25. The Wind: Witches and Wonder

25. The Wind: Witches and Wonder

Author: The Scottish Folklore Podcast May 18, 2025 Duration: 22:45

There’s no escaping the wind in Scotland, especially if you live on an island or high up in the mountains. In this episode Jenny tells three tales all about the wind that take place in these places. The first two, The Boy Who Climbed The Snap and How a witch saved the Papa Stour come from Shetland and have both wind and witches, while the third, The Wind and the Dying Woman, comes from Angus and tells a very different tale about the West Wind. 


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Step into the misty glens and ancient castles of Scotland with The Scottish Folklore Podcast. Your guide, Jenny Johnstone, has a knack for finding the heartbeat in old stories, sharing traditional tales gathered from every corner of the country. This isn't just a recitation of myths; it's an invitation to sit by a metaphorical fireside and listen as these narratives are woven anew. You'll hear of cunning fairies from the Orkney shores, restless spirits in Edinburgh's closes, and selkies shedding their skins on Hebridean beaches. Each story is a piece of local lore, a fragment of history and culture preserved through telling. The podcast delves into the societal values and fears embedded in these fictions, exploring why certain tales endure. Listening feels like uncovering a hidden layer of the landscape, where every loch and mountain has a story waiting to be told. It’s for anyone curious about the roots of storytelling, the peculiar creatures that haunt a nation's imagination, or simply for those who love a good yarn told with warmth and authenticity. Through Jenny’s engaging retellings, age-old adventures find a fresh voice, ensuring the strange and wonderful creatures of Scottish folklore are never forgotten.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Scottish Folklore Podcast
Podcast Episodes
20. The Goat that Told Lies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:52
Storytelling was at the heart of Traveller life, and this traditional Traveller tale was a favourite of Duncan Williamson, a masterful storyteller whose voice has kept countless old stories alive. And no doubt, once you…
19. Changelings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:39
Changelings are some of Scotland’s most unsettling folklore, for what could be more disturbing than an innocent bairn being stolen by a malicious fairy and a changeling, a wrinkled and wailing fairy baby, left in its pla…
18. Legends of the Cairngorms [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:04
In this episode, Jenny explores the origin stories of three families that come from Braemar in the Cairngorms: the Wolf McDonalds, the McHardys, and the FarquharsonsThese tales, which are of both the Cairngorms and the w…
17. The Devil at Bennachie Burn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:48
This terrific Traveller tale follows a young lass named Peggy as a mysterious stranger tries to woo her by the banks of Bennachie Burn, and while Peggy is already betrothed to a long-legged cattle herd named Sammy Smith,…
16. The Devil's in the Landscape [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:58
The Devil can be found in every nook and cranny of Scotland and in this episode Jenny crawls into these nooks and squeezes through the crannies in search of the stories that ‘Ol Sandy has left behind. From The Devil’s Pu…
15. Rashiecoat: Scotland's Cinderella [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:32
In this episode Jenny tells the classic Scottish folk tale of Rashiecoat. This is Scotland’s version of Cinderella, and while there are similarities, it is no Disney fairytale! Follow The Scottish Folklore Podcast on Ins…
14. Through the Mist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:49
In Scottish folklore mist swirls in the liminal space between this world and the parallel Otherworld, where fairies, spirits, and monsters exist just beyond our boundaries of perception. But when the mist descends, for b…
13. Thieves: Tales of Cunning and Curses [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:52
Thieves play many roles in Scottish folklore, and while for the most part they are the worst of the worst, this isn’t always the case!In this episode Jenny tells the tales of two thieves, firstly, ‘The Troublesome Son’,…
12. Fin Folk: Tall, Dark, and Dangerous [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:39
The Fin Folk are a strange race of sea-people that live off the coasts of Orkney and Shetland. They are tall, dark, mysterious… and covered in big flappy fins. In this episode Jenny explores how the Fin Folk live, the va…