitting there, and they brought him in,
through a sort of a door and asked him to sit down. And so he did,
and he saw that they were all strangers, not one he knew among them.
And there was a fire and they put food and drink on the table, and
asked him what would he have. And there opposite him he saw his own
cows that were brought in too, and he knew that he was in a faery
place. But in all these places there's always one well-wisher, so
while he was sitting there, an old woman came to him and whispered in
his ear, "Don't for your life eat a bit or drink a drop of what they
give you, or you'll never go away again." So he would take nothing.
If it hadn't been for the old woman, he might have taken something,
just not to vex them. And at sunrise they let him out, and he was on
the road again and his cattle before him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account