Faerie Lore and Legends

Bunworth Banshee, Fairy Legends and Traditions of
the South of Ireland by Thomas Crofton Croker, 1825
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a
copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

The Banshee

An Irish malevolent female Faerie that is often connected to a family even though she lives in the woods, bog, or forest. They are known to scream like a howling wind or a screeching of an owl plummeting to its prey when a family member’s death is imminent and will continue onwards long after the death in mourning. This is where the common phrase “scream like a banshee” comes from. Some blame the Keener women who wail in mourning at funerals gave birth to the legend of the banshee. They seem to be attached to families that have the Ó or Mac prefix. They harber omens of death and messages from the underworld. Their main purpose is to warn of death by beginning to wail if someone is about to die. Some say they only warn if someone is about to die in a violent means such as a tragic accident, murder, or catastrophe. They are not always seen, mostly heard, especially at night. Some claim the island winds that Ireland, Scotland, and England experiences howling through the windows, shutters, or glass panes sound like a banshee and is the root of the noise. I can attest every windy night I’ve spent in Ireland, I’ve heard what I imagine to be the wail of the banshee. In fact as I write this, the wind is making such noises coming through the windows and wood work. Another logical explanation is that of the owl – Screech Owls have a similar sound to that of banshees and during their nocturnal hunts are known for their chilling screech.

However there are those that claim to have seen them, and when they do, they often appear as an ugly scary looking hag or old woman. Others claim they shape-shift and while can appear as an old hag, can also appear as a young beautiful woman. In addition to appearing as an old hag, they have been described as wearing grey or white gowns with long pale hair that they brush with a silver comb, though this could come from mixing them up with mermaids says scholar Patricia Lysaght. Some Celtic lore suggests that banshees originated from the death of a wash woman who died in childbirth and is why banshees are often seen washing or preening next to pools or fjords in the forest or along the banks of a spring or river. Though this could be a confusion of them with naiads. They are sometimes described as having winds and being in flight, while other legends confine them to walking the land in the dark of night. Some say they’ve been blended by monks descriptions of them with Lilith. Lilith is often depicted as a voluptuous female with feather like hair, wings, owl-like feet, perched atop two male lions binding them together by their waists. Some legends claim the manifestation of a banshee at first would transform into the Irish battle Goddess known as the Morrigan. She has also appeared in anamorphic forms such as a stoat, hare, hooded crow, or weasel. There are counterparts of the Banshee throughout the Western world, such as in Scotland as the “bean sith” or “bean-nighe” that is often seen washing blood stained armor or clothes of those about to die. Reports of sightings of bean sith and banshees were abundant even as of recent times. They are also found in Welsh mythology, Norse mythology, and American folklore.

A report from Kings James I of Scotland in 1437 claimed he was approached by an Irish seer who was later identified as a banshee. She foretold of his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. Irish history and mythology tell tales of many prophets who were believed to be banshees that advise the local courts of Irish Kings, and the great houses of Ireland. On Rathlin island, legend describes the banshee’s cry as a “thin screeching sound somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of an owl.” In Leinster, there are tales of the “bean chaointe” whose wail is so piercing that it shatters glass. In Kerry, tales report of the scream as a low pleasant singing of a song. In Tyrone, reports as the sound resembling two boards being struck together. They have been said to have cried during the death of Brian Boru. 18th century C.E. American folklore talk about banshee tales in Tar River, North Carolina, though could be the report of a ghoul that was mislabeled a banshee. In South Dakota, a banshee is said to wail upon a hill near Watch Dog Butte. None of the American legends associate the wail with a oracle of death.
Bibliography / Recommended Reading:

• Croker, Thomas Crofton undated “Fairy Legends and Traditions”. Website referenced on 12/23/13 at http://books.google.ie/books?id=3jCPRo9GAE8C&pg=PT133&lpg=PT133&dq=Gougane+Barra+fairy&source=bl&ots=zVDgcqoGvM&sig=EGQByEFSCrbPtok_RMVoMgdye7s&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VBG4UuJRqaztBt6bgOgC&ved=0CIIBEOgBMAs#v=onepage&q=Gougane%20Barra%20fairy&f=false. Library of Alexandria: unknown.
• Croker, Thomas Crofton undated “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the south of Ireland”. Website referenced on 12/23/13 at http://books.google.ie/books?id=ltoDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA274&lpg=PA274&dq=Gougane+Barra+fairy&source=bl&ots=y2RVZLcpEv&sig=0VH_Ip4ZQp_uexpefGt3yHAMPuQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VBG4UuJRqaztBt6bgOgC&ved=0CIUBEOgBMAw#v=onepage&q=Gougane%20Barra%20fairy&f=false
• Mental Floss undated “10 Legendary Monsters of Europe”. Website referenced on 12/26/13 at http://mentalfloss.com/article/12685/10-legendary-monsters-europe.
• Mercian Gathering undated “Bad Faeries” website referenced 12/24/2013 at http://www.merciangathering.com/bad_fairies.htm.
• Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia undated “Banshee”. Website referenced on 12/26/13 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banshee.

