Episodes 30: The Trows’ Christmas

It was the night before Christmas. And something rather larger a mouse was stirring.

In Orkney Yule was the time of year when the barriers between the worlds were weakest.

When the creatures that live on the edge of the human world could venture far more easily into it, should they want to. And want to they did. For the humans had much to attract them. Above all else there was lights and music and dancing.

These creatures were known as Trows. Their appearance was subject to a fair degree of change, as a result of their magical nature, but they generally appeared humanoid to some degree. Sometimes more and sometimes less, altering themselves to suit the situation.

Despite their enjoyment of music and dancing humans found them to be intimidating, malevolent creatures: whose love of fun often appeared to have a sadistic bent, or at the very least they were careless when it came to hurt they might cause.

So the humans used their own crude magics against the Trows, in order to repel them. They had a number of techniques for saining, as the practice of placing protective charms is known in Orkney. the simple making the sign of the cross or putting up straw crosses for an extra layer of protection.

A plucked hair from every cow and horse, woven together and hung over the barn kept the animals safe. As Yule itself got closer and the Trows got stronger more magics were needed: burning peat was carried through the outbuildings and in the house itself all locks were to be left open, a lamp was left burning, an unsheathed iron blade was laid on a table close to the door.

At least that’s what you were meant to do. But Yule was a busy time, just as Christmas is now. And it was easy to overlook all the tasks. Especially if you were concentrating on getting everything ready for the next day and the kids to bed early so you could go off to the shindig that was happening at the neighbours barn.

As one unnamed couple were. Off they went to their dance. And a short time after that… in came the Trows.

It was a great party – work was finished for Yule eve and the people could really let their hair down. There was drinking and singing and general merriment. The fiddler was giving it his all and the barn was filled with whirling dancers.

Into this came the children. Two boys – but three and five years old. Wide eyed they looked around until spotted by those closest to the door.

“You’ve come to join?” an intoxicated guest asked as the fiddle started up again. And as it did the boys cracked beaming smiles. And join in they did. And how.

The small feet of the two kept in perfect time with the reel. And as the tempo picked up, they moved with it. Swinging around and around to the impressed eyes of those around them. Faster and faster they whirled until at the very height of the tune came a loud startled cry from a woman, which stopped the fiddler. “God save me !” she shouted.

She being the mother who had left the boys in their beds not two hours before. Who had spied them dancing in a way she knew was well beyond them. “God bless me bairns, are you alright?” she asked, rushing to them.

No sooner had the name of the lord passed her lips than the two recoiled in horror and they fled from her. Out of the barn and into the night.

Even more concerned now the Mother rushed to follow them. But when she got into the snowy, chilly night there was no one there at all.

There was no one in the children’s beds when they went back to the house. The un-sained house. The community came together, as communities are want to at terrible times such as this, and party-goers and dancers turned into a large determined search party.

A search party who found the boys some hours deep into the night. In a ravine, arms wrapped around each other, almost buried under the snow. Of the Trows who had imitated the boys forms there was no sign.

And none in that village forgot the saining for many a year after that.

The End