In Scottish mythology, the kelpie is a shape-shifting spirit that inhabits lakes and lochs. Its true form is a horse-like creature, but it can take on human form, as well. A story centering around this creature is a cautionary tale about the dangers of large bodies of water; people who ride on a kelpie are carried into the water and drown. Other legends tell that if a kelpie was successfully captured and harnessed, it could be put to work and carry far heavier loads than an ordinary horse... but might leave you cursed when it finally got free. Some modern depictions of the kelpie are Lighter and Softer, and instead portray them as horses with water powers. The kelpie is probably also known as the each-uisge (water horse), although some folklorists insist that this is a completely different shapeshifting horse creature that drowns people. One difference is that an each-uisge is more likely to eat its victims, although this is present in some kelpie legends as well.
Compare Our Hippocamps Are Different for a different kind of water horse, Nuckelavee for another deadly horse-like aquatic creature from Orcadian mythology, and Selkies and Wereseals for another deadly aquatic shapeshifter from Scottish lore. Also see Stock Ness Monster for another famous resident of the Scottish lochs, and one who is often linked to the kelpie folklore.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Berserk: The Kelpie is one of many astral creatures that appears when Griffith's physical incarnation weakens the borders between the corporeal and spiritual worlds. It looks like a bizarre cross between a horse and a frog, and it proves to be an incredibly dangerous creature in how it controls water. Of note, it can launch balls of water as highly concussive projectiles, raise a wall of it up as a protective shield, or engulf an enemy in a massive cocoon of water to drown them in.
- Delicious in Dungeon: A Kelpie appears in Chapter 14, Kelpies resemble horses but are blue-green in colour and have a mane made of kelp, they've got a fish's tail and teeth sharp enough to crack through a giant crab's shell. The one shown is treated as a pet by Senshi, who's named it Anne. Anne unfortunately turns out not to be as tame as he thought and tries to drown and maul him the moment he tries to ride her, forcing him to put her down. As with all monsters killed by the main party, the Kelpie is cooked into several delicious meals such as a meat grill and a stew. Kelpie fat is a prized soap making ingredient and it's suggested that their internal organs can be used as makeshift flotation devices.
- Heaven's Design Team: Horse-obsessed Saturn creates a kelpie (that looks more like a hippocamp) hoping it would be accepted along with Neptune's dolphins and whales. Predictably, it's rejected. However, he later makes it smaller and it's accepted as the seahorse.
Art
- The Kelpies
are a pair of gigantic horse-head sculptures beside the Forth and Clyde Canal outside Falkirk, Scotland. As the statues are intended as a tribute to the role heavy horses played in Scottish industry, such as towing canal boats, the name draws more from the kelpie's supposed extraordinary strength than from its shape-shifting or man-eating.
- One interpretation of the mysterious Pictish Beast, a vaguely seahorse-like creature found on many Pictish symbol stones in Scotland, is that it represents a kelpie.
Comic Books
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW):
- The antagonist of issue 23 is a kelpie named Cassie who brainwashes all the ponies in Ponyville by singing. She looks like a hippocampus, with frill-like ears, fins instead of legs, and a mane that looks like seafoam.
- Very different kelpies appear in season 10's "The Farasian Shores" arc. They're Elemental Shapeshifters who can control water, have stripes like zebras, and live in a place based on sub-Saharan Africa.
Fan Works
- Mendacity: Kelpies are a type of fae resembling aquatic horses with manes made out of water-weeds. They're ambush predators that wait in lochs and swamps for ponies to pass by and then use glamors to tempt them into touching them, at which point their prey sticks fast to them and is dragged underwater to drown. Their skin will adhere permanently to any dry object; usually this is just their prey, whose remains will rot away in time, but as Aldrovanda spends more time on dry land she begins to accrete a steadily growing covering of pebbles, branches, and assorted junk. There are also shellycoats, which claim to be old kelpies covered in coats of hard material — normal kelpies hate them, because the idea that Fae can age and die like mortals is considered an insulting heresy, but it turns out in the end that Fae can in fact age, and that the kelpies' insistence that the shellycoats are deluded liars is, itself, only a willful delusion.
- There's More Magic Out There: In Chapter 31, the gang runs into a vicious kelpie that shapeshifts into a friendly-looking horse form to lure in prey, though its true form has rows and rows of teeth, backward hoofs, and a mangled swapish form. It's also intelligent, able to speak to the gang and taunts how it will enjoy eating them.
