Tales of the Oak : Stories...Twice Told

Magic Torch are delighted to reveal that we have received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund "Your Heritage" programme to deliver a new project - "Tales of the Oak", which over the next 18 months will create a new storytelling club and publish two new books.

The new project will include

- opportunities to be trained by the Scottish Storytelling Centre on how to use oral tradition to celebrate local heritage

- new research in local and national archives to collect supernatural tales and local folk stories

- publication of a fully illustrated "scary storybook" retelling local legends and stories for children 4-8 years old

- publication of a 1950s style "terror comic" featuring scary stories and retellings inspired by local legends and ghost stories

- a new storytelling club, with sessions running Winter 2012, Spring / Summer 2013 and again in Winter 2013

- a chance for local schools to be involved in a Scary History competition; pupils will be asked to submit their own scary story with the winning entry included in the childrens book or illustrated for the comic.

The storytelling club will be run from The Dutch Gable House, and you can find out more on how to be involved on Doors Open Day there on Saturday 8 September.

We are not looking for people to do a formal presentations, or give a performance; it’s not a book reading or a drama group. We want to draw inspiration from the tales that folk used to be tell around firesides. Those folk were not professional storytellers, neither are we. We want to help restore an old oral tradition by creating a new living tradition. 

We'll be sharing regular podcasts of stories from the club on our Soundcloud page and hopefully via itunes as well.

The blog will be the main way to follow what's going on in the project, so be sure to bookmark us, or subscribe via email / feedburner.

The entire project is volunteer run, with all the funding being used to pay for project outputs like storytelling training or the publications.

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you'll know that over winter we like sharing ghost stories. In fact, our first book, published in 2000 even included a few. We've had stories about cursed trees, sad tales of forgotten loves and over on my own blog Stramashed there's been the tale of The Duchal Well and some sugar sheds flash fiction based on the urban legend of The Catman

But there's always more to hear
- what's the story with the Arts Guild ghost, surely now lonelier than ever?
- any Cappielow Ghouls?
- any truth to the rumour of Roman legionnaires marching over the moorland behind Kilmacolm?
- is Ravenscraig haunted?

Project funders, Heritage Lottery Fund, are keen to hear from Inverclyde groups with other heritage project ideas. Interested groups can find out more from the website www.hlf.org.uk or by contacting Development Officer Louise Hastie directly on LouiseH@hlf.org.uk.

We love collecting and sharing stories, and this new project will let us do that in all new ways, we're looking forward to you getting involved. You can contact us at aulddunrod@gmail.com

For now, here's one we made earlier....

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £4 billion across the UK and more than £1/2 billion across Scotland. www.hlf.org.uk

Saint Fillan

January 19th sees the feast day of a Celtic Missionary associated with the area, Saint Fillan...

After the victory of the Christian forces at the epic Battle of Arderryd, the growth of Christianity continued unabated in Scotland. The Celtic saints played a great part in this, Saint Columba having unified the many disjointed missions into a whole. For the next 150 years, the Christian word carried to the furthest reaches of Scotland. It was against this background that St. Fillan arrived in this country, some time around the early 700s.

Fillan, whose name literally translates as ‘wolf cub’ was born to Federach, a prince of the race of Fiatach Finn, and Kentigerna, a princess of Ulster. As the legend has it, he was born with a stone in his mouth. Federach saw this as a sign that this child was a curse to him, and threw him into a lake. However, Fillan was kept safe by angels, who watched over the child until he was discovered by Bishop Ibar. The Bishop raised him as his own child, in the Christian faith. Kentigerna kept a distant but watchful eye on her son, and was thankful to Ibar and his monks for caring for her son. Fillan’s mother, too, would later become a missionary.

When Fillan landed on our shores, his mother and cousin Comgan accompanied him, they first settled in Lochalsh, in Wester Ross; later Fillan would travel to Glen Dochart, his mother retiring to Inch Cailleach, ‘The Nun’s Isle’, on Loch Lomond, where she died in 734 A.D.