Pooka
Pooka, Phouka, Phooka, Phooca, Púka
by Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Research © 2013

While in urban racial slurring, the term ‘pooka’ can mean a fat or slothful person lacking basic hygiene or modesty, traditionally, it is an Irish shape-shifting dark faerie spirit that would appear in a variety of forms, like horses, old hags, dogs, goats, bulls, goblins, hares, or eagles.

In County Down, the Pooka is often described as a short, disfigured goblin demanding his/her share of the harvest. In County Laois, it is depicted as a gigantic boogeyman. In Waterford and Wexford, it is a large eagle with a giant wingspan, and in Roscommon, often as a goat. Regional differences and descriptions vary. Regardless of the form, they were usually very black with blazing red eyes. “They appear here and there, now and then, to this one and that one.” According to the Urban Lore dictionary … A mountain or hill creature that preys on the weak, the lost, the confused, a weary traveler, or appears to foretell prophecy on November 1ast to those consulting it. They always appear around dusk, luring an individual to a treacherous fate, often involving a cliff or a ditch. They usually offer rides to weary travelers, sending them off at a high speed just before dumping them in a ditch and running away laughing.

They were in many terms a trickster and prankster. When chickens see a Pooka they won’t lay eggs, cows won’t make milk. It will appear in front of certain homes and call out the names it wants to take on a wild ride, and if those people don’t come out of their houses, they will vandalize their yards. Pookas have a grasp of human languages and can talk to any human in the tongue they speak, luring them into their entrapment, confusing them, and then terrifying them. Another creature that entices humans onto their backs for a ride are the kelpies.

Kelpies will take them on a wild ride and then dive into the nearest body of water to drown and eat them. The Pooka takes them on a wild ride and dumps them in a ditch, off a cliff, in a bog, or plays a trick. Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, was rumored to have ridden the Pooka … and did so by using a unique bridle and incorporating three hairs of a Pooka’s tail. He rode the Pooka in its horse form, staying on its back until it was exhausted and surrendered to his will. From this, the Boru extracted two promises from it that it would no longer torment Christian people and ruin their property and that it would never attack an Irish unless they were drunk or abroad with intent to harm. The Pooka agreed. Since the death of Boru, it has forgotten its promises and continues with its original activity.

Some believe the term “Pooka” came from the Vikings as they came to Ireland, referring to the Old Norse term “pook” or “puki” meaning “nature spirit”. These inter-related to the Germanic languages and terms for “pucel”, “pook”, or “puck” meaning benevolent or malevolent nature. Around Europe there are similarly correspondent creatures such as the Welsh “pwca” or “pwwka” or the Cornish “Bucca”, the Channel Islands “pouque” or the poulpique in Brittany. The Welch word “Gwyll,” which is their correspondence to the Irish “Pooka,” is used to describe gloom, darkness, shade, a goblin, and the nightmare, which is quite similar to the Irish creature. Some believe Pooka or Puca comes from the Irish word “poc” meaning “male goat” or “Blow from a cudgel”.

W.B. Yeats wrote about the Pooka as the Poc, meaning “he-goat,” as a wicked devilish creature. Croker said a boy near Killarney had told him, “Old people used to say that the Pookas were very numerous long ago … were wicked-minded, black-looking, bad things … that would come in the form of wild colts, with chains hanging about them.” Halloween, according to some Irish, is called “Pooka night.” In France, the Pooka are blamed for blighting crops that remain in fields or blackberries left unfit to eat. It was always suggested that children do not eat over-ripe blackberries in the fields as it was a sign that a pooka had cursed them. Sometimes, they would puke, spit, or defecate on the fruits, making them foul to eat. Sometimes farmers would leave a small share of a crop as the “puca’s share” to appease them. Pookas, however, must be civil on November 1st, their day of reign. In some regions, the entire month of November is known as the “month of the Pooka,” during Halloween in some parts of Ireland, children go out “with the Pooka,” while others stay indoors for fear of what the Pooka will do to them. During Easter, some see the Easter Bunny as the bunny form of a Pooka bringing chocolate eggs and sweets to kids at Easter, which inspired the 1950 film “Harvey” directed by Henry Koster.

One of the classic Irish tales of the Pooka is that of Morty Sullivan and the Black Steed who at 14 ran off from home to America leaving his parents behind alone and sad for their loss of him until their death. When he returned, he learned of their fate, felt responsible, and sought release from his sins. While hunting for absolution one night he came upon a Pooka who lured him onto her black steed that dumped him off a cliff. Pookas can also be friendly spirits if they are well-treated and help farmers and millers with their harvest.

