Stories of Scotland

Bonus: Interview with Graham McTavish

In this bonus episode, Jenny and Annie speak to Scottish actor Graham McTavish. Graham has had an incredibly successful acting career and is well-known for many of his roles including Outlander, the Hobbit films, Castlevania, and the forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.While working on Outlander, Graham became good friends with Sam Heughan and together they have created the TV Series Men in Kilts and are soon to release a follow-up to their globally bestselling book Clanlands. On November 23rd 2021, the Clanlands Almanac will be released. The Clanlands Almanac is a celebration of the Scottish seasons, folklore, and heritage. Taking readers through a calendar year, the Clanlands Almanac inspires us to feel the seasons change again. Listen out for the marvelous Scots toast: “Here’s tae us. Wha’s like us? Gie few, and they’re a’ deid!“This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you are tempted to check out some of Scotland Shop’s beautiful tartan garments and fabrics, please follow this link to Scotland Shop. https://hubs.ly/H0-0fjl0You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandMany thanks to artist Kerry Douglas for designing our new cover art! Find Kerry at https://www.instagram.com/tufftay/

Scary Ghost Stories of the Scottish Borders

In this episode, Annie and Jenny tell some truly terrifying tales from the Borders of Scotland. We’ve all heard something go bump in the night that’s made the hairs on our neck stand on end, and while sometimes it’s as innocent as an open window in the attic, other times it can be as dastardly as the devil. These spooky tales from the archives explore the rolling moors of the Borders, haunted towers, and decrepit mansions. So come and join us as we peek behind the veil, and then quickly run away, too scared to look back.This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you are tempted to check out some of Scotland Shop’s beautiful tartan garments and fabrics, please follow this link to Scotland Shop. https://hubs.ly/H0-0fjl0You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandReferences:‘A Ghost,’ ’Jedburgh Gazette, September 1873‘A Haunted Berwickshire Spot?,’ Berwickshire News and General Advertiser March 1924John W Cockburn (contributor), Alan Bruford (Fieldworker), SA1966.019, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh, (https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/25084?l=en )Sofia Kingshill and Jennifer Beatrice Westwood, The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends, 2011‘The Haunted House at Fairnilee,’ The Southern Reporter, August 1875‘Tit-Bits of Border History and Romance,’ Southern Reporter, August 1873

Borders Witch Trial: Elizabeth Bathgate

Join Annie and Jenny as they go back to the witch panics of Early Modern Scotland. We examine the witch trial of Elizabeth Bathgate from Eyemouth, and look at what witchcraft trials reveal about superstitions and paranoia of times past. This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you are tempted to check out some of Scotland Shop’s beautiful tartan garments and fabrics, please follow this link to Scotland Shop. https://hubs.ly/H0-0fjl0References:James Maidment, The Spottiswoode Miscellany: A Collection of Original Papers and Tracts, Illustrative Chiefly of the Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, Vol. 2, 1845.John Graham Dalyell, The Darker Superstitions of Scotland illustrated from history and practice, 1834.Julian Goodare, Women and the witch-hunt in Scotland, Social History, Vol 23, 1998.Lauren Martin, Witchcraft and Family: What can Witchcraft Documents Tell us About Early Modern Scottish Family Life?, Scottish Tradition, Vol. 27, 2002. Lizanne Henderson, Witch Belief in Scottish Coastal Communities, Chapter in The New Coastal History, 2017.Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database by Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, Joyce Miller and Louise Yeoman, The University of Edinburgh, http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Zoey Lorne, The Construction and Regulation of Gendered Crime in Scottish Witchcraft Cases, 1560-1661, PhD Thesis from the University of Lethbridge, 2017.

