Books: Not of this World

’Not of This World is an enjoyable and invaluable little reference book of ghoulies and ghaisties and lang-leggit baisties and things that go bump in the night. Children - and imaginative adults - will love it.’--Daily Mail

Bauchans, Blue Men of the Minch, Black Dogs, Changelings, Gruagachs, Mermaids, Urisks, Vampires, Warlocks... these are only some of the strange creatures that haunt the folk tales and old beliefs of Scotland. Every locality—almost every hill, stream or loch—was once thought to be inhabited by supernatural beings that lived side by side with mankind and the visible world. In every part of Scotland, legends were told and songs were sung about things that only came out after dark, or which lured travellers to a dreadful fate by disguising themselves as harmless birds or dogs. The listeners would follow the stories with bated breath, and huddle closer together, closer to the safety of the fireside.

Maurice Fleming has long been interested in the supernatural in Scotland. For many years now he has been collecting records of these weird creatures of ancient lore which lie scattered in forgotten books and histories or live on precariously in orally transmitted tales and traditional songs. Some of the beings he describes in this book, like Brownies and Changelings, used to be found throughout Scotland; others, like the Loch Awe Beast or the Biase na Srogaig (Skye Creature) were linked with a specific place.

The stories that he has collected here and retold for a modern readership are authoritative versions, supported by his wide knowledge of the subject and a careful scholarly approach. However, as readers of his earlier books of traditional tales will know, Maurice Fleming is above all a born storyteller. His evocation of the mysterious otherworld of woods and moors grips the reader’s attention like a spell and makes the hair prickle on the scalp. He has written a magical and unforgettable guide to a world that has vanished forever—or has it... ?

Maurice Fleming was the editor of The Scots Magazine for many years. In recent times, he has concentrated on freelance journalism and writing books. His earlier collections, The Ghost o’ Mause and Other Tales and The Sidlaws: Tales, Traditions and Ballads, both from Mercat Press, have been popular and widely acclaimed. He lives in Blairgowrie.