Scots Language Centre

A cold wet night. A car with no driver. What should a young hitcher do?
James Spence's frightening story is a classic Halloween tale.

The earliest known writing about werewolves – in the Scots language – dates from 1597. No less a personage than King James VI wrote briefly about the subject. The idea of the werewolf had really taken off in Europe in the wake of a ... more

Scotland's most popular poem has been the inspiration for countless artists, writers and musicians.
The painter, Alexander Goudie (1933–2004), described Tam o’ Shanter as ‘a gothic tale, strewn with vivid and awesome imag... more

“Eh, siccan bonnie floueries!” Who visited the old woman on the night before she died and what do her last words mean. Gavin Sprott conjures up a strange, unsettling world in the farmlands of his native Angus.

This stor... more

The festival of Halloween began as the pagan festival of Samhain (as it was named in the Gaelic language) in which pagan people believed that the worlds of the past, present and future merged together, and when the dead and mortal could co... more

Was the young woman really dead the day she was sealed in her coffin? Mary Blance tells the story of Da wife wi da Bluid Red Hand, a traditional tale from Shetland.

This story appears on Spinnin Yarns, a compilation of traditiona... more

The Scots Language Centre has teamed up with the Traditional Music and Song Association to encourage the enjoyment and singing of Scots songs.
Tam Lin, one of Scotland's oldest ballads, fits in well with the super... more

“Dookin for aipples” is one of the most popular Hallowe’en traditions in Scotland. In this film from 1961 youngsters in Edinburgh show how it's done.
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