Another tale is about Phadrig, who fell asleep in a mill and awoke to the clatter of 6 little faeries buzzing around milling corn while a Pooka in the form of an old man wearing tattered clothes directed them with their duties. Phadrig felt sorry for the Pooka, so they bought him a fine silk suit and laid it on the floor. The Pooka was delighted and then said he was a fine gentleman and would no longer grind the corn any more. Lady Wilde wrote about Pooka that were helpful to farmers and told the tale of Phadraig differently … where the pooka appeared as a bull and told young Phadraig to come to the old mill that night … and after their meeting, the pookas would come secretly at night and do all his work for him milling the sacks of corn into flour, running the farm, and doing his chores. This made the farmer’s boy very happy and, in reward, gave the Pooka a fine suit – but then all the Pookas went off to see the world ending their work. This didn’t bother Phadraig as the farm was wealthy and allowed the farmer to retire and send Phadraig to school.

At Phadraig’s wedding, the Pooka gave him a golden cup filled with drink that ensured happiness. Others have described the Pooka as being goblin-like, vampiric, and bloodthirsty. Tales of them chasing down humans, killing them barbarically, and eating their flesh.

There is a place named in the Wicklow Mountains called the “Poula Phouk,” meaning “Pooka’s Hole,” a waterfall believed to form the River Liffey. The “Binlaughlin Mountain” in Fermanagh County is also known as the “Peak of the Speaking Horse.” This is one area where some gather in high places to meet with a speaking horse for its prophecy on Bilberry Sunday. The Poula phouk was named after an animal spirit that encountered a pooka there. Currently, there is a hydro-electric power station at this point where the river drops through a 150 fee plummet into a narrow gorge in three phases – the second drop is the pool known as the “Hole of the Pooka” and is the scene from where Padraig O’Farrell tells of a Kildare man named Grennan on a hunt chasing a fox, chased it into Tipperkevin north of Ballymore Eustace in County Kildare. The fox appeared here and led the hunter to the river Liffey. During the same point of the chase, a black steed appeared and thought to be a Pooka began to chase it too. As they raced along the Liffey, the Pooka and Grennan reached the gorge. Grennan tried to recall the hounds, though the Pooka tempted them to their fates. The fox headed for the narrow part of the gorge, spied the Pooka’s red eyes, and jumped, missing the ledge and falling into the turbulent falls below. The Pooka lept across the gorge and vanished into the woodlands. Grennan followed the hounds and the fox, all swimming desperately to get out of the pool, leading to their death. As they died, he could hear the Pooka laughing. This Pooka’s hole was also blamed on various floods caused by the power station built at its pool. Again, the Pooka’s laugh was heard.

Bibliography / Recommended Reading:

• Croker, Thomas Crofton undated “Fairy Legends and Traditions”. Website referenced on 12/23/13 at http://books.google.ie/books?id=3jCPRo9GAE8C&pg=PT133&lpg=PT133&dq=Gougane+Barra+fairy&source=bl&ots=zVDgcqoGvM&sig=EGQByEFSCrbPtok_RMVoMgdye7s&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VBG4UuJRqaztBt6bgOgC&ved=0CIIBEOgBMAs#v=onepage&q=Gougane%20Barra%20fairy&f=false. Library of Alexandria: unknown.
• Croker, Thomas Crofton undated “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the south of Ireland”. Website referenced on 12/23/13 at http://books.google.ie/books?id=ltoDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA274&lpg=PA274&dq=Gougane+Barra+fairy&source=bl&ots=y2RVZLcpEv&sig=0VH_Ip4ZQp_uexpefGt3yHAMPuQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VBG4UuJRqaztBt6bgOgC&ved=0CIUBEOgBMAw#v=onepage&q=Gougane%20Barra%20fairy&f=false
• Ireland’s Eye undated “Pooka”. Website referenced 12/24/13 at http://www.irelandseye.com/paddy3/preview2.htm.
• Ireland of the Welcomes undated “Tales of the Pooka”. Website referenced and reviewed on 12/24/13 at http://irelandofthewelcomes.com/home/tales-of-the-pooka/.
• Mercian Gathering undated “Bad Faeries” website referenced 12/24/2013 at http://www.merciangathering.com/bad_fairies.htm.
• Urban Dictionary undated “Pooka”. website referenced and reviewed on 12/24/13 at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pooka.
• Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia undated “Puca”. Website referenced 12/24/13 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%BAca.

