Brit-Pop I think Creatures of British Isle Folklore would Enjoy

If they've been around as long as people say, they deserve some bangers too...

Black Dogs

Ghoulish figures of black dogs are common to many a culture’s mythologies. They appear in several UK county legends (especially in Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk). In Devon, black hounds were said to have appeared all over Dartmoor when a ‘huntsman sold his soul to the devil’ (for fun?) in the late 17^th Century. The tale went on to inspire The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes book by Arthur Conan Doyle that featured a mystery surrounding Black Dog sightings.

Songs for the Black Dogs:

Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machine

Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

(A song for the dogs to bop to and a song for them to get in their feels with.)

 

Boggarts

'A Cornish Litany': https://darklanecreative.com/ghoulies-ghosties-and-long-leggety-beasties-2/

A boggart is a supernatural spirit. Malevolent and haunting, ‘if the boggart was given a name, it could neither be reasoned with nor persuaded, but would become uncontrollable and destructive.’ - Lancashire Folklore, 1867, Harland and Wilkinson. They are said to have a changeable nature and play mind tricks on their victims. They might like these tracks then…

Songs for the Boggarts:

Night Changes - One Direction

Hallucinate - Dua Lipa

 

Fad Felen

https://abookofcreatures.com/2020/05/01/fad-felen/

The Yellow Plague came to Wales in the 540s and was named this because it turned people yellow from bloodlessness. Fad Felen, a yellow hag-like figure (though sometimes described as taking the form of a yellow cloud of pestilence over the marshes), was not only born from suppositious fear of the plague but the famous poet Taliesin. Taliesin wrote a prophecy about the death of Welsh King Maelgwn and it certainly helped the myth take shape. He wrote: ‘A strange creature will come from the marsh of Rhianedd, to punish the crimes of Maelgwn Gwynedd; its hair, its teeth, and its eyes are yellow, and this will destroy Maelgwn Gwynedd.’ And everyone was like, you know what? That’s so true, and Fad Felen was born.

Songs for Fad Felen:

Promise This - Cheryl Cole (Taliesin promised miss Fad would come. ‘Be the last to kiss my lips’ is giving plague.)

Yellow – Coldplay

 

Dragons

Maybe the most famous image of British folklore is the Dragon. From the legend of St George, the stories of Tolkien, to the Welsh flag, Dragons are all over the UK’s iconography. They fly, they breathe fire, and they're most closely associated with the medieval era despite existing in folklore for centuries before the period. This is likely because the winged and four-legged version of the dragon we recognise today was immortalised in the 1400s by the invention of the printing press.

Songs for the Dragons

Set Fire to the Rain - Adele

Wings - Little Mix

Burn - Ellie Goulding

 

Loch Ness Monster

1934 'Surgeon's Photograph' (hoax), © Historia/Shutterstock.com

What is unique about the Loch Ness Monster, is claims of sightings have been numerous and ongoing even into the modern age. Of course, there is still no substantial evidence but it is fun that Nessie gets so much attention, she’s just that girl. The Loch Ness Monster supposedly has a long neck, bumps on her back, and lives in Loch Ness, Scotland.

Songs for the Loch Ness Monster:

Drag Me Down - One Direction (‘Nobody can drag me down’ – naysayers won’t tear our Ness down.)

Houdini - Dua Lipa (Girlie doesn’t stick around for long.)

Rolling in the Deep – Adele

 

Redcaps

https://belindaburke.com/tag/the-redcap/

Redcaps are evil and murderous goblins that soak their caps in the blood of their victims. They tend to inhabit castle ruins on the Anglo-Scottish border. Robin Redcap (a famous one it seems) lives in Hermitage Castle where he ‘murdered’ the Scottish noble, William de Soullis. I sense someone from the 1300s is giggling in their grave for getting away with that cover-story.

Songs for the Redcaps:

Murder on the Dance Floor - Sophie Ellis Bexter

Castle On the Hill - Ed Sheeran

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

 

Bluecaps

https://warriorsofmyth.fandom.com/wiki/Bluecap

Bluecaps are the foils to Redcaps. Instead of living in the heights of castles, they inhabit mines underground. Bluecaps are good-natured and try to save people from danger. They expect to be paid the same as the miners for their service – I think they’re unionised. Workers used to leave payment for Bluecaps in a corner of their mine. They’re sometimes referred to as ‘knockers’ for knocking on mine-walls to warn of collapse, or ‘wisps’ when they take the form of a blue light to guide the lost.

Songs for the Bluecaps:

Levitating - Dua Lipa (For their floating wispy form.)

I'll Stand By You - Girls Aloud

Move - Little Mix (Bluecaps tell you to get a bloody move on if the mine is about to cave in.)

Girl, So Confusing - Charli xcx (For their complicated relationship with their Redcap counterparts.)

 

Marool

https://x.com/CharliCreatures/status/1385954085468352512

If there’s a sea storm in the north of the British Ilses, some claim you can hear the song of the Marool as it enjoys watching ships sink. Originating in the Shetland Islands, the name Marool comes from ‘mareel’ which is an algae sea foam. Marool supposedly hide behind the foam to camouflage themselves. It has an ungodly number of eyes all around its head and sharp teeth.

Songs for the Marools:

360 - Charli xcx (Can see all around with its many eyes.)

Jump - Girls Aloud (Enjoys watching ships capsize.)

White Flag - Dido (‘I will go down with this ship’.)

 

Jenny Greenteeth

https://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2016/08/11/the-legend-of-jenny-green-teeth

Derived from the Yorkshire myth of the Grindylow, a name that has existed since Beowulf and other Old English writings, Jenny Greenteeth lives in English ponds and bogs. She is described as a river hag with green skin, hair, and teeth, much like the colour of pondweed that disguises a body of water. Jenny Greenteeth yanks children and old people into the water to drown them. Everyone's allowed their hobbies.

Songs for Jenny Greenteeth:

Hold my Hand - Jess Glynne (‘I’m ready for this, I need you all in’.)

Latch - Sam Smith and Disclosure (Jenny’s grip is no joke.)

Girl Overboard - Girls Aloud

 

Banshees

The Banshee Appears by R. Prowse (1862)

A Banshee is a spirit of a woman that wails and shrieks blood-curdling screams to signal a tragic death of a family member is about to take place for those who hear her. Originating in Irish but also Scottish folklore, when many Banshees appear at once, it implies the death of someone holy. These ladies can also travel through sound and smell.

Songs for the Banshees:

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Cry Me Out - Pixie Lott

Tragedy – Steps

 

Pixies

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/british-pixies/

Mischievous and childlike, Pixies have become synonymous with fairies. The Victorians popularised the image of Pixies with wings and hats but older mythology paint a picture of a purer menace. These creatures steal, throw things, and purposefully lead travellers astray, just because!

Songs for the Pixies:

I Don't Care – Icona Pop and Charli xcx (I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs.)

Because We Want To - Billie Piper