Bog stories?

[Between the Mists]

Hello!

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out. I'm working on an essay about the peat bogs in Ireland--it's sort of a naturalism meets philosophy meets travelogue piece--and some of the feedback I've gotten on it is that it could do with more storytelling to balance out the philosophy. I've been looking for some good folktales featuring bogs in some way but so far not coming up with too much. So I'm asking if anyone here knows any good folk stories from Ireland that might work in a piece like this. I prefer to have print sources to web sources if I'm going to be citing something (but I'll take what I can get). Any book recommendations? Also, any general folklore about bogs is more than welcome.

Thanks to anyone who's able to help!

[DaRC]

Have you looked at the will 'o the wisp folklore? The Wikipedia entry has some links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will-o%27-the-wisp

The folklore I have from the Fenland of eastern England has it that the best defense was to lie face down on the path until they went away, rather than following them to drown in the bog.

[Corwen]

Kelpies are also said to haunt bogs.

[Davin Raincloud]

Hello!

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out. I'm working on an essay about the peat bogs in Ireland--it's sort of a naturalism meets philosophy meets travelogue piece--and some of the feedback I've gotten on it is that it could do with more storytelling to balance out the philosophy. I've been looking for some good folktales featuring bogs in some way but so far not coming up with too much. So I'm asking if anyone here knows any good folk stories from Ireland that might work in a piece like this. I prefer to have print sources to web sources if I'm going to be citing something (but I'll take what I can get). Any book recommendations? Also, any general folklore about bogs is more than welcome.

Thanks to anyone who's able to help!

LOL, I have to giggle about this.

It sounds like an interesting essay!

Are they those bogs that Celts would throw valuables into to appease the Gods and such?

[Between the Mists]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone. I've got the Henry Glassie book with Willy the Wisp in it that the wikipedia article mentions. I'll have to give that a read and see if it might do the trick. I don't know much about will-o'-the-wisp lore so no wonder it didn't occur to me. The Kelpie connection could be interesting--I'll see if I can find anything specific. Thanks to you both!

LOL, I have to giggle about this.

It sounds like an interesting essay!

Are they those bogs that Celts would throw valuables into to appease the Gods and such?

The very same bogs. I give a mention to that practice. Glad you think it sounds interesting. I sure hope it will be. I sort of use peat as a metaphor for delving into memory and the unconscious, the layering of Earth's (and Celtic) history in the bogs much like the layers of the psyche. A good fairy story will really catapult the essay into new territory! I'll certainly share it at some point in the future.

[Dathi]

Been wanting to add stuff here for a while, but my time is desperately short nowdays.

Sam Hanna Bell "Every hill has it's hero, and every bog has it's bones".

This is a great overview of mythic / lit aspects of Bogs.

Landscape or Mindscape? Seamus Heaney's Bogs. Dianne Meredith
http://www.ucd.ie/gsi/pdf/32-2/bogs.pdf

Kid's stories: Turf-cutter's Donkey:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Lynch

Plenty of bogs have their own ghosts of one sort or another:
This is typical:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ghosts-Or-Ali ... id=3491256

Around here, turf-cutters always leave a "step" at the end of each row of cut bog. The tradition seemingly stems from an instance when a turf-cutter once got stuck and could not climb out of the bog.

Near me are some "bottomless peat ravines" and my kids are strictly forbidden for going near there alone. Handy for "disappearing" things (arms decommissioning, anyone?).

And just about anything else you want to find out about Irish bogs is here:
http://www.ipcc.ie/resourceindex.html

I feel an urge to go "bog trotting" this weekend. Get you some pikkies if you wish.

Dathi

[Dathi]

Also quickly, check out "Ballybogs". Bog Fairies.
http://www.startpage.ie/ireland/article/623.aspx

http://www.fairyland-fantasy.com/fairyl ... llybog.php

http://www.avivadirectory.com/trivia/23 ... -ballybogs

And you are bound to find some "first-hand" eye-witness accounts here (fun read anyway):
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthre ... 2054896242

Dathi

[Between the Mists]

Great stuff Dathi! Thanks so much. The Seamus Heaney bog article I have and has been an excellent resource. I think the ballybogs, which were kicking around somewhere in my unconscious and waiting for you to remind me of them, are exactly what I was looking for. That angle and certainly some of the conservation info will be a great help.

Cheers!

[Dathi]

Another quick one, was chatting to an Auld Fella yesterday about this. Ever heard of the "Moss Cheep"? This is a "wee wan" that lives in the moss on the bogs. If you hear the "cheep" of this creatur, you are a gonner unless you do certain things. Just what you need to do to save your skin, I'm not sure. I'll head out into the wilds on Sat to see what other bog folklore I can find.

Dathi

[Dathi]

Some pikkies may help to visualise things. Unfortunately my camera batteries died on me as we got deeper into the bog.
A couple of things. The Irish bogs have been massively exploited over the years and continue to be chopped away. This happens on different levels; on an industrial scale by a semi-state body Bord na Mona (for fuelling power stations and commercial sale), on a machined local basis (local use and sale) and on a personal basis (often through heriditary rights).
Nonetheless there are still extensive and wild bogland areas, the ones we went to were in the Highlands and are suitably remote and bleak. It was a fairly sunny day but I have often been out here on cold windswept days and it is easy to see how they can develop a mythos. Few trees grow on the bogs and so they often appear desolate.

The first thing to note is how thick this layer is. Ireland went from being nearly entirely densely forested (1000's yrs ago) to virtually forestless (100 years ago). Forests now cover about 10& of landmass which is way under the EU average of +- 35%.
Imagine how long it took for this vegetative matter to decompose into this bank (about 4 ft high)? I've seen archaeological profiles which show artifacts being found below the bog, in the bog and above the bog.

bog1.jpg

Peat layer

(200.27 KiB) Downloaded 690 times

bog2.jpg

Machine-cut Peat

(162.36 KiB) Downloaded 690 times

bog3.jpg

Bank overview

(130.47 KiB) Downloaded 690 times

To follow....

[Dathi]

Many "bog" stories involve disappearances without a trace. Not hard to answer! As these pikkies show.
Beneath a deceptive hard crust is a gloopy, gungy, clingy goo. One foot in the wrong place and you just go down!

bog4.jpg

Gloop

(243.08 KiB) Downloaded 690 times

Took 20 mins to disengage small boy and runner from this goo which sucks and sticks like anything.

bog5.jpg

Stuck!

(229.14 KiB) Downloaded 690 times

CFN,

Dathi

[Dathi]

Quickly, a few more angles.
What about "bog butter"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_butter

Also, chatting to someone yesterday. Bog Bean is a white rooted plant growing in the bogs. It has all sorts of medicinal uses. Tastes horrible apparently.

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/bogbea63.html

CFN,
Dathi

[Between the Mists]

Fantastic, Dathi! Thanks so much for all of this; you're a legend. The pictures are great for the inspiration. Getting to work on the next major revision now...let's see what I can work in.

Cheers!