Scottish Myths & Legends: Volume II

by Daniel Allison

FROM CAVE-DWELLING CANNIBALS TO FAIRY WOLVES, THESE TALES ARE EVEN STRANGER.Daniel Allison’s new collection dives into the deep veins of Scottish folklore.

Witches gather in a Glen Shiel forest. A fisherman fights monsters on an Orkney shore. Singing cats hold a forest funeral while hares dance in the hall of a king.

These stories were once told late at night in hunting camps and fishing huts. They are the lore of a people who knew the Otherworld was always close and often to be feared.

"A masterclass in retelling folklore"

Csenge Zalka, Folklorist

"Even better than his first volume"

Stephen McCabe, author of The Moorfoot Tales

Daniel Allison is an oral storyteller and USA Today bestselling author from Scotland.

He hosts the House of Legends Mythology Podcast and is the author of the Celtic Myths & Legends Retold series and The Orkney Cycle.

Scottish Myths & Volume II is the second Scottish story collection by Daniel Allison, focussing on lesser-known and darker stories.

Genres: Mythology, Audiobook

324 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2024

About the author

Daniel Allison is the director of The Song of Oak and Ash. He is an oral storyteller, USA Today bestselling author and creativity coach from Scotland. He hosts the House of Legends Podcast and is the author of Irish Mythology: The Children of Danu, Irish Mythology: Fionn & The Fianna, Scottish Myths & Legends Vol. I & II, and the mythic fantasy series The Orkney Cycle. His writing has been optioned for film and television production.

Daniel’s Myth Singers: Celtic Storytelling Apprenticeship provides a unique course of learning for beginning storytellers throughout the world. He leads mythic immersion retreats in the Scottish Highlands and divides his time between Scotland and Thailand, where he has been exploring Thai folklore traditions.

Reviews

[Hannah Figgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fierce, tender, eerie, tragic, humorous, grim, wondrous---a fantastic second volume of traditional Scottish tales skillfully rewoven by this author. Allison's modern but unwatered style of writing makes these volumes both approachable for the casual reader and freshly appealing for the long-time lover of traditional stories. This second volume has all the variety of location, culture, and story-type of the first volume and more, for included are two story-types not represented in the first: historical/semi-historical legends, and poignant micro-stories of the sort usually found only as footnotes in older collections.
Part of the liveliness of this collection is the way in which the stories are arranged, with length and mood and atmosphere constantly shifting from story to story. Unlike many collections which are arranged by type of story---which is very useful but results in some degree of predictability---one can never be sure what to expect in the dance from one story to the next, which is great fun and helps to carry a breath of the experience of hearing the stories told orally as they have been for generations. Any predictability whatsoever is gaily flung to the winds, Fianna fashion, and the reader is swept along for the ride from witches' huts to giants' castles to fairies' halls and the cottages that become springboards for the unexpected in between.
If you enjoyed the first volume, you'll definitely want this one. It isn't necessary to have read the first volume to enjoy the second, but methinks you'll want both.

[Csenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it says a lot about this book that I knew some of the tales already, and that did not subtract anything from the enjoyment of reading them in Daniel Allison's retelling. In fact, his version often became my favorite. He walks the fine line between folklore and fantasy, and he doesn't trip once. He enriches the old traditional stories by giving each character a name, a personality, and emotional depth that matches the narrative. He also weaves Scottish history, landscape, and traditional lifestyle into the tales, which makes them wonderfully detailed and immersive. Daniel Allison can turn a 10 sentence folktale into a deep emotional and cultural experience.
The collection ventures beyond the most well-known Scottish stories, and encompasses many different parts of Scotland with their own unique atmosphere. Darker stories alternate with shorter tales, and each comes with notes and sources, revealing the living oral tradition that passed them down from one teller to the next.
This book is a worthy sequel to the first volume, and a masterclass in retelling folktales for new audiences. I highly recommend it.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection, and I really like the writing style--deceptively simple and soulful.

Some of my favorite stories were Auld Croovie, The Hedgehurst, Macleod's Tables, The Man with No Story, Herding Hares, Keeping Out the Sea Man, The Piper's Boots, Mallie and the Trow, and the Sweetest Music.

As in the first volume, there are notes at the end, so if you find a story you like you can dive deeper, either via book or podcast. The book makes a great first point of connection to the mythic web.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book by Daniel was amazing captivating each story gripping my audience as I slipped into character and read it to them. Each of them gripped by what was coming next and looking forward to next story week by week. I and my audience particularly loved the version of the Sawney Bean tale and wow also the a trowie wedding and Mallie and the Trow.
I have all of Daniel’s books and always looking forward to the next as I feel I can slip right into character with his style of writing
Thank you Daniel.

[Dakota Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of stories that's a joy to read. They're written in such a way that you almost feel like you're hearing the words by a fire in the forest.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book that covers some familiar, and some strange, stories of Scottish culture. A lot of them with a beautiful moral lesson at the end. A great read.