Penn Scripter Published First Release within a Year of Conception

Penn Scripter set up shop a year ago this July 31st! Within that time, we’ve completed The Demon of Reginhart and are working on The Transformation of Charlie.
 
Not bad for 12 months’ worth of work. Wouldn’t you agree?

While we are working on The Transformation of Charlie, working title TOC,  here’s a little something related to one of our important characters, from The Demon of Reginhart, Selkie.

In the story, he’s a demon steed. However, here’s the legend behind this character. Take note, being horse lovers, we made our Selkie an equine instead of a person. A demon horse at that.

​The Origin of the Selkie

The Irish legend of the Selkie is based on the concept of a mermaid. Selkies – also called seal people, sea people or mermaids – and tells of people who are half fish, and half human. In the water, they are seals, but on land, they shed their skin and take on human form. For some reason, they are irresistible to ordinary humans, who are apt to fall in love with them.
 
Popular on islands and rural coastal communities, the legend of selkie has endured over the age, and though less, there are still supposed sightings even in relatively modern times. Selkies are often spotted by those living in remote coastal areas. Legend has it that to come ashore, selkies must first shed their skin or tail. And if a person manages to find that skin and hide it away, the seal person cannot return to the sea. Irish folklore is littered with tales of men and women (usually men) finding a selkie skin and hiding it, then marrying the selkie woman. 

Many famous stories revolve around selkies in Ireland. One is that of Thady Rua O’Dowd, a clan chieftain who was tasked with finding himself a bride upon rising to clan leadership.

Out walking on the beach to clear his head, Thady stumbled upon a beautiful maiden combing her hair. Though unclothed, she had a magical cape or coat next to her. Of course, all in Ireland knew of the sea people, the selkies, and Thady was no different. He quickly snatched up her selkie cloak to hide away, professing his love at first sight for her. Without her fishtail, the selkie, called Eve, had no choice but to return his love and marry him. Together, they ruled the lands and raised their seven children, but Eve always longed for the sea.

​Legend has it that though the selkie cloak was well hidden, one of their children spotted Thady checking on it and told his mother of the “bag of gold.” When Thady was away from home, Eve checked the spot her child told her about – and lo and behold, discovered her fishtail. With the return of her fishtail, Eve could not resist the temptation of the sea.
She left to go back to the ocean with her children. But she could not take them all. Instead, she turned five of them into rocks, swimming off into the waves with the remaining children under each arm.

We’re not sure about turning children into rocks, but that’s how the legend goes.

So, look to read more about our Selkie in The Demon of Reginhart!

​Unexpectedly yours,