The Selkie Folk

"As soon as the seal was clear of the water, it reared up and its skin slipped down to the sand. What had been a seal was a white-skinned boy"
George Mackay Brown - Pictures in the Cave

In the Orkney islands, which lie to the north of the Scottish mainland, seals are known as Selkies. The selkie-folk are regarded as gentle creatures, with the ability to transform from seals into beautiful, lithe humans.

The selkie-men were renowned for their many encounters with human females - married and unmarried. A selkie-man in human form was said to be a handsome creature, with almost magical seductive powers over mortal women. According to tradition, they had no qualms about casting off their sealskins, stashing them carefully, and heading inland to seek out "unsatisfied women".

Should such a mortal woman wish to make contact with a selkie-man, there was a specific rite she had to follow. At high tide, she should make her way to the shore, where she had to shed seven tears into the sea. The selkie-man would then come ashore and, after removing his magical sealskin, seek out "unlawful love".

While the males of the selkie race were irresistible to the island women, selkie-women were no less alluring to the eyes of earth-born men. The most common theme in selkie folklore is one in which a cunning young man acquires, either by trickery or theft, a selkie-girl's sealskin. This prevents her from returning to the sea, leaving the seal-maiden with no option but to marry her "captor".

Use the magnifying glass to see the lust in their eyes.

Information copied from ORKNEYJAR the heritage of the Orkney Islands