Tale of Morty Sullivan and the Spirit Horse

The tale took place between Gougane Barra and Tobar Ghobnatan. This was the story of a 14 year old named Morty who ran away from home leaving his parents to die heartbroken when he left Ireland on a ship to America. 30 years after they died, Morty returned to find of their deaths. So he went on a pilgrimage to atone for his sins, and was recommended to do so at Ballyvourney at St. Gobnait’s well. He ran off on that advice traveling many miles on into the dark, a new moon nonetheless, with stars obscured by a thick fog. He ascended into the valleys and got lost, but pushed on to reach his destination. The fog grew thicker and thicker lost he became and in doubt he was going to find the chapel. He saw a light not far off in the distance and as it went towards it the light became distant and distant twinkling dimly through the fog. He continued onwards with his journey nonetheless for he thought it was Saint Gobnait guiding his feet through the mountains to her chapel. He realized the light came from a fire of an old woman which came to a surprise to him that a alone woman would travel as far as he on such uneven roads in the dark. He said to her “In the holy names of the pious Gobnait, and of her preceptor Saint Abban .. how that burning fire move on so fast before me, who can that old woman be sitting beside the moving fire?” and upon those words found himself close to the warm fire beside the old woman who was eating her supper. She appeared to him angry at having her meal disturbed, and her eyes would roll at him at every bite. Her eyes were not normal like human eyes, but a wild red color similar to that of an eye of a ferret. He sat in silence watching her. She asked him “What’s your name?” with a sulfurous puff of a breath coming out when she spoke, nostrils distending, eyes growing a bright red. He replied “Morty Sullivan at your service.” She replied “Ubbubbo! we’ll soon see that! and her eyes turned pale green. She said “Take hold of my hand Morty and I’ll give you a horse ride to your journey’s end” and as they did, the fire going before them, shooting out bright tongues of flame flickering fiercely. They approached a cave in the side of the mountain where the hag called for her horse – out of which came a jet-black steed with clanging hoofs. “Mount Morty Mount!” she cried seizing him with supernatural strength and forcing him on the back of the horse. He cried “O that I had spurs!” grasping frantically to the horse’s mane, catching a shadow that bore him up and bounded forward with him, springing him down a cliff onto the rugged bed of a torrent. Pilgrims coming back from Gougane Barra found him flat on his back under a steep cliff down which he had been flung by the phooka. He wads bruised by the fall and said to have sworn on the spot by the hand of O’Sullivan – “Nulla manus, Tam liberalis, Atque generalis, Atque universalis, Quam Suilivanis” never again to take a full quart bottle of whiskey with him on his pilgrimage. The lesson from this fable is to young men to stay at home, live decently, and stay sober if they can, and not to travel around the world. A tale of delusion and whiskey and a long night’s quest through the woods with hallucinations of a phooka-like hag and steed.

Goibnui, the Smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann

Other names:
Govannon (Welsh), Gofannon (Welsh), and Gobannos (Gaulish), Goibniu, Goibhnet, Goibhniu.

Counterparts:
There is suggestions that Goibnui, the Smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was replaced by Saint Ghobnatan. The site of Tobar Ghobnatan had archaeological evidence of a hut and artifacts such as iron slag, a crucible, and metalworking tools leading experts to believe that the site was used for iron works before its Christian occupation. This may have been the metalworking site of Goibnui. This also led to St. Gobnait to being a Patron Saint of Iron Workers. Both names have similar roots. Monastic site where St. Gobnait’s house, well, church, and grave resides has suggestive evidence that it had formerly been a Pagan Shrine with fairy wells. Gofannon (Welsh) and Gobannos (Gaulish). He lived on in Irish myth as Goban Saor, the craftsman who built the two round towers.

Deity / King / Lord of:
Irish/Celtic God of Smiths, Faerie lord of Metal craft. Son of Goddess Danu. Brew master of Immortality elixirs.

Qualities:
iron working, smelting, metal working, brew master, beer.

Description:
Goibniu is the Irish God of Smiths and was a son to the Goddess Danu. He was the official Smith to the Tuatha de Danann. He is found in company often with Luichtne the carpenter, Creidne the wright, and Diane Cecht the leech. His parents are unknown, but believed to be the hypothetical son of Danu, brother to Dagda and Dian Cecht. Others claim his family to be Tuirbe Trágmar (father), Net (grandfather), Balor Elatha (half-brothers), and Dagda (Nephew). He continued on in Irish folklore as Goban Saor, the legendary craftsman who built the round towers.

History:
He was believed to be killed alongside Dian Cecht by a painful plague that struck Ireland.

Folklore/Mythology:
He was believed to be able to smith swords that would always strike true. He was in possession of the Mead of Eternal Life. He, Credne, and Luchtainel were believed to be the creators of the magical weapons used by the Tuatha de Danann in battle. He and his brothers Creidhne and Luchtaine were known as the Trí Dée Dána, the three Gods of art, who forged the weapons which the Tuatha Dé used to battle the Fomorians. He was believed to be a creator of beer that would make its drinker immortal. He was a master brewer for the Tuatha de Danann. His feast would protect the Tuatha de Danann from sickness and old age.

