- In Gaelic tradition, the phrase “O shluagh!” sought protection from evil spirits.
- Sluagh were feared for snatching the souls of the helpless dying.
- Their myth stemmed from the fear of shadows.
The Sluagh (pronounced “sloo-ah” in Irish) were restless ghosts in Irish and Scottish legends. Their tale was told from generation to generation. At certain periods, they were seen as sinners (Christian prism) or malignant spirits who were rejected by the Celtic gods and the Earth itself. Some stories see them as the vengeful souls of unbaptized infants or fallen angels. The Sluagh are considered by some to be an Irish manifestation of the Wild Hunt.
- -> See also: Banshee in Mythology: Their History and Origin
The Myth of the Sluagh
They were virtually always portrayed as destructive troublemakers. From the west, they came swarming in like clouds or flocks of birds. It was said that they frequented the houses of the terminally ill in an effort to steal their souls. So much so that the west-facing windows were occasionally locked to keep the Sluagh out. Some people believed that the Sluagh also stole the souls of the helpless people they kidnapped.
They also have the ability to save humans from grave danger, but otherwise they are foreboding entities that bring nothing but trouble. They only show up at night and are blamed for harming animals, mainly cattle. They are not welcome either in heaven or hell, or even in the Celtic Otherworld.
Their Appearance
The Sluagh, in the beginning, could assume any appearance. However, a human form was eventually taken on by it. A Sluagh was said to be a whirling, shadowy flyer with long, slender fingers, webbed palms, and malformed legs that ended in sharp claws. When they moved in herds, they produced a shadowy, wingbeat-like sound and a putrid, meaty odor.
Sluagh in Different Regions
In Scottish Mythology
The Western Isles of Scotland celebrated Halloween as the fairy festival because it was believed that the Sluagh, or fairy host, was a creature composed of the spirits of the dead traveling through the air. This is mentioned by Lewis Spence in his The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain (1970).
In Irish Mythology
The Sluagh means “host” in Irish. They were bird-like creatures that seem old and emaciated and have leathery wings, clawed hands, gnarly teeth, and a lack of hair. They wait at dusk, then emerge from their hiding spots looking like a flock of enormous ravens or birds and launch their assaults.
These creatures would prey on the dying as they lay helpless in bed. The survivors hoped the dead would go quickly so that this malignant spirit wouldn’t be able to steal their souls and damn them to hell forever.
In Gaelic Mythology
According to Gaelic legend, the Sluagh were grey birds that hailed from the East and had the ability to transfer human remains from one island to another. Also called “Sluagh na Marbh”, they are known as the “hosts of the dead,” who are menacing figures. Gaelic speakers yell “O shluagh!” to seek protection from evil spirits.
Their Origin
In popular culture, witches, demons, druids, and fairies were all considered regular neighbors to humans. Death was seen as a transition to a new kind of existence. The Sluagh are a woodland people from Western Europe and the fundamental fear of shadow gave rise to their mythology.
The Sluagh have been variously interpreted to represent the spirits of the wickedly deceased who were shunned by Mother Nature and doomed to an eternity of aimless flight. They returned to their evil ways, breaking into houses from the west, and stealing the spirits of the dead who were too weak to fight back. The screams of the terrified souls being snatched were heard throughout the night. A person’s soul was said to have been taken by the Sluagh if they were discovered dead in a forest, field, or river.
History
They were considered rogue fairies before the arrival of Christianity. As a result of being exposed to Christianity, they evolved into lifeless evil-doers.
Pale in appearance and living off of food unfit for human consumption, the Sluagh especially earned a bad reputation in medieval Europe. They were toothless creatures and people thought that they inhabited tunnels or sewers.
In modern culture, they have been relegated to the status of bedtime monsters, along with the Sandman and the Boogeyman. However, there are still others who ascribe mysterious nighttime screams to the Sluagh when they are really only the result of human imagination.
In the Irish, Scottish, and Gaelic tradition today, if you wake up weary, you could conclude that the Sluagh attacked you throughout the night and took your weak soul.
To prevent becoming a victim of a Sluagh attack, it’s best to remain home at night and not take long, lonely strolls through isolated places. Those who want to avoid being eaten by the Sluagh might do so by putting themselves in the way of an unsuspecting victim.
Where Does This Word Come From?
Words like “host, army,” “crowd,” and “assembly” are referred with “slúag” in Old Irish. The Scottish Gaelic “Slúagh” derives from this word. “Slógh” and “sluag” are two other spellings. This word likely means “those serving the chief” since it derives from the Proto-Celtic root *slougo-. This suggests early linguistic ties with Celtic speakers in Central and Eastern Europe, since it is similar to terms in Balto-Slavic languages such Lithuanian “slaugà” (service, servitude) and Old Church Slavonic “sluga” (servant).
References in Popular Works
- -> Changeling: The Dreaming is a tabletop role-playing game by White Wolf Publishing where players can portray Sluagh.
- -> The Sluagh also appears in video games such as Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, and Defiance. It’s portrayed as a scavenger feeding on souls, sometimes resorting to cannibalism, and it never finds rest.
- -> In the American television series Teen Wolf, the Sluagh is mentioned in Season 5, Episode 5, where Stiles and Lydia discuss it with Doctor Valack at Eichen House.
- -> The Sluagh also serves as inspiration for art, as well as for comic books.
