Mischievous Celtic Fairies #2 Trows

Trows are known in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, where they are also called Night Stealers or Night Creepers. They are squat and misshapen, with wild hair and sallow faces; they dress entirely in grey to blend in with the misty landscape. They are smaller than most human men. They are never seen in daylight, but go out during the hours of darkness to visit the islander's crofts, as soon as the humans have gone to bed. They like to warm themselves by the fire and are mortally offended to find a locked door keeping them out. To this day islanders leave their houses and possessions unlocked so as not to anger the trows.


Trows live inside the old burial mounds, or sometimes caves, where they keep their gold, silver and precious jewels. Inside the mounds they hold great feasts and are especially fond of music and dancing. Sometimes trows invite humans into their mounds, especially gifted musicians. They rewarded one fiddler with a magical trowie shilling, so that no matter how many times he spent it, it always found its way back to his pocket. However, the silly man boasted of this gift, and the trowie shilling vanished forever. The trows' great festivals are Yule and Midsummer when they leave the mounds and can be seen performing a lop-sided crouching and hopping dance called henking. Trows kidnap human children and leave changelings in their place: sickly looking trowlings. ’


The term ‘trow’ is possibly derived from the Scandinavian troll meaning ‘bewitch’. The Norse influence is strong in the islands and most of the islanders have Viking blood.