Archaeology/History:
Referred in the Book of Invasions as “Goibniu who was not impotent in smelting, Luichtne, the free wright Creidne, Dian Cecht, for going roads of great healing, Mac ind Oc, Lug son of Ethliu.” Another text referring to him was the St. Gall codex referencing him in a charm during the “Second Battle of Magh Turedh” calling upon him in a spell to remove a thorn “very sharp is Goibniu’s science, let Goibniu’s goad go out before Goibniu’s goad!” During the Second Battle, Ruadan (son of Bres and Brighid) was sent to kill him. As the Fomorians felt he’d make a good spy, he was asked for parts of a spear from Goibniu assembled by a woman called Fron. Ruadan threw the spear at Gobniu wounding him. The spear was pulled out and he was keened by Brigid inventing the practice of keening and giving it to humankind. Keening is the high-pitched wailing for the dead often referenced to the Banshee (beansidhe). He went to the Well of Slaine, watched over by his family and healed by its magic waters, returned to battle, making more weapons for the Tuatha de Danann, and won Ireland from the Fomorians. His weapons always made their mark and wounds inflicted by them were always fatal. His ale made the Tuatha de Danann invulnerable. the Lebor Gabála Érenn describes him as as ‘not impotent in smelting’.

Monuments and Artifacts:
The site Moytura in County Sligo is supposed to be associated with him as is the Moytura site in County Roscommon.

Bibliography/Recommended Readings:

• R.A.S. Macalister 1941 “Lebor Gabála Érenn: Book of the Taking of Ireland” Part 1-5. Dublin: Irish Texts Society.
• Gray, Elizabeth A. 1982 “Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired”. Dublin: Irish Texts Society. URL: http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300010/index.html
• MacCulloch, J.A. 1911 “Religion of the Ancient Celts.” Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

Could St. Gobnata be a modernized version of Goibniu?
Statue at Tobar Ghobnatan

Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara, New York

Lelawal, The Maid of the Mist
* Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara, New York *

The Myth of the Maid of the Mist is a Native American legend from the Ongiaras Tribe about a young woman, named Lelawal, the Maid of the Mist. She lost her husband at a very young age and was lost in sorrow. She canoed along the Niagara River to the Falls, singing a death song paddling into the current. She was caught up in the rough waves and hurled into the falls, but as she fell, Heno, the God of Thunder who lived in these falls caught her carrying her down to his home beneath the veil of waters falling. Heno and his sons took care of her until she healed. One of his sons fell in love with her, married, and bore a son who learned to be a God of Thunder. The Maid however missed seeing her family and tribe. Heno reported to her that A great snake came down the mighty river and poisoned the waters of her people. They grew sick and were dying, being devoured by the snake until the mass disappearance of the tribe occurred. She begged Heno to be able to go back to the realm of her people to warn them of the dangers, so he lifted her through the falls back to her people. She advised them to move away from the river onto higher lands until the danger passed. Heno came back and brought her back to her husband. Once the great snake discovered that the people deserted the village, it went into a rage hissing and going upstream to search for them. Heno rose up through the mist of the falls and threw a giant thunderbolt at the snake killing it in one blast. The giant body floated downstream and lodged just above the cataract creating a large semi-circle that deflected huge amounts of water into the falls just above the God’s home. Heno swept through the falls trying to stop the massive influx of water caused by the position of the corpse. His home was destroyed. He called for the Maid and his sons returning up into the sky making a new home in the heavenly realms watching down over the humans, Heno thundering in the clouds as he once did in the falls. The thunder of the falls is Heno’s voice. [ http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/09/the_maid_of_the_mist.html ] Other legends claim Lelawala was betrothed by her father to a king she despised and secretly wanted to be with He-No, the God of Thunder, who lived beneath Horseshoe Falls. In the middle of heartache she chose to sacrifice herself to him, paddling her canoe into the Niagara River and swept off into the Falls. He-no caught her, merged with her spirit, and lived forever in his sanctuary behind the falls, whereas she became the “Maiden of the Mist”.

Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara, New York

Sliabh na Caillí (Mountain of the Hag), also known as Lough crew, is a infamous passage tomb is one of the four main passage tombs in Ireland next to Brú na Bóinne, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore dating to roughly 3,300 BCE. The site consists of cruciform chambers covered by a mound structure. Within, and on the outside of kerbstones are a unique style of megalithic petroglyphs including circles, spirals, lozenge shapes, leaf shapes, radiating lines. Site has three parts – two of which are on hill tops, Carnbane East and Carnbane West, and the less preserved Patrickstown. Mythology states that it was created by a giant hag who while striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron as she was traveling to her home at Slieve Gullion. Local green gritstone is soft enough to carve making up the orthostats and structural stones of the monuments. In 1980, the archaeologist Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T in Carnbane East was constructed to receive the rising sun on the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes, shining down the passage and illuminating the rock art on the back stone. There are also alignments between Cairn L at Lough Crew, Knowth, and Dowth.

