- Tangie
A Tangie is a
folkloric shapeshifting water spirit of NorthernScotland .The Tangie is the name of a sea horse in the folklore of the
Orkney andShetland Islands in the British Isles. The name derives from the Danish word "tang" meaning "seaweed". It is usually described as a rough-haired type of pony with seaweed or shells in its mane. A Tangie can also look like amerman . It is known for terrorizing lonely travelers, especially young women on roads at night near thelochs , whom it will abduct and devour under the water.The Tangie plays a major role in the Shetland Islands legend of Black Eric. Black Eric, a sheep rustler, rode a Tangie, which gave him supernatural assistance when he raided and harassed surrounding
crofts . In his final battle with crofter Sandy Breamer, Black Eric fell to his death in the sea. The Tangie then continued to terrorize the area, particularly the young women he was hoping to abduct.A similar creature referred to as a "Tangy" in Orkney was the sea
trow . The sea trow dwelled in the waters around the islands. It had the face of a monkey, with large limbs, a wizened body, and webbed fingers and toes.References
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=GKrACS_n86wC&pg=PA352&lpg=PA352&dq=tangie+seaweed&source=web&ots=-HHQ_4dBpt&sig=_TbnKz1lxmPVAETYgZ9R2KQaX_Q Rose, Carol. Giant, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth, 2001]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=si_cXO1yJNwC&pg=PA280&lpg=PA280&dq=tangie+orkney&source=web&ots=nrl-rBi5RU&sig=dC8nZheJ4BB94_wkITbNYplagrw Briggs, Katharine Mary. The Fairies in Tradition and Literature, 2002]
* [http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/strow.htm Folklore of the Orkney Islands]
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