However, the first of these
films to hit the silver screen was Magic in the Water in 1995, which was then followed
by the 1996 film Loch Ness. It is important to note that the writer Barry
Authors, who wrote Mee-Shee, and writers Ninian Dunnett, Rick Stevenson, and Icel
Dobell Massey who jointly penned the Magic in the Water, and later writer John
Fusco of Loch Ness could have found some inspiration
in Dick King-Smith’s story of The Water Giant.
Could have ….
While all of these wonderful
films and the children book make great family entertainment, the true legend of
the Water Horse is a much more sinister and dark one, as well as numerous
depending on its location. In fact, the origins of the Water Horse can be dated
back to ancient, Welsh, Irish, and British folklore.
In the Irish and British
folklores, the water horse is known as the Kelpie,
a supernatural shape-shifting creature that has an insatiable desire for the
flesh of the unfortunate human being that wanders into its trap. These creatures were known to mostly hang out
in the rivers and streams of Scotland, and often took the shape of an
exceptionally beautiful tame horse, either mare or stallion depending on the
sex of its prey and once caught by the Kelpie they were dragged deep into the
sea and devoured.
This is clearly a cautionary
tale that probably had a two-fold nature. One, to prevent small children from venturing
into deep water and drowning; and two, an even more devious purpose, to explain
away the disappearance of an enemy or an unfaithful spouse.
The bright side of the
Kelpie legend is that with most tales of evil creatures, it has a weakness that
could save its prey, but not always. The Kelpie hatred of metal object stemmed
from its knowledge that metal in any form could harm it. Hereby, allowing many
of its prey to escape. Whether the metal
could actually kill the Kelpie is unknown, but any chance at freedom is better
than none.
The tales of the Kelpie
is an interesting one and it is worth
further study. While there are no known
films on this side of the Atlantic, the legend is living well in the British
Isles.
Ah, but the legend of the
water horse does not stop here. In Wales,
there is the Welsh folklore of the Ceffyl-Dwr. Like the Kelpie, the Ceffyl-Dwr is a shape-shifter. It is
a water fairy that often takes the shape
of a horse. It lives in mountain pools
and waterfalls, and although it can appear solid, it can, if the need arise, evaporate into the mist.
A couple of interesting facts
about the Ceffyl-Dwr is: One, when unsuspecting travelers come into its
path, the Ceffyl-Dwr will leap up out of the water and trample the travelers to
death. Two, part of the legend is that it can shape wings for itself and snatch
up unwelcome travelers who are unfortunate to come into its domain and carry
them high into the sky, and then drop them to their death.
In contrast, while the Kelpie
relishes eating its prey; the Ceffyl-Dwr appears to only despise the presence
of unwelcome visitors into its home.
Interesting legends,
right?
However, around the world, there are probably many legends based on supernatural
water creatures. The most famous one known in modern times is Nessie, the Loch
Ness Monster that has its origins going back to 1871, and with possible origins
in the legends of the Ceffyl-Dwr and Kelpie. The legend of the Loch Ness monster spurred many
investigations into Nessie existence with a beginning date of 1933. The story of Nessie, which is now thought to be one of
the world greatest hoaxes, sparked the creations of many books, films, and
tours of the Loch Ness in Scotland.
Below are links to video
stories about the Ceffyl-Dwr and the Kelpie. In addition, there is a link to
Mythoscope, which is an interesting and funny introduction to myths around the world.
P.S: While thinking of
greatest hoaxes, I thought of the American
actor Orson wells 1940 radio portrayal of H. G Wells novel War of the Worlds as coming in as number one as the world’s
greatest hoax. Although not based on legend or folklore, Well’s War of the World stands up as it played strongly on the
nation fear of the unknown and of outer space.
Not only this, but it is
a well-known fact that most comic books
have origins rooted in mythology. Take the characters within the dc comics and
marvel comics universes. No need to name them, because their comics, films,
cartoons, and games are with us every day.