(more…)

Bracket or Shelf Fungi, Congaree National Park, Columbia, SC

Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi
(science page: http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=641)
Common Names:
Bracket fungi, shelf fungi, conks, oysters, wood rot fungi, sulphur shelf, birch bracket, dryad’s saddle, artist’s conk, turkey tail.
The Polyporus squamosus, or Dryad’s Saddle has the appearance of a “perfect seat or ride for a wood nymph” which is possible for its namesake. This next tidbit, whether fantasy, RPG, or actual folklore lends suggestion it is a popular mushroom to the Fae. That which is called the “Shelfung” mythologically is also referred to as the Squilla in mythical Sarvonia and considered an edible fungus popular among the orcs, elves, brownies, hobbits, and thergerim, and humans as a spice for various foods such as for leveret, force bread, and poultry. The Tharian call it “Shelfung”, the Orcs call it “Kroch’tlor”, and the Thergerimtaal call it “Urtumua”. Orcs believe this fungus will strengthen the blood for fighting and their name for it translates to “Good Blood”. The Blaa’kr tribe on the Isles of R’unor believe it enhances sexual potency. Hobbits (not a actual species of Fae, created by Tolkien) say it will increase one’s wisdom.
[Santharia.com: http://www.santharia.com/herbarium/squilla_fungus.htm ] Research still pending.
Bibliography/ Recommended Reading/ Resources:

• Adams, Scott.
  “What’s That On My Trees?”. Website http://danshamptons.com/article/lifestyle/ask-the-expert-house-and-home/ask-the-expert-what%E2%80%99s-that-on-my-trees/ referenced March 3, 2013.
• Brough, Kim.
  Fungi as Saprobes. Website http://www.angelfire.com/wizard/kimbrough/Textbook/MedicinalUsesOfMushrooms_blue.htm visited and referenced March 3, 2013.
• Jazjaz.net: “30 Enchanting Pictures of Mushrooms, Toadstools, and Fungi”.
  Ref: http://www.jazjaz.net/2009/07/30-enchanting-pictures-of-mushrooms-toadstools-and-fungi.html. Website referenced and views on March 3, 2013.
• Mount Gravatt Environmental Group: Gilled Fungi.
  Website: http://megoutlook.wordpress.com/category/forest-fungi/gilled-fungi/ referenced on March 3, 2013.
• Rockland-Miller, Ari.      The Mushroom Forager: The Oft Overlooked Dryad Saddle. Website http://themushroomforager.com/2011/05/12/the-oft-overlooked-dryads-saddle/ visited and referenced March 3, 2013.
• Santharia.com: The Squilla Fungus (Shelfung).
  Website http://www.santharia.com/herbarium/squilla_fungus.htm visited and referenced March 3, 2013. Fantasy/Mythology.
• Stanley Rice Photography: Evolution Photos – Shelf Fungus and Symbiosis.
  Website http://www.stanleyrice.com/evolution_photos/index.album/shelf-fungi-and-symbiosis?i=39 referenced March 3, 2013.
• Wikipedia:
  • Bracket Fungus. Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket_fungus referenced March 3, 2013
  • Fungus. Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus referenced March 3, 2013.
  • Oyster Mushroom. Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_mushroom referenced March 3, 2013
  • Wood Decay Fungus. Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-decay_fungus#White_rot referenced March 3, 2013
• Wild Man Steve Brill.
  “Dryad’s Saddle”. Website http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Mushrooms.Folder/Dryad’s%20Saddle.html visited and referenced March 3, 2013.

