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Finfolk

Also called Finnfolk, Finman, Finwife, Finfolkaheem

Shape-shifting sea people of Orkney folklore who kidnap islanders to be their husbands and wives.

In Orkney folklore the Finfolk are sorcerous, shape-shifting sea people from Finfolkaheem, a glowing undersea home of crystal halls and seaweed gardens. In spring and summer they come ashore, wading, swimming or rowing, to seize people as husbands and wives.

The Finman is tall, thin and grim, can row from Norway to Orkney in seven strokes and can make his boat invisible. He guards his fishing grounds fiercely, but a cross chalked or tarred on the bottom of a boat was said to keep him off. The Finwife starts life as a beautiful mermaid looking for a human husband; if she fails, she must marry a Finman and is sent ashore as a healer or spinner to earn silver for him. Finfolk love silver, and throwing coins away from you was one way to escape them.

In summer they were said to live on Hildaland, a hidden island in the mist, which many in Orkney link to the real island of Eynhallow.

What the stories say

  • A tall, gloomy rower far from shore
  • A boat that vanishes or a phantom fleet
  • An island that appears and disappears in the mist

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Similar creatures

Other lake and sea monsters from around the world.

Selkieaka Silkie, SelchieSeals that shed their skins to walk ashore as people, from the folklore of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes.Blue men of the Minchaka Storm kelpies, Na fir ghormaBlue-skinned sea men of the Hebrides who challenge sailors to finish a rhyme or have their ship sunk.Mermaidaka Merfolk, MermanHalf-human, half-fish beings reported by sailors and coast dwellers for centuries, and still seen today.Loch Ness Monsteraka Nessie, NiseagScotland's long-necked lake monster, the world's most famous cryptid.Moragaka Mòrag, Loch Morar monsterNessie's less famous neighbour, in Britain's deepest freshwater loch.Morgawraka Sea giant, Falmouth Bay monsterA long-necked sea serpent reported in Falmouth Bay in the 1970s, now widely thought to be a hoax.

Also from United Kingdom

Different creatures from the same part of the world.

Huldufólkaka Hidden people, Hidden folkIceland's hidden people, who live in rocks and lava fields and still shape road-building debates.Barghestaka Barguest, BargestA monstrous black dog of northern England, said to be an omen of death.Beast of Bodmin Mooraka Beast of Bodmin, Bodmin beastA black panther-like cat blamed for killing sheep on a Cornish moor.Beast of Exmooraka Exmoor Beast, Exmoor pantherThe big cat that sent Royal Marines snipers onto the moors in 1983.Big Grey Man of Ben Macduiaka Am Fear Liath Mòr, Fear LiathFootsteps in the mist and a towering grey figure on Scotland's second-highest peak.Black Shuckaka Old Shuck, Old ShockEast Anglia's huge, fiery-eyed phantom dog.