Angus Folk Tales

Angus is a landscape of dramatic glens and rich farmland, ancient weaving towns and fishing villages, from the city of Dundee in the lee of the Sidlaw hills in the south, and the Grampian mountains in the north. The tales of Angus are as varied as the landscapes they are tied to, told through the years in castles, bothies, tenements and Travellers' tents. Here, historical legends tell of Caterans roaming the glens, Jacobite intrigue in Glenisla and pirates roving the stormy waters off the Arbroath coast. Kelpies, broonies and fairies lurk just out of sight on riverbanks and hillsides, waiting to draw unsuspecting travellers into another world. The land bears memories of ancient battles, and ghosts continue to walk the old roads in the gloaming. In this collection, storyteller and local historian Erin Farley brings you a wealth of legends and folk tales, both familiar and surprising.

Erin Farley has been practicing traditional storytelling for the past decade. She is a member of the Blether Taygether storytelling group in Dundee, and is a committee member and regular performer at Orkney Storytelling Festival. She is the Local History Library & Information Officer for Dundee Libraries, so telling the stories of the local area is part of her daily life. She often uses traditional local stories as a way into thinking about the past with community groups of all ages. She recently completed a PhD on poetry and song traditions in Angus and Dundee.