Samuel DenHartog's Blog: The Road to 1,440 - Posts Tagged "scotland"

Dear wanderers of the wondrous and the arcane,

As the year's wheel turns again, my latest literary venture, "Tales from the Celtic Druids," emerges from the verdant glens and mist-veiled highlands, rich with the fruits of my pilgrimage into the ancient past. In this collection, we journey through the fabled realms where the legacies of druids, heroes, and ethereal beings intertwine with the forces of nature and the echoes of ancestors.

These tales, steeped in the mystique of the Celtic twilight, are the legacies of druids, heroes, and the ethereal Aos Sí. Together, we will tread the secret pathways that weave through the Otherworld and back again to where the mysteries of nature and the whispers of the ancestors dance with the present.

Each tale is a tapestry woven with the golden threads of myth and the silver strands of legend, a lattice that spans the breadth of human emotion and the depths of the earth’s own memory. From the fiery forge of Govannon to the sacred wells of Brigid, we will encounter deities and demigods whose stories are as enduring as the standing stones silhouetted against the Celtic dawn.

Pull on your cloaks and ready your spirit for an expedition into the heart of the isles, where the old ways still murmur in the rustling oak leaves and the rivers sing the language of the land. Join me on this captivating odyssey where every stone circle and ancient grove is a portal to tales eager to be awakened.

Until our paths cross in verdant glens,
Samuel DenHartog

I’m excited to share that my newest book, "Fables from Scotland," is finally here! This collection of stories dives deep into the rich and mysterious folklore of Scotland, bringing together tales of ancient prophecies, enchanted creatures, and the timeless struggle between fate and free will. You’ll journey through the mist-covered moors, enchanted forests, and mysterious lochs, encountering unforgettable characters who embody the spirit of Scotland.

Within these pages, you'll find the tale of Thomas the Rhymer, a poet ensnared in the realm of the Fairy Queen, gifted with a truth that brings both fortune and hardship, revealing how even the boldest are at the mercy of otherworldly forces. You'll also encounter the haunting story of the Banshee and Fergus More, where a warrior returning from war meets a prophecy of death sung by a spirit in a dark pool, a chilling reflection on fate and destiny. Another fable follows a young hunter who dares to ride the fearsome Water-Horse, a creature emerging from moonless lochs, only to discover the perilous price of entering a realm that defies human understanding.

Among the many tales, you’ll find the gripping adventure of a young girl who outsmarts the Kelpie of Loch Ness, a mythical water horse known for its dark, alluring beauty and treacherous intentions. With quick thinking and courage, she manages to bridle the beast, compelling it to serve her rather than lure her to a watery fate. Another story brings to life the legend of the Elfin Knight, who haunts a lonely moor, appearing only once in seven years. Only the bravest dare to venture into his realm, where cleverness and faith are the only weapons against his enchantments.

"Fables from Scotland" offers a journey into a world where the boundaries between the mortal and the mystical are ever-shifting, and where every tale holds a lesson woven from the fabric of the land itself. I invite you to join me in exploring these ancient stories brought to life once more, tales with a touch of magic meant for fireside readings and deep reflection. I hope these stories inspire you as much as they did me when I wrote them.

Long before hikers brought their cameras and climbers charted safe routes through the Cairngorms, stories whispered of something far older than the stones underfoot. The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui has haunted Scotland’s highest slopes with a presence that defies explanation—seen by few, sensed by many, and feared by all who linger too long in the mist. It’s this chilling blend of myth, psychology, and raw wilderness that inspired the newest addition to my cryptid series.

Told entirely from the creature’s point of view, this story dives deep into the lonely soul of something that is not quite man, not quite ghost. Part relic hominid, part force of nature, the narrator is a being shaped as much by fear as by flesh. It remembers when the world was quiet, when the mountains kept their secrets, and it watches as people begin to forget how dangerous silence can be. Its transformation—from flesh and blood to something more shadow than skin—is as slow and inevitable as snowfall over stone.

I wanted the story to feel intimate but vast, rooted in the terrain yet untethered from time. The creature doesn’t simply lurk in the fog—it becomes the fog, the wind, the presence that makes the air too still. Readers step into the mind of a being that was never meant to be understood, only felt. And through its voice, the mountain speaks.

If you’ve ever stood alone on a ridge and felt the hair on your neck rise without reason, this book was written for you. The line between fear and awe is thin up there, and no legend embodies that tension more than "The Big Grey Man."