Stories of Scotland

Viking Scotland: Norse Mythology in the Highlands and Islands

References:We read an extract from the Shetland Times published on the 31st January 1903.For discussing the saga, we read Last of the Free by James Hunter and Caithness in Sagas by Edward J Cowan. These oral histories informed our stories of the Shetlandic trows:www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/68053www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/72787www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/50885

Skara Brae: A Neolithic Village in Orkney

Jenny has just returned from a holiday to Orkney and shares her experiences of visiting Skara Brae, a beautifully preserved stone age village.
Annie uncovers the early archaeology of the site, and Jenny imagines what the lives of people were like 5000 years ago.
They find a light-hearted ghost neolithic ghost story and wonder about the beliefs and superstitions of our ancient ancestors.
Jenny and Annie highlight the imminent risk to Skara Brae from the climate crisis, and the fears that this incredible stone age settlement could be lost to coastal erosion.
We used the following articles for researching this episode:
Notice of Ruins of Ancient Dwellings at Skara, Bay of Skaill, in the Parish of Sandwich, Orkney, recently excavated by George Petrie;
Final Report on the Operations at Skara Brae with a Report on Selected Animal Bones and a Report on Human Remains by Vere Gordon Childe;
Storm and Stone- Accidental Archaeology at Skara Brae in Orkney by Virginia Zimmerman.
Information about the storms of 1850 came from the John O’ Groat Journal published in that year.
For visiting Skara Brae please check details on the Historic Environment Scotland website.

Scottish Halloween & Vampire Fairy Witches

Read about the Baobhan Sith in The Gaelic Otherworld edited Ronald Black, which uses the text from Superstitions of the Highlands Islands by John Gregorson Campbell. Listen to more about MacPhee and his loyal black dog here:www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/5820www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/25460http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/40050Our quotes for this episode come from the Elgin Centenarian originate in the Elgin Courier from 9 November 1849 and the Halloween Fairies Poem is from Fife Herald 19 May 1870.

The Graveyard Next Door

Annie and Jenny take a gentle stroll through Chapel Yard Cemetery in Inverness and think about the stories that graveyards tell us.
They encounter a succourer, a short snake, and a new perspective on the city they love.
Have a look at Annie’s 1886 Visitors Guide to Inverness here: https://archive.org/details/visitorsguidetoi00unse/page/n1/mode/2up
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Highland podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in North of Scotland. We research our Scottish history, heritage, and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Cabbage Patch Murder of Inverness

The majority of research for this episode came from original archival material.The front page of the newspaper discussing the missing livestock is the Inverness Courier from 28 November 1861.The court records of the assault and murder trial are held at the National Records of Scotland, under the references of AD14/62/144 or alternatively JC26/1862//120.Information about David Cumming and the Fergusson family was found in Scotland’s census records, birth, marriage and death papers.We read extracts about the death and murder trial from the Inverness Courier published on 05 December 1861, 24 April 1862,01 May 1862. We also used the Elgin Courier from 02 May 1862 and the Renfrewshire Independent from August 9, 1862.

Under the Light of the Harvest Moon

For the Lùnastal or Lammas Day traditions, we used ‘Old Scottish Customs: Local and General” by Ellen Emma Guthrie published in 1885.archive.org/details/oldscottishcusto00guthuoftListen to the oral histories which we retold from Donald Sinclair. They are available on Tobar an Dualchais/ Kist o Riches.www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/44301www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/49033

Scottish Ghosts: Hauntings in the Press

Jenny and Annie investigate real Scottish ghost stories as found in local newspapers in this light-hearted spooky episode.
They begin in the town of Port Glasgow, where a family is being tormented by noises, spectral animals and some nasty phantom vegetables. The trusty journalist however suspects a hoax instead of a ghost. Next, they visit one of Scotland’s most haunted buildings: Fyvie Castle. They look at how the discovery of bones hidden within a wall of Fyvie Castle inspired ghost stories of Grey and Green Ladies. The local press covered these mysterious bones with much enthusiasm, so we have the words of people who experienced the discovery of the skeleton in the wall as it happened, and have their own ideas about the Green Lady.
Finally, they explore a wraith in the Gorbals of Glasgow. We consider the sensational press of ghost stories, and what they can tell us about everyday lives and ideas of afterlives.
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Highland podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in North of Scotland. We research our Scottish history, heritage, and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Elgin Cathedral & the Wolf of Badenoch

In the first episode of Season 4, Annie and Jenny take a wander around the magnificent ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Known as the Lantern of the North for, as you’ll discover, many reasons - the cathedral has a rich and dark history, and as much of it as possible is squeezed into this episode! From those dreadful fires that won’t stop being set to sinking ships and wolf attacks, the Cathedral is more than just a tourist site. 
Listen in to hear the many tales of Elgin Cathedral at the start of our extended run-up to Halloween!
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Highland podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in North of Scotland. We research our Scottish history, heritage, and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Bonus: Turra Coo

In this episode, Annie and Jenny travel back to 1913 Aberdeenshire, where the national insurance tax has just been introduced by then prime minister, Davil Lloyd George. Little does he know that this tax will cause uproar in the farthest reaches of Scotland. The small town of Turriff in Aberdeenshire becomes the epicenter of these frustrations and one man, Robert Paterson, and his beautiful cow soon become national news. There’s rioting, vegetable throwing, and a coo on the loose in the streets of Aberdeenshire. Listen in to hear the inspiring tale of the Turra Coo.

Gold Rush in the Far North Highlands

In this glittering episode, Jenny and Annie uncover the incredible 1869 gold rush in Kildonan, Sutherland in the Far North Highlands. Jenny explains the geology of how gold ended up deep in the Scottish Highlands. We have a look at the Victorian media hype that sent a lot of hopeful prospectors up to Helmsdale in search of treasure and find out about the fates of the folks panning for gold.
We find a wonderful poem called the Highland Gold Diggers Song and finish on learning a surreal folktale on how the first bridge over Dornoch was a solid gold fairy bridge.