Films — Live-Action
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: Newt Scamander keeps a Kelpie in a tank full of sea weed. It is depicted as a gigantic legless horse-headed creature with strands of seaweed growing from its body, and Newt has managed to train it enough that it lets him ride around on its back.
- In Loch Ness (the one with Ted Danson), the monster is repeatedly referred to as a kelpie, although when it actually appears at the end it looks more like the classic plesiosaur design.
Literature
- In the Cryptozoologicon, kelpies are not carnivorous aquatic horses, but giant relatives of the water chevrotain.note
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Kelpies are shapeshifters whose favorite form is a horse with a mane of bulrushes. The world's most famous kelpie dwells in Loch Ness, and is the source of the Loch Ness Monster legend, as it has been observed taking the form of a giant sea serpent when viewed from a distance, but shapeshifting into an otter when Muggle tourists try to get a closer look at it.
- One of the many creatures featured in Fate/Labyrinth are kelpie who look like horses made out of water with a large fin acting as a tail. They can shapeshift from their regular four-legged form into a winged form known as "Boobrie". This design of them is notably the only design from Fate/Labyrinth that directly appears in Fate/Grand Order in the "Sea Monster Crisis" event, trying to devour the Kon by having them ride on it.
- Modern Faerie Tales: A Kelpie appears in the first book. Kelpies here are depicted as waterhorses which trick unwitting people into coming with them and then drowning them. Kelpies can also shapeshift into more handsome forms to captivate their victims.
- The Spiderwick Chronicles: Kelpies are malign water spirits in the form of horses, with seal-like skin, cloven hooves and manes always dripping with water. They entice people into riding them in order to drown them, but can be controlled if a prospective rider manages to slip a bridle over their heads.
- In The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, the people from the island of Thisby race water horses called the Capaill Uisce every November. The races are held along the shoreline, which makes the horses go into violent rages, and if the riders aren't careful they are dragged into the water and eaten.
- The Moon of Gomrath has Susan, unprotected by magic, being taken in by a seemingly friendly pony which encourages her to mount it and go for a ride. She climbs on its back and the pony gallops her into a nearby lake and tries to drown her.note .
Live-Action TV
- In Supergirl, Lena is of Irish descent, and grew up hearing stories about kelpies, so when her mother drowned when she was a child, she believed that a kelpie was responsible. Years later, when forced to face her fears, she and Dreamer end up in a battle with a kelpie, here depicted as a liquid xenomorph-like monster.
Music
- Jethro Tull's song "Kelpie" is sung from the perspective of a shape-shifting kelpie, taking the form of a handsome man to charm a young lady, though ultimately he plans to "steal [her] soul to the deep".
Tabletop Games
- Cardfight!! Vanguard: The Aqua Force clan has a subdivision called "Kelpie Riders" — a cavalry unit that rides Kelpies. The Kelpies in question are depicted as looking like Amazing Technicolor Wildlife horses in the front, occasionally with fins instead of ears, and the back part is a fishtail with matching colours.
- Dungeons & Dragons:
- Kelpies have appeared here and there in the game's history, making their debut in the original 1st Edition Fiend Folio. Rather than horse-like fey creatures however, they are instead evil, intelligent seaweed-like plants (kelp, get it?) able to assume other forms (usually horses or beautiful women) to lure prey to their watery graves.
- 2nd Edition Celts Campaign Sourcebook has a version much closer to the Scottish legends, the "water-horse": a Chaotic Evil, carnivorous monster which tries to drag any rider underwater by making its back magically adhesive. The actual "kelpie" is described as a more intelligent, shapeshifting variant who can take human form, but is just as nasty.
- In Pathfinder, kelpies are evil amphibious fey that assume the forms of horses or humans to lure creatures to drown and devour. Artwork of them varies however, with earlier depictions having them as horse-headed women with slimy skin, and later installments portraying them as horse-like creatures with green seaweed-like hair and skin. Filling a similar role is the water orm, a less folkloric and more cryptozoological take on Nessie-type creatures.
