Why have one shape when you can have two? For good or ill, these folkloric creatures embody that philosophy. Let's take a look at the...
Púca (or Pooka)
Rusalka
Legend had it that monkshood (wolfsbane) could protect you from a werewolf (or at least prove extremely harmful to them) but other folklore suggested that touching the plant by moonlight could inflict lycanthropy instead. Interestingly, a potential of monkshood poisoning is a sensation of having grown fur or feathers!
Selkie
- Púca (or Pooka)
- Cat-Sith
- Rusalka
- Lycanthrope
- Selkie
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| Cat-sith were said to steal souls...(Antonino Visalli) |
Púca (or Pooka)
The púca of Ireland is a shapeshifter that used its many forms to play pranks. They were said to switch between forms including those of horses, donkeys, eagles, goats and even a horned goblin at will - one tale even talks of a púca taking the form of a piece of buzzing fleece.
This creature didn't shy away from interacting with humans. One tale has him emerging from a hill in Leinster each November in the form of a sleek horse... at which point he would foretell the next year's fortunes for any who consulted him (the locals left this equine oracle gifts in exchange for the service.)
Another story has the púca "collecting" a half-witted piper (literally flinging its victim onto the púca's back) and forcing him to play music. Despite being paid in fairy gold (it turned into plant leaves in the morning) the piper came out of the experience with a great deal of musical talent... which is a much better outcome than if he'd ridden another creature from Irish folklore, the carnivorous each uisce!
The púca may have cousins in the form of the English puck or Welsh pwca.... or perhaps even the Old Norse púki (a small imp or devil.) Either way, the creature has lent its name to places throughout Ireland!
Cat-Sith
The cat-sith of Celtic mythology is a strange and contrary beast. Described as a large cat (around the size of a dog) with a white chest spot on otherwise black fur, this creature walked on all fours when humans were watching, but could scamper about on hind legs when alone.
Folklore suggests the creature was either a fairy creature or a witch that had transformed into a feline (some witches were said to transform into a cat up to nine times - with the final transformation being permanent) and in a folk tale called "The King o' the Cats" the creature could change size when matters suited it.
Cat-sith were said to have a particularly nasty habit - they would hang around the dead (or soon to be dead) hoping to steal their souls in the time after they left the body but hadn't entered the afterlife. To protect the departed, a vigil known as Fèill Fhadalach was kept around the body. Friends and family would make noise, tell riddles and generally attempt to keep any cats away from the body - they would do all this in the cold, as a warm fire was alleged to draw the attention of a cat-sith. All this effort would be for naught if the creature managed to walk over the body, at which point its spirit would belong to the fairies!
Curiously, the Kellas cat of Scotland (a hybrid of domestic and Scottish wildcats) tends to be long-limbed, large and black with a white patch at the throat or chest.
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| Rusalka lived in icy Slavic rivers... (Levi Kyiv) |
Rusalka
The rusalka is a Slavic water spirit - and one usually rooted in tragedy. They were said to spring from the soul of a drowned girl or unbaptized child, emerging from crystal palaces on the river bottom in the spring.
Taking the form of pretty (and usually scantily-clad) girls, the rusalka would dance, sing and play along the banks of rivers... and lure young men to their doom, tickling them to death. That said, rusalka didn't have to limit themselves to a single form. They were said to shapeshift into animals associated with water - such as swans, frogs and fish.
Folklore paints rusalka as dangerous seductresses, but they weren't all bad. They could offer protection from harsh storms (provided they were propitiated correctly) while also invigorating the plants where they danced.
Lycanthrope
Probably the best known shapeshifter in the western world is the lycanthrope... or werewolf.
Stories of these creatures go back to truly ancient times, such as the tale of King Lycaon of Arcadia. This Greek legend has the king attempt to trick Zeus (king of the Greek gods) into eating human flesh. Zeus is not fooled and metes out divine retribution - including turning Lycaon into a wolf.
Moving to Norse legend, we have the berserkr (bear-shirts, said to wear the skins of bears and channel their fury in battle) and rarer ulfheðnar (the wolf version.) A possible depiction of one of these wolf warriors can be seen on the Torslunda plates found in Sweden.
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France and Germany had their own share of werewolf tales. In France, the creature was frequently known as loup-garou. Not only did they have the Beast of Gévaudan and wolves running through Paris, they had the 1958 confession of the Gandillon family (who claimed to use various magical rituals to turn into wolves!) Moving over to Germany we have the case of Peter Stubbe, a farmer who was accused of (and subsequently confessed to) being a werewolf... and in 1685 it was thought that the deceased mayor of Ansbach had returned as a lycanthrope. Slavic regions have similar tales such as the vlkodlak or volkodlak, while Estonia has the libahunt.
Legend had it that monkshood (wolfsbane) could protect you from a werewolf (or at least prove extremely harmful to them) but other folklore suggested that touching the plant by moonlight could inflict lycanthropy instead. Interestingly, a potential of monkshood poisoning is a sensation of having grown fur or feathers!
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| Lycanthropy shows up throughout European mythology... (Federico Di Dio photography) |
Selkie
The selkie of Scottish and Irish folklore is a gentle creature. Unlike some other merfolk, it has no desire to harm humans - and frequently suffers at the hands of land dwellers.
These creatures are sometimes called the seal folk, thanks to their ability to shift between the shape of a human (usually comely) and a seal - this is accomplished by virtue of a magical seal skin, an artifact that frequently proves both bane as well as boon.
Many folktales involving selkies have a fast human male stealing the sealskin from an unsuspecting selkie who's ventured onto land. Unable to return to seal form, the selkie has to make do with living amongst the humans that wronged her - and often ends up marrying the person who stole their skin in the first place.
These tales often end with the children of the land-bound selkie finding the skin and showing it to their mother. Overcome with longing for her ocean home, she races back into the sea and is never seen again... though a curious seal sometimes watches the children from the waves!
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