The Cèilidh Hoose

Join Annie and Jenny on a trip to the Cèilidh house, as they discuss the magic of this old tradition. We blether about some old cèilidh lore, exploring how cèilidhs keep communities connected. We look at how the cèilidh house sometimes develops its own lore of ghosts, magic and wonder. Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandReferences:Captain Dugald MacCormick (contributor), Calum Iain Maclean (Fieldworker), TAIBHSE A THÀINIG GU TAIGH ANNS AN ROBH CÈILIDH, SA1953.050, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh (https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/2981)Donald MacLean (contributor), Donald Archie MacDonald (Fieldworker), FEAR AIG NACH ROBH SGEULACHD AIG CÈILIDH, SA1975.31.A2, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh (https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/62058)Reisebilder, Marion; A Highland Cèilidh of 35 Years Ago, Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland, 02 Dec 1908. Scots Language Centre Website: www.scotslanguage.com/articles/view/id/5263Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland Website: https://tracscotland.org/

Schiehallion: Highland Folklore and Second Sight

Content warning: Discussion of death and funerals. Join Annie and Jenny as they explore the curious Highland beliefs of the second sight. In this second part on the glorious mountain of Schiehallion, we learn about the time Robert the Bruce sought sanctuary at Schiehallion, a piper tempted by the fairy hill, and the superstitions of second sight in Rannoch. Be captured by the fairies in this enchanting episode!Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandTranscripts of oral histories:Transcript 1, Schiehallion, festival days and sheep sheering:Perthshire local: Well, the young people, so they tell me, and this is before my time, but the young people used to gather and they would set off up the hill to the back of Schiehallion. And there was a wishing well there and they used to put coins in there and wish for luck and that sort of thing. (Clang of grandfather clock from original recording.)Dr Betsy Ross: And they did this on May Day?Perthshire local: Yes, all on May Day, the first of May, aye. On Halloween Night and before that of course we had to gather all the sticks and old bracken and things and have something to make a blaze. And it was usually up on the hillside. And we all used to gather round and set fire to the thing and it was a giant spectacle and you saw it for miles around. And then we went home and would be dooking for apples and cracking hazelnuts and things like that. Well we just went to the different houses and never went too much, round all the different houses in the village. We had four people. They usually got danced the Highland Reel and I played the melodeon (a type of accordion) and of course we always got something. They gave us something. I heard that they used to do that, there were so many people, you see. Sheep-shearers are very scarce today but at that time there would be twenty maybe thirty, nearer thirty gathering at a shearing. And when the sheep had been shorn they would start competing amongst themselves and throwing the hammer and putting the stone, but that’s all a thing of the past. Goodness me, have you got it on? Dr Betsy Ross: Yes Transcript 2, Schiehallion Song:Sound me the name on the pipes wildly screaming,Splendour of tartan, and clashing of steal, Grey skies above and the pipes wildly screaming,Schiehallion forever to hearts that are leal.Raging from Rannoch, the blast fiercely stinging,I see the air from Glen Lyon in the snow,Yet in my ear old Schiehallion is singing,Songs of a summer I spent long ago. Oh how the name of Schiehallion can brighten,Longings and hopes that are dimmed with the years,Dark be the day but its burden will lighten,When that old hill comes again through my tears.Speak the dear name when my vision is dimming,For all life's turmoil dies down in my ears.When all my soul the dark waters are stealing,And heavens high hills to me shall appear!Then I remember Schiehallion in her glory,Purple and rosy a’ dying of the day.Write in a word and I still heart the story:Schiehallion, Schiehallion, Schiehallion always.References:Aaron Arrowsmith, Map of Scotland, London, 1807, https://maps.nls.uk/joins/747.html John Gregorson Campbell, Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, Glasgow, 1902John Sinclair, Schiehallion: A Posy of Rannoch Poesy, Stirling, 1905.Mrs Helen Strathearn missing: Dundee Courier, 29 October 1902. Rev Dr. Marshall, Historic Scenes in Perthshire, Dundee Courier, 11 April 1879.Schiehallion, Dundee Courier, 22 December 1926.The Aberfeldy Mystery, Dundee Courier, 12 December 1902. Unknown person (contributor), Betsy Ross (Fieldworker), SA1978.153-154, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh (https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/88935 and https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/89039)WAF Browne, Second-Sight, or Deuteroscopia, Journal of psychological medicine and mental pathology, 1876.