- Shadowrun supplement Paranormal Animals of Europe: The each-uisge is the Shadowrun equivalent of the kelpie. It is a horse-like para-animal that lives in bodies of water. It can compel metahumans to ride on its back, and secretes a glue-like substance on its skin to keep them there. It dives into the water and stays there until its rider drowns, then eats the victim's body.
- We Are All Mad Here: A sinister aquatic creature that takes the shape of a grey horse or white pony, the kelpie lures unsuspecting passers-by and attempts to drown them in a nearby body of water.
Video Games
- Against the Storm: The river kelpie is a giant horse with fish-like skin and gills, which can be found in forbidden glades. It has the power to mind-control people.
- Cassette Beasts: The second page of Frillypad's bio compares it to the kelpie. While it's a water-dwelling predator, it looks like a watery frog with a lilypad covering its head.
- A Kelpie is the pact-beast of Hanch, one of the lieutenants of the Knights of the Seal, in Drakengard 2note , which predictably means that it ends up being fought as a boss when Nowe and Manah set out to break the seals and liberate the districts. This Kelpie is fought with Legna above a dam and is capable of flying, firing energy blasts, and conjuring ice blocks to restrict Legna's mobility. The duel is occasionally interfered with by mages who seal Legna's dragon-fire, forcing Nowe to dismount to deal with them before returning to Legna's back to resume the fight. Killing the Kelpie kills Hanch as well, breaking the seal on the District of Hallowed Water.
- Flight Rising has kelpies as familiars. They appear similar to the classical depictions as water-themed equines, though it is unknown if they are able to shapeshift. According to their item descriptions, though, they do drown their prey, but the game's dragons are considered too large to ride kelpies and are considered to be allies instead. Kelpie manes are also in-game apparel items.
- In God of War Ragnarök, Kratos, Mimir, and Freya find a Kelpie that takes them to visit the Norns. According to Mimir, Kelpies weren't typically prone to drowning people unless they did something to offend it.
- Krut: The Mythic Wings has a Kelpie who resembles a mer-horse with a gigantic fishtail as its lower body serving as a mid-level Mini-Boss in the Seas of Himmaphan. In what's likely a myth version of Misplaced Wildlife, the Kelpie boss is the only western creature in a game set entirely in South-East Asia.
- Palworld has the Water-element Pal called Kelpsea, who resembles a Ridiculously Cute Critter cross between a fish, horse and seal that's found in a certain lake and on a certain coastline. Unlike most fictional Kelpies, this Pal is very timid, running away from the player in fear, makes squeaking noises, and is also too small to ride. There's also a Fire-elemental version called Kelpsea Ignis that's just as timid and is found in volcanic areas.
- Keldeo, the Mythical fourth member of the Swords of Justice from Pokémon Black and White, looks like a Water/Fighting unicorn that uses its horn as a sword and can blast water out of its hooves. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, it can be found in the Crown Tundra, which is based on Scotland. (Given that the Swords of Justice are portrayed as being heroic, it should go without saying that the bits about dragging people underwater to drown and eat them are left out.)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Kelpie appear as demons in various entries in the franchise. In some entries, they are fully horse-like, while in others the front of their body is a horse and their back half is something more aquatic, such as a mass of seaweed or a fish's tail.
- Temtem: Oceara is a watery horse that looks like it's covered in seafoam. According to Denizan mythology, they're descended from the Serbatiyo who served the Sea Queen. It can only be found at the water's edge in Aguamarina Caves.
Web Comics
- The Kelpie from Drakengard 2 returns in the roleplays of White Dark Life, having been recreated through magic to serve as Mysta's pet and Attack Animal in order to exploit Princess Torch's childhood trauma. It ends up getting punched hard enough to launch it through two thick magically-reinforced brick walls.
Web Original
- Beast Fables: Kelpies are horse chimeras sporting the scales, tails, teeth, and hunting habits of crocodiles.
Western Animation
- American Dragon: Jake Long: A kelpie is depicted as an oceanic monster and the second-greatest threat to the Magical Community. It is depicted as a Fish Man which feeds off other magical creatures and then can shapeshift into their form and use their powers.
- DuckTales (2017) has a pair of kelpies named Bramble and Briar in an episode. They are generally friendly, even if they would like everyone to follow them into the water and drown. They look like My Little Phonies with wet manes and the added bonus that they're voiced by Andrea Libman (Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie) and Tara Strong (Twilight Sparkle).
