Inspirations

Kelpies

    In my fantasy worlds—Thieves and Faery Story—kelpies inhabit the Fae lands. I thought I would talk a little about the myths that these books are steeped in. Starting with my favorite mythical murder horse. 

    In short a kelpie is an aquatic malevolent spirit from Scottish mythology. They’re said to haunt rivers and streams, waiting on unsuspecting travelers—a theme that comes up again and again in Fae folklore. Traveler beware. The kelpie often appeared like a pony or a beautiful horse by the stream or river, its quiet, calm nature drawing travelers in. Once they reach out to pet the kelpie, things change. As Meg from Bound: A Faery Story learns, the kelpie’s flesh is sticky and the person who can’t quite resist petting every single animal they see—I’m talking about Chloe Vale—suddenly finds themselves going into the stream where they drown and the kelpie has a nice lunch. In some lore, they eat everything except the heart, which is found floating around, the only evidence of the crime. 

    In Thieves, kelpies are mentioned briefly as Zoey and her mother-in-law, the queen of the Seelie Fae, are going to meet the Bean Sidhe. They play a much bigger role in Bound when Meg tries riding one to get back to her husband. It doesn’t work out the way she hoped it would, though the experience brings them together.

    Water horses are found through the British Isles in their folklore. In various parts of the isles, they’re known as nuggles, shoopiltee, ceffyl dŵr. There’s another water horse in Scotland known as the each-uisge, and he comes up in Stealing Summer.

    So the kelpies are warnings for travelers to beware and to remember that just because something looks kind and beautiful, it isn’t always true. 

Related books:

Bound

Steal the Sun

Stealing Summer