Blue Men of the Minch

The undersea caves in the Sound of Shiant (Scotland) were home to a particularly unfriendly group of mermen. As the name suggests, they have blue skin, and long straggled beards. The Gaelic name for the Minch is Sruth nam fear Gorma – the Channel of the Blue Men. They would swim to the surface and call up storms to wreck any ships trying to pass through. The sailors were offered one chance of survival - the ship’s Captain would be challenged to a rhyming contest with the Blue Men. If he won, he and his crew were able to sail on unharmed. If he lost the ship would be wrecked and the sailors drowned.

Filed under Faerylore |