The Red Cap

I’ll never grow too old for fairy tales. Whether they are dark, twisted tales of vampires and werewolves, or happier adventures of virtuous maidens and princes, I love them all.

In my first novel, Seducing the Laird, the Old Lord’s demonic familiar was a curious animal described as “an aged cherub with piercing black eyes and bright red hair that might also have been a cap.” The Old Lord tamed this creature and forced it to reveal an ancient treasure of Roman silver buried for centuries beneath the castle walls.

Image by Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22656/22656-h/22656-h.htm

These apparitions, called Red Caps, are common along the border between England and Scotland. They inhabit ruined castles with violent histories of blood and murder. As the former location of a Roman silver mine and situated so near the heavily-contested border, the McPherson castle must have seen its fair share of death.

Their name derives from the bright red caps they wear, colored by the blood of their victims. It is said that if the cap’s blood-red hue ever fades, they die as well, so they are often forced to prey upon lost travelers.

Image by Scary for Kids http://www.scaryforkids.com/red-cap/

“Watch out for the heartless Redcap,
Because he’d rather see you dead.
He’d love to squeeze out all your blood,
then put it on his head!”

Their blood-sucking proclivities at first reminded me of vampires, but these aren’t the sparkling heartthrobs of Hollywood. Red Caps look like little old men. Though small, Red Caps wear magical iron boots that allow them to outrun any creature, and they are strong enough to overpower the strongest man.

The only way to survive an encounter with these spirits is to recite from the bible. Or, like the famed Dracula, they are said to flee in terror at the sign of the cross.

Image by Frank http://www.myspace.com/neverville/blog/129315481

William II de Soules kept the famous Robin Redcap as a familiar. In 1320 he was involved in a conspiracy against Robert Bruce and died soon after under mysterious circumstances. According to legend he was taken to a circle of standing stones called the Nine Stane Rigg, and boiled alive. Allied with the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence, de Soules could not have been well-loved among his people.

Lord Soulis he sat in Hermitage Castle,

And beside him Old Redcap sly; --

“Now, tell me, thou sprite, who are meikle of might,

The death that I must die?"

1876: Porter & Coates (pub.) , http://books.google.com/books?vid=0xX5AYwnNuW_isE9h9&id=D9zaWVMVnMwC&pg=PA450&lpg=PA450&dq=%22redcap%22&as_brr=1 Reliques of Ancient English Poetry

I decided to spare the Old Lord such a gruesome fate. He faced only excommunication for his wicked ways and was buried in the woods far from the castle. I like to imagine his Red Cap familiar keeping watch over the grave and pouncing on any that are unwise enough to disturb his magical grove.