The warlock and the kelpie of Loch Ness
It is said that a kelpie or water horse used to haunt the road near Loch Ness looking for children and young men and women to ensnare. One night a brave Highlander met the monstrous creature. He drew his sword in the name of the Trinity, and defeated the kelpie.
'This kelpie had been in the habit of appearing as a beautiful black horse… on a well-frequented road in the Highlands. By his winning ways he allured unwary travellers to mount him. No sooner had the weary, unsuspecting victim seated himself in the saddle than away darted the horse with more than the speed of the hurricane, and plunged into the deepest part of Loch Ness, and the rider was never more seen.
For long had kelpie carried on this cruel game, bringing sorrow to many a household. His day however came to an end. A hardy Highlander was one night returning home, when he heard the footsteps of a horse. Shortly he found himself beside a beautiful horse. He knew what this horse was, and what he had done. The horse used all his wonted wiles to make the man mount him; he failed. Then he became enraged, and tried to bite the man and to trample him under his feet.
The brave Highlander sprang from his enemy, drew his sword in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and struck with strong arm at the creature's head.'
When the Highlander struck the kelpie, a small hook fell from its bridle. The Highlander picked it up ‘quick as lightning’ and fled for his life.
'The kelpie followed, but somehow with greatly diminished speed. Diminished though kelpie's speed was, it was a terrible race. The man reached his house, opened the door, threw the ‘bridle’ into the house, cried out to preserve it, and then fell exhausted on the threshold. It was too late for kelpie, and he disappeared forever.'
'Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland' by Walter Gregor, 1881
The kelpie’s bridle became a prized possession of a sorcerer named Gregor MacGregor, who was known as Willox the Warlock, of Wester Gaulrig, Strathavon. It was said that the warlock used the kelpie's bridle to cast enchantments and to heal the sick.
In October 1833 the Inverness Courier reported the 'Death of a Warlock’. Among Willox’s possessions was ‘a piece of yellow metal resembling a horse's bridle, which in the days of yore was sported by a mischievous water Kelpie, who haunted the banks of Loch Ness and Loch Spynie’.