Chapter
Selkie
One of my companions, seeing a fine, fat seal sunning itself on the strand, reached for his musket, but our guide stayed his hand. He explained that this seal was of a breed that the locals regard as supernatural, and that to harm one was to invite the worst possible luck.
— William Stukeley, April 1726
The selkies inhabit the waters around Ireland, Scotland, and the northern isles of Orkney and Shetland. In seal form they are indistinguishable from the larger seal species, such as the gray and crested seal, but they can take off their seal-skins like a coat to assume the form of attractive humans. Some selkies enter into dalliances with humans, but all return to the sea within a year or so. Selkies in human form can be recognized by their webbed hands and slow breathing. They are experts in medicine and midwifery, and their half-human offspring inherit these gifts.