Selkies
 A Faroese stamp
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| Grouping | Mythological |
|---|---|
| Similar creatures | |
| Habitat | Water |
Selkies (also spelled silkies, sylkies, selchies, Scots: selkie fowk) are mythological creatures found in Irish, Scottish, and Faroese folklore. Similar creatures are described in the Icelandic traditions. Selkies are said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land. The legend is apparently most common in the Northern Isles of Scotland and is very similar to those of swan maidens.
The word derives from earlier Scots selich, (from Old English seolh meaning "seal"). It occurs in various other spellings in Scots such as: selch(ie), sele, selch(e), selcht, se(a)lghe, selquh, saylche, sel(e)ich, selyh, selck, seall, seleché, seilché and selké.
In Gaelic stories, specific terms for selkies are rarely used i.e. they are rarely differentiated from mermaids and most commonly referred to as maighdeann-mhara in Scottish Gaelic and maighdean mhara in Irish ("maiden of the sea" i.e. mermaids) but which clearly have the seal-like attributes of selkies. The only term which specifically refers to a selkie but which is only rarely encountered is maighdeann-ròin "seal maiden".
Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands. If a woman wishes to make contact with a selkie male, she must shed seven tears into the sea. If a man steals a female selkie's skin she is in his power and is forced to become his wife. Female selkies are said to make excellent wives, but because their true home is the sea, they will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. If she finds her skin she will immediately return to her true home, and sometimes to her selkie husband, in the sea. Sometimes, a selkie maiden is taken as a wife by a human man and she has several children by him. In these stories, it is one of her children who discovers her sealskin (often unwitting of its significance) and she soon returns to the sea. The selkie woman usually avoids seeing her human husband again but is sometimes shown visiting her children and playing with them in the waves.
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