I guess the Benbecula mermaid is the most famous Scottish Merperson sighting but reading through
Not of This World by Maurice Fleming I found another very interesting report that I had not heard of before. So I decided to look into it a little.
http://thegreenlantern.blogspot.com/2005/05/faery-friday.htmlTHE SCHOOL MASTER OF RATHVEN, BANFFSHIRE, in the ABERDEEN CHRONICLE, April 20, 1814, a report that two fishermen at Portgordon, about a mile west of Buckie, whose character he was able to vouch for, were returning from fishing in Sprey Bay; 'about three or four o'clock yesterday afternoon, when about a quarter of a mile from the shore, the sea being perfectly calm, they observed, at a small distance from their boat, with its back turned towards them, and half its body above the water, a creature of a tawny colour, appearing like a man sitting, with his body half bent. Surprised at this they approached towards him, till they came within a few yards, when the noise made by the boat occasioned the creature to turn about, which gave the men a better opportunity of observing him. His countenance was swarthy, his hair short and curled, of a colour between a green and a grey: he had small eyes, a flat nose, his mouth was large, and his arms of an extraordinary length. Above the waist, he was shaped like a man, but as the water was clear my informants could perceive that from the waist downwards, his body tapered considerably or, as they expressed it, like a large fish without scales but could not see the extemity.' But this was not the end of their encounter for he dived and surfaced some distance away and was not alone. With him was what appeared to be a female of his species for she had breasts and hair that reached past her shoulders. The two men then rowed as fast as they could to land where they related their story to the school master.
Wildlife to be found in the waters according the
Statistical Account of Scotland (Banff, Elgin and Nairn) of 1842 includes seals, whales, dolphins, porpoises and ?grampus? which I believe is some sort of dolphin. I was excited to discover local wildlife also included ?Goatsuckers? until I discovered that is a Nightjar!
The offensively titled but interesting
Primitive Beliefs in the North East of Scotland by J.M McPherson named the Rathven (pronounced Raffan) schoolmaster as one George McKenzie. Unfortunately
The Schools and Schoolmasters of Banffshire by William Barclay describes the appointment in 1814 of one John Innes in that position. It does not name the schoolmaster before him unless the shockingly (in those days) unmarried Mr William Taylor had held that position since 1791. Possible of course but not very clear from the book. And unlikely since on arrival he was literally chased back out again with pointy sticks!
The mis-spelling ?Sprey Bay? (it should be Spey Bay) appears in all the sources I have found. I will try and find the original letter in the Abderdeen Chronicle to see what it actually says. And whether any reply was ever made!
