This Dark Land

The red cap was a murderous goblin who lived in abandoned castles on the Anglo-Scottish borders. Their caps were red as after every kill they took off their caps to dip in the blood of their victims. They were depicted as short ugly creatures with sharp teeth and of course, red caps!  Their eyes were also said to be blood red and they had bloody red talons with which to catch their prey. Red caps wore iron boots and would travel far and wide most often preying on weary travellers lost in the dark. Some ancient Irish folktales depict red caps as being vampiric in nature, to survive they must kill for blood. If their red caps dry out they perish. About the Author S.J.Budd is a writer of all things weird and creepy. Previously her tales have been featured on Deandman's Tome,  Sanitarium Magazine, Dark Gothic Resurrected, Liquid Imagination, Aphotic Realm, Aurora Wolf, Aphelion, Blood Moon Rising Magazine, The Wild Hunt, Danse Macabre, Shadows at the Door, In...

Also known by the names of Ban-Side/ Bean-Sidhe which translates from old Irish as "woman of the fairy mound." Fairies were believed to live in hollow hills unreachable to mortal folk. The Banshees are death omens. The first recorded tale of a Banshee was in 1437  where one was heard wailing before the death of King James 1 of Scotland. They were depicted as having red eyes from eternal weeping and long hair. In some tales they wore green dresses with veiled faces, in others they were dressed in white. Appearing either as virginal young maidens or old wise crones, they were most commonly seen by moonlight. Banshees were often heard to be wailing a mournful lament or keening whenever someone was about to die. It was said their wails could be so horrific it could shatter glass, and it was considered a most terribly bad omen if one of their hairs should fall on you. It was said that banshees were often attracted to noble Irish and Scottish families. In Irish mythology ...