Nuckelavee

The nuckelavee's breath was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock, and the creature was held responsible for droughts and epidemics on land despite being predominantly a sea-dweller.

[2] The term nuckelavee derives from Orcadian knoggelvi,[3] and according to Orkney resident and 19th-century folklorist Walter Traill Dennison means "Devil of the Sea".

[6] Stories of mythical Orcadian demons are recorded in the 16th-century Latin manuscripts of Jo Ben,[a] who may have been referring to the nuckelavee in his description of the Orkney island of Stronsay.

[10] Dennison transcribed much of the information available about traditional tales told on Orkney, but to an extent romanticised and systematically altered certain elements of the stories in the process of transforming them into prose.

A particularly gruesome detail is that the nuckelavee has no skin;[19] black blood courses through yellow veins, and the pale sinews and powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass.

The pungent smoke emitted during the process was believed to enrage the nuckelavee,[5] resulting in a wild rampage of plague, the deaths of cattle and the destruction of crops.

[25] In common with other mythical sea-monsters, with the possible exception of kelpies and the nuggle of Shetland, it is unable to wade through fresh flowing water,[19] therefore it can be escaped by crossing a stream.

[18] Malevolent creatures possibly served to provide explanations for incidents that islanders were otherwise unable to account for; many ancient myths were based upon the natural elements of the turbulent and ever changing sea around Orkney.