This brings me back to a crazed David Icke conspiracy theorist named Purple Crow in Vancouver BC when I think of lizard men, or the famous telvision show “V”. The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp or the Sumter Lizard Man, the Lizard Man of Lee County, or the South Carolina Lizard Man are all titles of a mythological modern-day creature haunting the backwoods and swamps of South Carolina. Native American legend with oral lore from 1972 in the area is claimed that the Inzignanin near Chicora by the South/North Carolina border told of fishy humanoids covered in scales, 5 feet tall, with fairly inflexible tales 18 inches long, and webbed hands. He was first reported being seen on June 29, 1988 and ever since has been popping up in urban folklore. He has been described as a reptilian humanoid cryptid living either in the South Carolina swamps or within abandoned subways or sewers in towns near the swamps. He is described as standing over 7 feet tall, bipedal, muscular, covered in scaly lizard-like skin with dark hair (similar to big foot). He has been said to have only three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand and maybe flaunting a tail. In June of 1988, a 17 year old boy named Christopher Davis claimed to have been attacked by the creature on his way home from work when he was changing a flat. He claimed the creature tried to grab at his car and climbed onto his roof as he sped off to escape the attack. He claimed the creature damaged his side mirror and scratched his roof. He claimed it was lizard like with red glowing eyes, three big fingers, long black nails, and green rough skin – all green and angry, grunting, and chasing him. That month there were several more reports by others of being attacked, with unusual scratches and bite marks found on cars parked close to the swamp, all within three mile radius of the swamps of Bishopville, South Carolina. Police at the time were perplexed, trying to balance between disbelief and humor to concern and intrigue, thinking it was actually a bear not a lizard man. Two weeks later, the sheriff’s department made several plaster casts of what appeared to be three-toed footprints, measuring 14 inches in length, that were later labelled unclassifiable. They were cited as not belonging or matching any other footprints of any other recorded animal on record. Tourists and cryptid hunters began plaguing South Carolina in search of the beast, with even radio stations such as WCOS offering a million dollar reward to anyone who could capture it alive. On August 5th, an airman from Shaw Air Force base named Kenneth Orr, filed a report with the police claiming to have encountered the creature on Highway 15 and having shot/wounded it. He gave to evidence several scales and some blood. He later confessed to inventing the sighting after being cited for unlawfully carrying a gun and a misdemeanor offense for filing a false police report. 2004 reports of a creature trying to snatch and drag a young girl into the river was blamed on the Lizard Man, but later theorized to have been an alligator. In 2005, the South Carolina Lottery used the creature in their television advertisements, and later that year a woman from Newberry claimed to have seen two Lizard man creatures outside her home. In 2008, Bob and Dixie Rawson, a couple in Bishopville South Carolina reported being attacked and damage to their car with traces of blood and claims that these creatures killed their cats. Police claim it was a wolf or coyote. After investigating the claim, E.J. Melvin, the Lee County Sheriff discovered a dead cow and coyote in a field next to the Rawson homestead. History Channel’s “MonsterQuest” investigated the legend, showing that it was not possible for a canine to have caused such damage on the Rawson’s car, it would have taken over 300 lbs of torgue to cause that kind of damage. By 2010, the show “Destination Truth” investigated the legend claiming the footprints were a hoax and the creature fabricated as a means of tourism, extensive local merchandising, and fandom. Lee County Chamber of Commerce hosts a 5 km Lizard Man run, sells Lizard Man shirts, and a Lizard patrol shirt. Another report in 2011 by a couple claiming to have had their car mauled by something tall with similar damage as the others. Reptilian humanoid creatures have been reported through history – the Greek God of the cold north wind, Boreas was described as a winged man with serpents instead of legs; Crecrops I was a half-man, half-snake mythical king of Athens; Chinese Mythology has reptilian humaoid dragon kings as well as a serpentine figure named Fu Xi; There is the snake God named Glycon who has a human head; The Lord of the Tree of Life from the Epic of Gilgamesh links Ningizzida with the water serpent constellation Hydra; the Chinese Dragon thunder God Shenlong is depicted with a human head and dragon’s body; the Ancient Egyptian God Sobek has a crocodile head; the Aztec God Tlaloc has snake fangs; the Greek “Father of all monsters” Typhon was a man from the waist up with a mass of seething vipers from the waist down; the Zoroastrian God Zahhak grows a serpent on either of his shoulders; The wife of Typhon is a half-woman half-snake Goddess named Echidna; in Portugese and galician folklore there is a snake goddess named Moura with long blond hair and a snake body; and of course MEdusa and the Gorgons in Greek mythology; the Lamia – a Greek female demon as half-woman, half snake; Islamic mythology depicts some djinn as half human and half-serpentine; Indian Naga were reptilian beings living underground and interacting with humans atop; the Genesis creation of the Serpent identified with Satan was known to be either male/female in mythology.

More info:
• http://voices.yahoo.com/the-legend-lizard-man-sumter-south-carolina-1337103.html?cat=9
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/lizard-man-mauls-south-carolina-car_n_897476.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizard_Man_of_Scape_Ore_Swamp
• http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/scbf09/

Gogmagog: Gog and Magog
Goemagot, Goemagog or Gogmagoc; He of the Two Horns, He of the Two Ages, Gogmagog and Corineus

