each-uisge

nature_spirit water Irish folklore single tradition · 3

The each-uisge (Scottish Gaelic: [ɛxˈɯʃkʲə], literally "water horse") is a water spirit in Irish and Scottish folklore. It usually takes the form of a horse, and is similar to the kelpie but far more vicious.

↻ synthesized from 3 sources

When

First attested
1800 CE
Attested period
1800 – 2020
Historical notes
Documented in folklore collections from the 19th century onwards.

Relationships

has aspect
water horse

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“The each-uisge also has a particular desire for human women. Campbell states that "any woman upon whom it set its mark was certain at last to become its victim."”

#7853 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“Folklorists who define kelpies as spirits living beside rivers, as distinguished from the Celtic lochside-dwelling water horse (each-uisge), include 19th-century minister of Tiree John Gregorson Campbell and 20th-century writers Lewis Spence and Katharine Briggs. This distinction is not universally applied however”

#7896 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001