Monsters, lunatics, vampires, werewolves and evil dolls, stones entombing bodies, faces appearing in walls, curses and meetings with the Devil – all this and more are contained within this book of myths and ancient legends. Well-known storytellers Grace Banks and Sheena Blackhall recount a range of intriguing tales from the top to the bottom of Scotland, from ancient times to the present day. Folklore embeds itself in a local community, often to the extent that some people believe all manner of mysteries and take them as fact. Whether they're stories passed around the school playground, through the Internet, or round a flickering campfire, such legends are everywhere. Scottish Urban Myths and Ancient Legends is a quirky and downright spooky ride into the heart of Celtic folklore.

A huge collection of Scottish Urban Legends, Myths and True Stories. The definitive guide to the legendary stories that reveal Scotland's mysterious past. Featuring 50 captivating Scottish folklore stories, you'll embark on a journey through the shadowy alleys of Edinburgh, the misty moors of the Highlands, and the forgotten corners of Glasgow, discovering the secret myths and legends of Scotland that have been passed down through generations. Each tale is dazzlingly retold for a modern audience. Gather around the fireside and hear incredible stories from a land filled with magic and mystery. Feel the rich history brought to life through folktales passed down through generations. Hear the true stories that lurk amongst these myths, things that the author has witnessed with his own eyes, revealed for the very first time. Where is the most haunted road in Scotland? Who got caught cheating while playing cards with the devil? Which ancient rhyme can summon a violent poltergeist? Haunted places, ghost stories and Celtic folklore, this enchanting collection has them all. From spooky tales of great battles to pagan rituals that are still performed today. Discover the cursed locations where you can see and feel these experiences for yourself if you dare. Huddle closer to the fire, immerse yourself in the dark history of Scotland, and discover which of these unforgettable legends are true.

This revised edition of the original reference standard for urban legends provides an updated anthology of common myths and stories, and presents expanded coverage of international legends and tales shared and popularized online. From roasted babies to vanishing hitchhikers to housewives in football helmets, this exhaustive and highly readable encyclopedia provides descriptions of hundreds of individual legends and their variations, examines legend themes, and explains scholarly approaches to the genre. Revised and expanded to include updated versions of the entries from the award-winning first edition, this work provides additional entries on a wide range of new topics that include terrorism, recent political events, and Hurricane Katrina. Entries in Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, Updated and Expanded Edition discuss the presence of urban legends in comic books, literature, film, music, and many other areas of popular culture, as well as the existence of "too good to be true" stories in Argentina, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and several other countries. Serving as both an anthology of stories as well as a reference work, this encyclopedia will serve as a valuable resource for students and a source book for journalists, professional folklorists, and others who are researching or interested in urban legends.

Urban myths. They could have happened anywhere, but you know they could all have happened in Glasgow. In this new collection of the best Glasgow urban myths, truth is often stranger than fiction, but can you work out which stories really did happen to a friend of a friend of an enemy of a friend of a friend? Glasgow urban myths, like the one about some Edinbuggers being occasionally pleasant, are as many and varied as Glaswegians themselves. And all the best are gathered in this collection of mirth and myth, like the one about the wasted willie and the pylon, or the one about the car thief and the opera tickets. Glasgow Urban Myths is full of all the hilarious stories that ever happened to a friend of a friend of an enemy of a friend of a friend in Glasgow - hard truths and blatant lies, albeit in a sort of hit and myth style, but you will laugh, and you will repeat them.

A HUGE collection of Scottish Urban Legends, Myths and True Stories. From Amazon bestselling author Aaron Mullins comes the definitive guide to the legendary stories that reveal Scotland's mysterious past. Each folktale and short story is dazzlingly retold for a modern audience. Gather around the fireside and hear mystery short stories and crime thrillers from a land filled with magic and mystery. Feel the rich history brought to life through folktales passed down through generations. Hear the true stories that lurk behind these myths, things that the author has witnessed with his own eyes, revealed for the very first time. Most Haunted Places, Unsolved Mysteries, Famous Murders Where is the most haunted road in Scotland? Who got caught cheating while playing cards with the devil? Which military camouflage suit got its name from a forest faerie? What ancient rhyme can be used to summon a violent poltergeist? Find the answers to these questions and many more true facts within these short stories. Discover the locations where you can see and feel these experiences for yourself, if you dare. True Crimes, Urban Legends, Mystery Short Stories Roadside phantoms, cunning spirits and real-world killers, this enchanting collection has them all. From tales of great battles, to pagan rituals that are still performed today, new generations can enjoy the stories and feel connected to the land and its people. Some of the stories have morals to teach us, lessons learnt by our ancestors and told around campfires. Ancient warriors live on, still marching to the echoes of war drums beating with every re-telling of their accomplishments. Huddle closer to the fire, read the book and decide for yourself which of the legends are true. Reviews for books by Aaron Mullins: "Short stories that will pull you in, fast paced with twists and turns. Dialect really brings you into the characters of the Highlands. ...there is more to Highlanders than meets the eye." Mysteries and Misadventures: Tales from the Highlands ★★★★★ "I really enjoyed reading this book, very thought provoking." Mysteries and Misadventures: Tales from the Highlands ★★★★★ "Brilliant stories, really is something for everyone in there, loved going to bed and not knowing what was coming next, what kind of things I was going to read and feel, really added to the excitement!!" Mullins Collection of Best New Fiction ★★★★★

Draws together contributions from the leading researchers to provide a contemporary evaluation of tartan and tartanry.

The Myth of the Jacobite Clans was first published in 1995: a revolutionary book, it argued that British history had long sought to caricature Jacobitism rather than to understand it, and that the Jacobite Risings drew on extensive Lowland support and had a national quality within Scotland. The Times Higher Education Supplement hailed its author's 'formidable talents' and the book and its ideas fuelled discussions in The Economist and Scotland on Sunday, on Radio Scotland and elsewhere. The argument of the book has been widely accepted, although it is still ignored by media and heritage representations which seek to depoliticise the Rising of 1745.Now entirely rewritten with extensive new primary research, this new expanded second edition addresses the questions of the first in more detail, examining the systematic misrepresentation of Jacobitism, the impressive size of the Jacobite armies, their training and organization and the Jacobite goal of dissolving the Union, and bringing to life the ordinary Scots who formed the core of Jacobite support in the ill-fated Rising of 1745. Now, more than ever, The Myth of the Jacobite Clans sounds the call for an end to the dismissive sneers and pointless romanticisation which have dogged the history of the subject in Scotland for 200 years.