These ancient Giants (i.e. Titans, titans, fomorians, ancient ones) known as “Gog” and “Magog” in Paganism are descendants of early pre-Christian Giants of early English pageantry who were very tied to early Britain. The myth states that the Roman Emperor Diocletian had 33 wicked daughters whom he married off to 33 husbands who curbed their unsettling ways. However the daughters were so wicked, led by the eldest sister Alba, they plotted to cut the throats of their husbands as they slept. As punishment for this crime, they were set adrift in a boat with a half year’s rations of food, shunned forever. They drifted ashore the isles of what later became “Albion” (named after the eldest). Fornicating and coupling with demons, they populated the wild windswept island with a race of giants. Some say this was the Islands of what is known as modern day “Ireland” and became to be the legendary giant race of Fomorians while others claim it was the island of “Britain” and were the Giants who lived in these lands. When Brutus, great-grandson of Æneas, in company of his most able-bodied warrior Corineus, fled the fall of Troy, they by fate found themselves on these islands of Giants. Brutus was impressed with these isles so much that he named the Islands after himself, which later became called “Britain”. The leader of the Giants was a detestable monster named Goëmagot (Gogmagog), who stood in stature twelve cubits, and of such prodigious strength that at one shake he pulled up an oak as if it had been a hazel wand. Brutus and Corineus faced “Gogmagog“, had combat, and hurled him from a high rock to his death. (This place, called “The Giant’s Leap”, “Langnagog”, are disputed being in Ireland as well as Cornwall) As a reward for this defeat, Corineus was given the western part of the island, which many say is how Cornwall was called after him. After this defeat, Brutus travelled to the East and founded the city of New Troy, which eventually became known as “London”. [Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th century Historia Regum Brittaniae] Some correspond these myths to the biblical tale of Samson and Greek mythology of Hercules. Others argue that Gogmagog was a corruption of Gawr Madoc (Madoc the Great).

Another mythos to their origins tell that the 33 infamous daughters of Diocletian who were captured and chained at the gates of Guildhall as guardians had given birth to numerous sons who were deemed to be “Giants”. The last two survivors of these offspring, were “Gog” and “Magog”. This comes from the lore around the carved giants guarding the gates of Guildhall during the reign of Henry V. They were added to the Lord Mayor’s Show in 1554 which were labelled in 1605 as Corineus and Gogmagog. After much destruction of London by the great fires in 1666, they were resurrected in the Guildhall with the intent that they were to be seen daily all year and never to be demolished again such as the dismal violence as happened to their predecessors during the fires. Since these were made of wicker and pasteboard, they didn’t last very long, as they were eaten by rats. In 1708 they were replaced by a pair of wooden statues carved by Captain Richard Saunders which lasted for 200 years until destruction in the blitz. In 1953 they were replaced by the current carvings in the Guildhall created by David Evans as a gift to the City by Alderman Sir George Wilkinson who had been the Lord Mayor in 1940. Gog and Magog came to symbolize the links between the modern business institutions of the City to its ancient history. They have been coronated by Thomas Boreman in his “Gigantick History” of 1741 as:

“Corineus and Gogmagog were two brave giants who richly valued their honour and exerted their whole strength and force in the defence of their liberty and country; so the City of London, by placing these, their representatives in their Guildhall, emblematically declare, that they will, like mighty giants defend the honour of their country and liberties of this their City; which excels all others, as much as those huge giants exceed in stature the common bulk of mankind.”

Another mythos could be relating them to Gyges or Gugu, the king who made Lydia a significant power. Some say the prophet Ezekiel utilized his history symbolically to tell this tale and referring to Asia Minor origins for convenience. Alexander the Great was also associated with Gog and Magog, identified as such in works glorifying the life and deeds of Alexander as someone who personally strove to keep Gog and Magog out of the civilized lands. This is related to the impenetrable wall he built to block off a pass in the Caucasus. The Quran also makes reference to a wall built to keep out Gog and Magog, which will be destroyed in the last days. Some equate this wall with Alexander’s, others with the Great Wall of China, and others as the Iron Curtain.

Gog and Magog don’t only have a place within Paganism, more so found Within much of J-C-I mythology (Judaism, Islam, Christianity), is an abundance of their existence in the lore, history, and beliefs of these peoples and/or faiths, especially as they pertain to future prophecies and catastrophism. Found in the Qur’an, Book of Ezekiel, Book of Genesis, and the Book of Revelation. These “supernatural beings” are also referred to as “demons” and “races” that once predated upon the Earth. According to Islam and Christianity of this being(s) were “war” incarnate, and was a great and righteous ruler (He of the Two Horns) or one that impacts two ages (He of Two Ages), would travel the world in three directions, until he found a tribe threatened by himself, or who were of an evil and destructive nature and caused great corruption upon the Earth. Often humans would offer tribute to Gog and Magog for his protection with the hope that he’d agree to help them. However, Gog and Magog notoriously declined the tribute. Because of this, according to legend, humanity constructed a great wall that all the hostile nations could not penetrate, trapping them there until doomsday, that their escape will be a sign of the end … “The War of Gog and Magog” would precede the return of Jesus.

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