The Exploits of St. Fillan

To this day, stories are rife of Fillan’s trials and adventures during the years when he was founding his missions. One such famous tale tells of a wolf who attacked and killed one of Fillan’s oxen while he was ploughing his fields; the wolf subsequently returned and allowed himself to be yoked. The animal would go on to aid Fillan in his ploughing, and help him build his priory. This tale is seen by some as an allegory for Fillan ‘taming’ the wilder elements of ancient Celtic culture.

Another legendary tale speaks of Fillan’s battle against a fearsome boar in Killin. Fillan arrived there having parted company with St. Columba’s biographer, Adoman, at Tyndrum, only to hear the town’s tales of woe concerning this hideous beast, said to have ‘tusks the size of plough shares.’ Fillan set off into the forests to hunt down the boar, accompanied by his dog Dileas. Finding the enormous creature three days later, rooting beneath a rowan tree, Fillan held onto his simple wooden club as the boar turned on him and charged. Fillan brought the club down on the monster’s head, killing it with one blow.

Tales of saints killing great beasts are far from uncommon; it is said that St.Columba defeated a mighty boar on Skye in a similar legend. These stories, true or not, play a part in idealising the saint figure, making him almost Godlike, and ensuring that his name will carry on through history; such is the Ossianic tradition of the hero in Celtic culture.

Kilallan

The focal point of St. Fillan’s labours in Scotland appears to have been Strathfillan in Perthshire, where a long stone known as St. Fillan’s seat still remains. Nearby in a mill thought to have been built by the saint, seven holy stones, believed to have healing powers, are still preserved to this day. Strathfillan is not the only site with strong links to the saint, and during his many travails throughout the country he seems to have founded churches in both Skelmorlie and, more importantly, in Kilallan, near Kilmacolm.

The name itself seems to be a corruption of Killfillan, i.e. Cella Fillani - the Cell of Saint Fillan. Here, on the Kilmacolm road to Houston, stand the ruins of a medieval church said to have been established by the saint during a long period of labour in the area. Nearby, a large stone with a hollow in the middle is also remembered as St. Fillan’s Seat, the place where he is thought to have preached to a small number of followers. Such frequent and personal references to the saint certainly attest to the significance and impact of his work in the region.

However, the most famous shrine with a connection to the saint is St. Fillan’s Well, a stone’s throw from Fillan’s Seat in Kilallan. Here, under a rock, shaded by overhanging bushes, it is said that countrywomen would bring their weak and sickly children to be healed by the holy waters, leaving a small keepsake or offering hanging from the bushes. A similar practice was followed at Fillan’s well in Skelmorlie; the plethora of wells associated with Fillan testifies to his reputation as a healer. In Kilallan, pilgrimages to the well went on until the end of the 1600s when the local minister, one Mr. Hutcheson, had the well filled with stones. Fillan’s feast day was still celebrated with a fair on the same day for many years to follow, and in the nearby village of Houston the parish church still bears his name, as does the episcopal church in Kilmacolm. There are loads of great images of the church here at Derelict Places.

St. Fillan’s death is recorded on the 9th of January 777 (this, of course, is a date on the Julian calendar; on the Gregorian calendar, Fillan’s death is marked as the 19th of January).

Fillan’s followers preserve many relics associated with the saint; the most famous of these is the Mayne, the arm-bone of Fillan, which was kept in a silver case after his death. Such is the significance of this object that King Robert the Bruce requested it to be brought to him on the eve of the Battle of Bannockburn; however, the keeper in charge of the relic feared it would be damaged or lost, and brought the Bruce an empty case. As the king meditated over the case, praying for guidance during the coming battle, a mighty crack was heard from the silver box, and when opened it revealed the Mayne. The keeper, dumbfounded, admitted that he had not brought the bone with him. Whatever the truth of this story, the bone was undoubtedly carried into battle the next day, and the story may well have inspired the Scots to new bravery in this battle which liberated Scotland from the English rule.



http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/

The Duchal Well

Historical Note :
Sightings of "black wild cats" around Inverclyde have become more widespread in the last ten years, but there are recorded sightings and anecdotal evidence of unusual beasts pre-dating WWII.

The ruins of Duchal Castle and the Duchal blackwater can be found on the outskirts of Kilmacolm.
Definetly worth a winter walk...though take care.