Water Horse
Encyclopedia
A Water Horse is a Celtic mythical creature
, such as the Ceffyl Dŵr and Kelpie
, as well as other water dwelling cryptids.
The term "water horse" (also spelled as "Water Horse" and "Waterhorse") was originally a name given to the kelpie
, a horse like creature similar to the hippocamp
that has the head, neck and mane of a normal horse
, legs like a horse, webbed feet, and a long, two-lobed, whale
-like tail. However, the Water Horse term has also been used as a nickname for lake monsters, particularly Ogopogo
and Nessie
. The name "kelpie" itself has often been used as a nickname for many other Scottish lake monsters, such as Each uisge
and Morag of Loch Morar
and Lizzie of Loch Lomond
. Other names for these sea monsters include "seahorse
" (not referring to the seahorse fish) and "hippocampus" (which is the genus
name for everyday seahorses).
The usage of "water horse" or "kelpie" can often be a source of confusion as some take the two terms to be synonymous while others distinguish the Water Horse as a denizen of lochs while the Kelpie inhabited places of turbulent water such as rivers, fords and waterfalls. A look at the literature does not readily resolve the issue as some authors call one creature of a certain place a kelpie while others call it a water horse. Others will however make the distinction outlined above. However, it is less likely that an inhabitant of rivers will be called a Water Horse which suggests the Kelpie label should be reserved for such places.
The waters are muddied that bit more by some who identify a creature as a Water Bull which others call kelpie or water horse despite the water bull universally being described as less aggressive than the other two.
. They are described as having a small head attached to a long giraffe
-like neck with an equine mane
(occasionally covered in hair) and having two sets of flippers, the rear pair at the very end of the body, giving the impression of a seal
-like tail. Its body length ranges from 50–60 feet and the neck is 70 feet long.
and the Lake Champlain
monster Champ. The monster Mee-Shee from the 2005 direct-to-video film Mee-Shee: The Water Giant
has often been compared to the Water Horse.
In The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep when Angus is looking at reptiles to find out which species
Crusoe is, he has a flashback to when his father used to sit in the armchair and tell him stories as to when he grew up on the shores of Loch Morar
and how there was rumoured to be "a beastie
" living in there, a reference to Morag, the Loch Morar lake monster
which has also been portrayed as a Water Horse.
places Water Horses in a loch
(particularly a loch that is famous for a lake monster, such as Loch Ness, Loch Morar and Loch Lomond) some tales of Water Horses place them in the ocean
, making them sea monsters as well as lake monsters/loch monsters, though the more prominent habitat for a Water Horse is a loch/lake.
It is generally commented that practically every Highland loch had a water horse tradition, but a study of the contemporary literature of the time (mainly 19th century) showed that only about sixty lochs and lochans merited a mention out of the thousands of bodies of water that make up Scotland. Moreover, the water horse that was reputed to inhabit Loch Ness gained the most mentions in Highland literature..
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
, such as the Ceffyl Dŵr and Kelpie
Kelpie
The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland; the name may be from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach "heifer, colt".-Description and behaviour:...
, as well as other water dwelling cryptids.
Name origin
Kelpie
The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland; the name may be from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach "heifer, colt".-Description and behaviour:...
, a horse like creature similar to the hippocamp
Hippocamp
The hippocamp or hippocampus , often called a sea-horse in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognised is purely Greek; it became part of Etruscan mythology...
that has the head, neck and mane of a normal horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, legs like a horse, webbed feet, and a long, two-lobed, whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
-like tail. However, the Water Horse term has also been used as a nickname for lake monsters, particularly Ogopogo
Ogopogo
Ogopogo or Naitaka is the name given to a cryptid lake monster reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, Canada. Ogopogo has been allegedly seen by First Nations people since the 19th century...
and Nessie
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
. The name "kelpie" itself has often been used as a nickname for many other Scottish lake monsters, such as Each uisge
Each uisge
The each uisge is a mythological Scottish water spirit, called the Aughisky in Ireland. It is similar to the kelpie, but far more dangerous.The Each Uisge, a supernatural water horse found in the Highlands of Scotland, is supposedly the most dangerous water-dwelling creature in the British Isles...
and Morag of Loch Morar
Loch Morar
Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch in Scotland, with a surface area of and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with a maximum depth of ....
and Lizzie of Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
. Other names for these sea monsters include "seahorse
Seahorse
Seahorses compose the fish genus Hippocampus within the family Syngnathidae, in order Syngnathiformes. Syngnathidae also includes the pipefishes. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning “sea monster”.There are nearly 50 species of seahorse...
" (not referring to the seahorse fish) and "hippocampus" (which is the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
name for everyday seahorses).
