Fuath


A fuath is a class of malevolent spirits in Scottish Highland folklore and Irish Folklore especially water spirits.
In Sutherland was the so-called Moulin na Vaugha/Fouadh, ‘Mill of the Fuath', haunted by the fuath and her son, the amorphous brollachan. The mill was along a stream off Loch Migdale, and belonged to the Dempster family estate.
A fuath once seen at this mill was a nose-less banshee with yellow hair wearing a green silk dress; in the story of its capture it was tormented into submission by use of steel, but it turned to a jellyfish-like mass when light was shone on it. A fuath on the estate farm, encountered on a different occasion, had webbed feet.
They sometimes reputedly intermarry with human beings, whose offspring develop a mane and tail.

Nomenclature

The term "fuath" has been explained to be a generic class of spirits inhabiting the sea, rivers, fresh water, or sea lochs, with several "subspecies" falling under it.
The Scottish Gaelic term fuath has been explained to mean 'hatred' or 'aversion', derived from Old Irish fúath 'hate, likeness'. The term is also glossed to mean 'ghost' or 'spectre'.
An alternative name for this class of monsters is the arrachd or fuath-arrachd.

Generalization

Aquatic nature

J. F. Campbell characterized the fuath of Sutherland as a water spirit, but it has been stressed by John Gregorson Campbell that the term designates a spectre or goblin more generally, not necessarily of aqueous nature or habitat.

Conflated description

J. F. Campbell also conflated the traits of the fuath from different accounts in a generalized description of the fuath of Sutherland and this has also fallen under criticism by Gregorson.
Furthermore, J. F. Campbell ascribed the mane and tail to the fuath, though these traits had evidently developed in the human progeny of the Munroe family, to which there was attached a floating rumour that their ancestor had interbred with a fuath several generations back.
While it has been generalized that the fuath of the locality wears green, "golden and silken gear" was worn by the weird woman seen plunging into the River Shin was seen by a keeper of the Charlotte Dempster's family.

Tales

A fuath appears in the tale "The [King of Ireland's Son]". In it, the creature emerges from a body of water and attempts to steal the anvil of Goban Saor, a mythical craftsman. The King of Ireland's Son wrestles with the creature over the course of three nights in order to gain the favor of Goban Saor.
The story of "The Brollachan" from Sutherland were collected by Charlotte Dempster in 1859, and supplied to J. F. Campbell who printed it. The stories are set in locales within the Dempster family estate The writer Charlotte was a relative of the Dempsters of the estate.
  • J. F. Campbell ed. "The Brollachan" ; Charlotte Dempster ed. "The Brolachan MacVaugh"
  • J. F. Campbell ed. "Moulion na Fuadh"; Dempster ed. "The Vaugh of Moulinna Vuagha"
  • J. F. Campbell ed., untitled variant; Dempster ed. "The Banshee, or Vaugh, or Weird Woman of the Water"
  • J. F. Campbell ed., untitled variant; Dempster ed. "The Web-footed Kelpie"

Fuath tribe members

Below are the supposed "subspecies" of the fuath class, according to certain commentators.

Similar beings

Similarity or equivalence to the bean nighe or Northern Ireland's uisges have been noted.