Hello and welcome to the fifth part of our five-part series of Scary Stories. This is the final episode of this series, and today, we’ll talk about the most frightening and coldhearted beings to ever set foot on Ireland. These are, the Sluagh, or the Host of the Dead.
There’s not an awful lot of information on this group. They come to Ireland from the West. They’re seen as shades of people, the remnants of who they once were. They’re said to look like large ravens. Their wings are made of dusty smoke and they have gnarled talons for hands and feet.
It’s said that the first members of this group came from the Good Folk. It’s said that they were corrupted and twisted and this is why they’re evil now. These evil fairies went hunting for humans and they in turn corrupted and twisted them, expanding their army.
Halloween is the end of the celtic year. At this time, the boundaries between our world and the Otherworld are at their thinnest. It’s said that this horde crosses over at this time, in search of new prey. If they come across you, it’s said that you’ll suffer a fate worse than death. Instead of your soul going to Teach Donn, or to the Otherworld, or whatever it is you might believe, they force you to join their ranks. You can’t leave this army ever and you’ll have to hunt with them for eternity. The members of this group are not biased. They’ll take anyone who crosses their path.
There are a few ways to avoid them however. You may have noticed that I haven’t said their name again in this video since the start. The reason for this is because they come to those unlucky or foolish enough to call their Irish name nine times. So, it’s a bad idea to say their name nine times. Do not say their name nine times.
This is not the only way they find their prey. It’s said that they’re drawn to those whose hearts are full of joy, particularly if they have found their true-love. It’s said that these people have a sweeter taste. Unfortunately, they’re just as attracted to those who are brokenhearted. It’s said that the silent hopelessness calls out from their hearts and these creatures streak across the sky in search of them. It’s thought that this is what happens to those who die of a broken heart. So, we’re looking for a nice middleground, not too happy and not too sad.
There are more ways to avoid this host. For example, if there is a wake or sickness at home, you should fasten the windows on the west side of the house tight. You also shouldn’t go out alone in the dark. Of course, this isn’t always easy to avoid so if you ever see a collection of large black birds in the sky, you should run home as fast as your legs can carry you and don’t stop until you get there. You can also switch off your light and hide beside an oak tree or a rowan tree, but there’s still a chance that the flock will find you.
Now, sometimes people are just unlucky and they cross paths with this host anyway. There is one way to avoid the horrible fate of being taken away with them. That is, to name someone else in your place. It’s said that by doing so, we prove that we’re no better than each other.
We managed to find an account someone had with this horde.
Long ago, it was said that you shouldn’t lay someone to rest in a place they never desired. Fadó, in Waterford, an old man died. When he was still alive, he said that he had no desired to be placed in a certain graveyard. This was the closest graveyard to his home, and yet, he didn’t want to be laid there. As I said, eventually, at the end of his life, he died. He had no family left and the neighbours decided to lay him in the closest cemetery.
One night, not long after, there was another man out walking, let’s call him Pat for the sake of the story. Pat was out walking at night. He walked down a road that separated two graveyards. Without warning, a storm arose, from the graveyard the old man had been laid in. It flew over Pat’s head and he saw thousands of birds made of smoke and dark storm clouds. He put his hands to his head and fell to his knees. Through squinted eyes, he saw the storm move in the direction of the other cemetery. When it came to this graveyard, the storm dispersed as suddenly as it had collected.
When Pat asked the neighbours about the storm, they assured him that they hadn’t seen such a thing, they hadn’t even seen a cloud last night. But they told him that they knew exactly what it had been.
We can see then, that this army did a good deed by bringing the old man to the right resting place. But, they may have only done this since they couldn’t take him for themselves. We don’t know what motivated this group and, due to this, my advice to you is, stay away from them.
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