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| (Image Information: Kaushai Moradiya) |
As a writer, I have thousands of story ideas coursing through my head on a daily basis. And I always find it a bit hard to choose one, so this will be a challenge for me, but I deciding to focus on a combination of fairytales with extended elements and creatures from the Celtic creatures.
Fairy Tales
I don't know about you, but I have always loved fairy tales. Whether the stories are about falling in love and happily ever after or learning a lesson, I have a deep-seated love for these unique and lasting tales. Now, there has been a large trend going on in novels, especially in the young adult section, where classic fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella are being retold. And I have to admit, I am totally and completely on board with retellings.
I have found myself interested in other stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Little Mermaid. Another tale I've been intrigued about is Swan Lake.
In this class, I would like to experiment with many of my ideas for novels, and there are so many other Celtic creatures to explore along with these fairy tales.
Celtic Creatures
I have an obsession with all sorts of creatures including the faeries, mermaids, swan-maidens, and red caps.
Faeries are mythical creatures who have a multitude of origins. They have human appearances and possess magical powers. The term is also an encompasses other creatures like goblins and gnomes. Though they are generally described with beautiful human appearances. There are countless tales depicting faeries as either carefree people or trickers.
Mermaids, merrow, and selkies are creatures associated with the sea. They are half-human and half-fish. Some places considered mermaids to be seen as unlucky omens.
In Ireland, there were creatures called merrows. Merrows were believed to wear caps, which allowed them to dive under the sea. If they lose the caps, they lost their power to go beneath the sea. Some Merrows, like in the Soul Cages story, were male and invited fishermen into their homes under the sea in order to cage their souls
In Scottish folklore, selkies are creatures from the sea who change into a human by removing their seal skins. They are large grey seals. The folk tale goes as follows, a man steals a female selkie's seal skin, finds her naked, and compels her to marry him. They may be happy and have many children, but she will forever long for the sea until she finds her skin. Once she has her skin, she will return to the sea and abandon her family.
The legends of selkies are similar to another creature known as swan-maidens. They are shapeshifters who go from human to swans. These women will lose or have their feathers stole by men who force them into marriage. Swan-maidens will assist and be servants to heroes or antagonists. There are many stories where men steal feathered garments and making them a servant. Another story has a prince fall in love with a daughter of a Red Cap who is also a swan.
Red Caps are murderous goblins who wear red caps. They inhabit ruins and abadoned castles. After a murder, they soak their red caps in their victim's blood. They are typically depicted as short old men with fingers resembling talons.
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