Five mythical creatures you've never heard of - Part I of potentially many!

By Fire Pud the Dragon, Mythical Creature Expert and Castle Historian

Everyone knows of a dragon, take me as a prime example. Everyone knows of a unicorn. Everyone knows of a GIANT.

But the history of mythology, from Norse sagas to Scottish folklore to the ancient legends of the British Isles, is stuffed with creatures that didn't make it into the mainstream. Stranger, funnier and considerably more alarming than anything in a standard fairy tale collection. Some so fearsome you couldn’t possibly be include in a children’s picture book or expect a knight to deal with. I will mention them though.

THE GOOD KNIGHT series has already introduced one of them, the Trow, who appears in Book II when Princess Charlotte helps to rescue herself from the foul smelling creature. But the mythological back catalogue in Jacl's world runs considerably deeper than that.

Here are five creatures that deserve significantly more attention than they currently receive.

One: The Trow Origin: Orkney and Shetland Islands ·

First appearance in THE GOOD KNIGHT Book II. Trows are creatures from Orkney and Shetland folklore, descended from the Norse tradition of trolls but distinctly their own thing. Short, ugly and bad-tempered, which sounds standard, but the specific details are what make them fascinating.

Trows are nocturnal, mainly due to their aversion to sunlight. You see it turns them to stone - this is very useful if you ever run into one of these creatures.

Their music is considered dangerously enchanting, musicians who heard it were said to be unable to stop playing for days, weeks, sometimes years. And they steal people, replacing them with sickly substitutes while the real person lives underground playing trow music indefinitely.

Two: The Nuckelavee Origin: Orkney Islands

If the trow is unsettling, the nuckelavee is something else entirely. It is a creature so specifically horrible that islanders refused to speak its name without first asking for divine protection. It emerges from the sea with no skin, black blood running through yellow veins, a single burning red eye, a horse's body with a skinless human torso where the neck should be. Its breath causes crops to wither and plagues to spread.

The only thing that stops it is fresh water, this is why you should always carry your own bottle with you. It is for emergency nuckelavee deployment.

There is nothing remotely funny about the nuckelavee. They will not be appearing in the series, some creatures are simply not suitable for bedtime - it does however remain the reason why Orkney islanders head home before dark!

Three: The Boggart Origin: Northern England, Yorkshire and Lancashire

A household spirit or hobgoblin, invisible, mischievous, and committed to making your life mildly but persistently worse. It curdles milk, tangles hair, moves objects so they're never where you left them, and makes the floorboard creak the moment you've got the baby to sleep.

Boggarts were attached to specific locations rather than people. Moving house didn't help, the boggart came with the property, appearing on the removal cart and cheerfully announcing its presence at the new address. The only reliable strategy was keeping it amused - leaving small tasks out through the night. A pile of grain to count. A length of string to untangle.

This is, essentially, the same strategy used by parents of toddlers everywhere. And the strategy is not always successful. THE GOOD KNIGHT castle undoubtedly has at least one boggart. It would explain the knights' missing armour, why Bard always crashes into things, and why things go wrong at exactly the wrong moment.

Sir Cecil almost certainly blames it for most of his problems. The boggart is probably responsible for some of them.

Four: The Shellycoat Origin: Scottish Lowlands and border country

A water spirit found in rivers and coastal areas of the Scottish Lowlands, distinguished by the shells and river debris hanging from its body that rattle loudly as it moves. What it does with the advance warning it provides is mislead people, mimicking drowning sounds to lure bystanders to the water's edge, then revealing itself and laughing. Leading travellers the wrong way, then watching them realise their mistake.

The shellycoat is a practical joker who lives in a river and rattles. It wanted an audience, not a victim, if you laughed at its joke, it left you alone. If you didn't, it followed you home. It is a bit of a stalker.

Five: The Cù Sìth Origin: Scottish Highlands and Hebrides · Pronounced: Coo Shee

The size of a young bull. Dark green. Moving in complete silence except for barking that comes in threes, warning, approach, too late. Sent by the fairy folk to collect the souls of the recently deceased. Despite this role, described as calm and gentle. It doesn't chase. It simply arrives, barks three times, and waits.

Slightly worryingly the neighbours have a large dog called Louis that always barks three times just as the baby has gone to sleep...

Coming up in Part II

Five more creatures from the wilder shores of British mythology, including the Jenny Greenteeth (do not go near ponds), the Oakmen (do not enter their forest) and the Barguest (do not look directly at it on a dark night). I will also be exploring some of the Scandinavian creatures too in future blog posts.

Which mythical creature would you most like to see in a future GOOD KNIGHT adventure? Tell us in the comments or join the Shield Wall. We will be introducing a brand new mythical creature (the Moochachick) in one of the new books!