Schiehallion: A Perthshire Mountain that Weighed the World

Annie and Jenny hike up Schiehallion, one of Scotland’s most famous peaks. This astounding mountain is home to world changing history. This episode includes an oral history with a squeaky rocking chair. Located in the heart of Scotland, Schiehallion was the site of an intricate experiment that weighed the world. It’s unique conical shape drew astronomers, physicists, mathematicians and geologists together in the 18th century to calculate the earth’s mass for the first time, causing an earthquake in the warring schools of geology. Mountaineering in the Scottish Highlands can be dangerous, especially in the winter, but an excerpt from the Scottish Mountaineering Journal opens up the Scottish Wilderness and all it’s beauty during this time. Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandReferences:CA Sage, Schiehallion Poem, Dundee Evening Telegraph, 1910.James G Scott (Contributor), Calum Iain Maclean (Fieldworker), SA1958.99, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh. (https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/37020)John Sinclair, Schiehallion: A Posy of Rannoch Poesy, Stirling, 1905.Joseph Gibson Scott, Schiehallion, Scottish Mountaineering Journal, the Scottish Mountaineering Club, Edinburgh, 1895.Herbert Trench (published by name FHT), Schiehallion poem, Westminster Gazette, 1897.

Clan MacMhuirich: A bardic family

Jenny and Annie learn about the MacMhuirich bardic family and the significance of bards in the Gaelic dominium. This tremendously fun episode takes us back to Medieval Ireland, to look at the time when the seeds of the MacMhuirich dynasty were sown in Scotland. We recite some English translates of MacMhuirich poetry and look at the stories behind their compositions.Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland. References: Robert Crawford, Clan Donald’s Call to Battle At Harlaw (2008), read the full version at: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/clan-donalds-call-battle-harlaw/Elanor Hull, A textbook of Irish Literature (1906).Martin Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (1703).Derek Thompson, The MacMhuirich bardic family, The Poetry of Niall MacMhuirich, and Niall Mòr MacMhuirich all published in the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness (1960-1976).

Battle Cries of the Clan Lands: Sluagh-Ghairm

Jenny and Annie continue looking at Highland clan culture, exploring the sluagh-ghairm.Sluagh-ghairm is Gaelic and translates to ‘battle cry’ but it has multi-layered meanings. Sluagh-ghairm is also where we get the English word ‘slogan’ used in advertising. A Highland clan would choose a sluagh-ghairm to showcase their bravery, values, or very often as the gathering place for the fighting men. Join Jenny and Annie as they explore the battle cry of the Clan Macnaghten/MacNaughton and the legends of Fraoch Eilean. Listen to an authentic Gaelic ballad of Fraoch and the rowan berries here: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/88050The Records of Argyll, Legends Traditions of Argyllshire Highlanders is available to read here: https://archive.org/stream/recordsofargylll00campuoftStories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland. We are forever grateful to our Patreon supporters who make this show possible: www.patreon.com/storiesofscotland

Clan Lands: Dùthchas & Diarmuid

Annie and Jenny start to explore the relationship between Highland clans and land. We begin by discussing the Gaelic concept of Dùthchas, learning more about how clans divided up their territories. We then move to the legend of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and Gràinne. We glance at the connection between Ireland and Scotland, and how legends shape our clan identities. Look out for these Gaelic phrases-Dualchas: heritage or tradition. Dùthchas: place of birth, hereditary rights to land, birth-tie. Fàilte is furan: a warm welcome!Geas: a curse, spell or enchantment. Slàinte mhath: good health, cheers! A toast to your health.Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Will o' the Wisp: A Mischievous Fire

Annie and Jenny explore spunkie-haunted bogs, the natural phenomenon that has long been regarded in Scottish folklore as a forewarning symbol of danger. In the Highlands, we call them Spunkies, but you may know them as the Will o the Wisps!These are thought to be caused by the spontaneous ignition of gas that has been produced by rotting marsh vegetation however folklore associated will o the wisp connected them with the spirits of the dead and even imps or fairies. They are known to be deadly, luring travelers to their doom. We read from extracts in the Inverness Courier, Aberdeen Press & Journal, and Ada Goodrich Freer’s Folklore on the Hebrides. You can listen to oral histories on Spunkies here:www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/43382 and http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/75955You can read an original Victorian broadside ballad based on the Will o the Wisp here: https://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/view/?id=16041 Stories of Scotland is a multi-award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. Made by an archivist and environmental scientist.