Redcap

A specter believed to haunt old castles or ruins. He is depicted as a short, thickset old man, with long prominent teeth, skinny fingers armed with eagle-like talons, large eyes of a fiery-red color, grisly hair streaming down his shoulders, iron boots, a pikestaff in his left hand, and a red cap on his head. When travelers take shelter in one of his haunts, he flings huge stones at them; he may also murder them outright, catching their blood in his cap, which thus acquires its crimson hue. He may be driven away by reading Scripture, or holding up the Cross; he will then yell in dismay, or vanish in a flame of fire, leaving behind a large tooth.

He is probably the same as Redcowl, who haunted the castle of Glenstirym in the Waverly Novels.

References

Sources

  • Henderson, W. (1879). Notes on the folk-lore of the northern countries of England and the borders. Covent Garden: W. Satchell, Peyton and Co., p. 253.
  • Jamieson, J. (1880). An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. Vol. 3. Paisley: Alexander Gardner.