The water horse is a fictional creature characteristic of the mythologies of Northern Europe. Researchers of anomalous phenomena are sure that under various descriptions of "water horses" in different tales and legends, real so-called lake monsters are hidden. These are cryptids (animals whose existence has not been proven by science), which are considered to be dinosaurs that have survived to this day.
Kelpie
Most often, when the "water horse" is mentioned, it is the Scottish kelpie that is mentioned. He is also known in Cornwall, where they call Shawnee. According to legends and tales, this is the spirit of the fairies living in the water.
Sometimes it can take the form of a man or even a seal, but most often it appears as a white horse, whose mane resembles the scallops of waves. You can determine the presence of kelpies in a nearby reservoir by their loud howl before the storm.
In human form, the kelpie emerges from the water as a hairy, half-human with algae hair. He hides in the bushes, waiting for a passing horseman, and jumps out onto the road in front of an expectant person. The Kelpie grabs the victim with his hairy hands and pulls him off the horse until the person loses control of it.
The frightened kelpie horse chases along the shore until he gets tired of this game, then jumps into the water again. Another appearance in which the kelpie appears on the banks of rivers is a magnificent young horse in a bridle. Anyone who has the unfortunate thought of saddling a kelpie is immediately carried away to the depths, risking drowning him before the unfortunate rider is allowed to disembark.
A person who knows the habits of a kelpie can take an ordinary bridle with him on the way. If he sees a kelpie in the form of a horse, he can climb on it, then quickly replace the bridle that is on the animal with his own.
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If all goes well, then the kelpie can be forced to serve a person, however, according to legend, a captive kelpie cannot be forced to work too much or held for too long, otherwise he will curse the person who caught him and all his descendants.
Some believe that the kelpie eats people, but this is not a habit of his, but of another Scottish water horse. The predatory water horses were called ech ushkya and they lived in lakes. They appeared on the banks in the form of little ponies, and as soon as a person climbed onto the ech ears, he found that he could not get down to the ground.
Then the water horse rushed into the deepest part of the lake, taking the victim under the water. Sometimes, some time after that, any part of the victim's body appeared on the surface of the water.
Ech ushkya (each-uisge)
This Highland water horse is the most ferocious and dangerous of all water horses, but the cabill did not get far from him. Ech ears inhabit the sea and lakes of Scotland, while the kinder Kelpie, also in the highlands of Scotland, lives in running water.
Ech ears usually appear in the form of a well-groomed horse offering to ride on it; however, there are cases when he takes the form of a huge bird or a handsome youth.
When this creature takes the form of a horse, and a person sits on it, then he “sticks” - he becomes completely helpless and cannot dismount. Then the ech ushkya with a rider on its back rushes straight into the lake, where it devours a person, leaving only the liver.
Glastin or Glashtin, which lives on the Isle of Man, looks like an ech ushkia. This creature can take the form of a human - a handsome dark-haired man with curly hair and glowing eyes. It is given out only by ears resembling a horse.
Cabbyl-ushtey
Kabill ushti is another water horse known in the Isle of Man. This pale gray creature was as dangerous and as fond of human flesh as the Highland Ech Ushkya.
There are few legends recorded about the Kabill Ushti. One of them tells the story of a creature who visited Keru Clough on the Dark River for some time, and then disappeared.
Aghiski
Aghiska or Aghiska, according to Celtic legends, were once so common that they often came out of the sea to ride across the sands and fields. This happened mainly in November. If someone managed to lure one of these water horses out of the sands and the sea, throw a bridle over it and saddle it, the aghiska made a wonderful horse.
However, it was impossible for him to even catch a glimpse of the salt water, otherwise he swiftly plunged deep into the sea, taking the rider with him, and there swallowed him. It was also said that the wild Aghiskis devoured livestock during their forays ashore.
Irish bunch
The Irish puka belonged to the kingdom of the fairies and looked like a man capable of taking the form of a horse, which allows him to be attributed to one of the centaur species.
Many geographic objects in Ireland still bear names associated with the puk: Paxton, Pak Fair, Pukas Ford. The waterfalls on the Liffey River near Beddimore Eustace are called Pul-a-Puka (which means Yama Pookie); County Cork has the ruins of Karrig-a-Pooka (Pookie's Cliff), and not far from Dublin there is a castle called Pax Castle.
The Irish can still occasionally come across a bunch in remote, secluded places, especially in the swamps. They believe that meeting this creature is a bad omen. Many of those who met him were foolish enough to saddle him and experience horror during a frantic race before the fart allowed him or her to descend to the ground.
Noggle
The people of the Shetland Islands know a creature called noggle (nuggle or nigel). When it appeared, always near the water, outwardly it looked like a gray horse in a bridle and with a saddle, its tail bent upward over its back.
He usually posed no danger to people, but he had two bad habits. If the mill was running at night, he would stop the water wheel.
If someone sat astride a noggle, he, too, rushed into the water with the rider. When he came out of the water, he disappeared into a blue flame. Sometimes people called him shupilty, a name he shared with the Sea People.
Nocke
Danish legends tell of nock or neck, a water spirit that can live in both fresh and salt water. Nokke are only male, with a human head, chest and arms, and a horse body that is usually hidden under water. This creature has the face of an attractive young man, framed with golden curls, and a red cap is worn on its head.
On warm summer nights, he likes to sit by the surface of the water and play the golden harp. Sometimes the nokke takes the form of a bearded old man and sits on the rocky seashore, wringing out his beard. There are legends about how Nokke fell in love with ordinary women; this creature is always polite and attentive, but still dangerous, since he takes the object of adoration with him under the water, and no one ever sees her again.
Like other Sea creatures, nokke can be scared away by metal, especially steel or iron. Fishermen and those who have to travel on water protect themselves from nookke by placing a knife or a nail on the bottom of the boat.