The usage of "water horse" or "kelpie" can often be a source of confusion as some take the two terms to be synonymous while others distinguish the Water Horse as a denizen of lochs while the Kelpie inhabited places of turbulent water such as rivers, fords and waterfalls. A look at the literature does not readily resolve the issue as some authors call one creature of a certain place a kelpie while others call it a water horse. Others will however make the distinction outlined above. However, it is less likely that an inhabitant of rivers will be called a Water Horse which suggests the Kelpie label should be reserved for such places.
The waters are muddied that bit more by some who identify a creature as a Water Bull which others call kelpie or water horse despite the water bull universally being described as less aggressive than the other two.
Physical appearance
In folklore, Water Horses (spelled as "Waterhorse" in folklore) are described as being very similar to a long-necked sealPinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
. They are described as having a small head attached to a long giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
-like neck with an equine mane
Mane (horse)
The mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck...
(occasionally covered in hair) and having two sets of flippers, the rear pair at the very end of the body, giving the impression of a seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
-like tail. Its body length ranges from 50–60 feet and the neck is 70 feet long.
Other lake monsters
The Water Horse has often become a basic description of other lake monsters such as the Canadian Lake Okanagan monster OgopogoOgopogo
Ogopogo or Naitaka is the name given to a cryptid lake monster reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, Canada. Ogopogo has been allegedly seen by First Nations people since the 19th century...
and the Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
monster Champ. The monster Mee-Shee from the 2005 direct-to-video film Mee-Shee: The Water Giant
Mee-Shee: The Water Giant
Mee-Shee: The Water Giant is an Anglo-German family film shot in New Zealand and released in 2005. It stars Bruce Greenwood, Rena Owen, Tom Jackson and Daniel Magder....
has often been compared to the Water Horse.
In The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep when Angus is looking at reptiles to find out which species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Crusoe is, he has a flashback to when his father used to sit in the armchair and tell him stories as to when he grew up on the shores of Loch Morar
Loch Morar
Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch in Scotland, with a surface area of and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with a maximum depth of ....
and how there was rumoured to be "a beastie
Morag (loch monster)
Morag or Mòrag is a loch monster reported to live in Loch Morar, Scotland. After Nessie, it is among the best known of Scotland's legendary monsters....
" living in there, a reference to Morag, the Loch Morar lake monster
Lake monster
A lake monster or loch monster is a purported form of fresh-water-dwelling megafauna appearing in mythology, rumor, or local folklore, but whose existence lacks scientific support. A well known example is the Loch Ness Monster. Lake monsters' depictions are often similar to some sea monsters...
which has also been portrayed as a Water Horse.
Settings
Whilst most Scottish/Celtic folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
places Water Horses in a loch
Loch
Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...
(particularly a loch that is famous for a lake monster, such as Loch Ness, Loch Morar and Loch Lomond) some tales of Water Horses place them in the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, making them sea monsters as well as lake monsters/loch monsters, though the more prominent habitat for a Water Horse is a loch/lake.
It is generally commented that practically every Highland loch had a water horse tradition, but a study of the contemporary literature of the time (mainly 19th century) showed that only about sixty lochs and lochans merited a mention out of the thousands of bodies of water that make up Scotland. Moreover, the water horse that was reputed to inhabit Loch Ness gained the most mentions in Highland literature..
Water Horse sightings
Water Horse sightings were reported regularly during the 18th century, but it was not until the 19th century that sightings were starting to get listed:- In 1846, Captain Christmas of the Danish Navy reported sighting "an enormous, long-necked beast pursuing a school of dolphins" somewhere between IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and the Faroe IslandsFaroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. He described the creature as having a horse-like head and a neck as thick as a man's waistWaistThe waist is the part of the abdomen between the rib cage and hips. On proportionate people, the waist is the narrowest part of the torso....
"moving gracefully like a swanSwanSwans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
's". - At 5pm on August 6, 1848 an officer of HMS DaedalusHMS DaedalusRoyal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm. First established as a seaplane base in 1917 during the First World War, it later became the main training establishment and administrative centre of the Fleet Air Arm...
noticed as unusual-looking animal swimming towards the ship. It was said to look similar to a sea serpentSea serpentA sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
with a four-foot-long neck. Its head was about 15 or 16 inches long. It was reported to have no visible fins/flippers or tail showing and it had what appeared to be a horsy mane on its neck with seaweedSeaweedSeaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
washed over its back. - In autumnAutumnAutumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
1883 two horse-headed beasts, one of them smaller than the other (suggesting or implying a juvenileJuvenile (organism)A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
) off the southern coast of PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. The crew of AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
whalerWhalerA whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
Hope On reported seeing a 20-foot-long creature submerge. It was brownish coloured with black speckles and four legs/flippers with a tail "that seemed to be divided into two parts" (implying the whale-like tail appearance) and all four limbs and tail were exposed when it reached the surface. A second creature that looked just like it only much smaller tagged along behind it. In the same year, a sighting of a similar-looking creature occurred in the Bristol ChannelBristol ChannelThe Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
. This creature was reported as leaving behind a greasy slugSlugSlug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
/snailSnailSnail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
-like trail.