An Orkney Folk Tale: The Dancers Under the Hill

In the Orkney islands, traditional folk tales like the Dancers Under the Hill explained mysterious stone buildings from the past though entertaining stories about magical creatures.

The mound was a black shape against the sky as the sun was setting, yet there was a light on the far side. When they got there they saw a door standing wide open with light and music streaming out of it. On looking inside they saw that it was the fairy folk celebrating the New Year, with music, drinking and dancing.

It was Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) and preparations were being made to celebrate the turn of the year. Two friends, who lived in Orphir, set off to Stromness to buy whisky for the party that evening. Once a stoneware jar was filled with the golden coloured drink the two men set off back home, happy with their purchase and looking forward to the music and dancing that lay ahead.

As the two men climbed the steep brae that led them away from the town their hearts were light and they laughed together merrily. But as they neared the farm of Howe they heard a sound that was both strange and familiar, all at the same time. It was the sound of the pipes being played, but it was no tune that they knew. As they got near to the large mound that gave the farm its name the music got louder. Curiosity got the better of them and they went to see who was playing.

The mound was a black shape against the sky as the sun was setting, yet there was a light on the far side. When they got there they saw a door standing wide open with light and music streaming out of it. On looking inside they saw that it was the fairy folk celebrating the New Year, with music, drinking and dancing.

One of the men felt bolder than the other and he went inside the mound and started to dance with the fairies. The other had been told that you should never go into a fairy mound, so he stayed outside and waited. He would take a peek in from time to time and ask his friend if he was going to come out, but he always got the same answer, “Wait until the dance is over.”

After a while he got fed up with waiting and set off home alone, thinking that his friend would catch him up. But he never did, in fact, he didn’t come home that night at all. This was awful, as the lost man was carrying the whisky at the time. The next day his friend went back to Howe to find him, but there was no trace and the great mound was, once again, just a mound with no door in sight.

A year passed and the Orphir man set off to go to Stromness again to buy another jar of whisky. As he was heading home his road took him past the huge mound at Howe.

There again he heard the sound of the pipes playing a tune that he remembered from the previous year. He went to investigate and saw the door was open again and his friend was still dancing. “Are you not coming out yet?” he asked. “Wait until the dance is over.” came the answer.

The man who was standing outside reached out and grabbed his friend, pulling him out of the mound. “What did you do that for? I was enjoying the dance.” His friend told him that he had been dancing in there for a whole year.

The man didn’t believe him, until his friend said, “Look at your shoes, man!” He looked down and saw that he had danced the soles off his shoes. Worse than that, his jar of whisky was empty too.

By Tom Muir
Tom is a champion of folk tales from Orkney, bringing them back to the public through books and as a professional storyteller. His day job is at the Orkney Museum. Along with his wife, Rhonda, he runs Orkneyology.com to bring more stories into the world at a time when they are much needed.

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