Headless Horror of the Highlands

There is (or at least was at some point in history) a foreboding rocky mound stood on the west coast of Inverness-shire in Scotland, just on the boundary between North and South Morar. This stoic stone guardian was referred to as *cnoc mòr creige*, and was allegedly haunted by a malevolent entity described as a nude hairy humanoid figure lacking a head. This monster was referred to as the *Colann Gun Cheann*. It would apparently attack and kill anyone who dared move through its territory at night, and when one such attack killed a local man's son - he took it upon himself to vanquish the murderous spirit.

## 'A Ghastly and Unnatural Death'

This local man went by the name of Macdonall (or MacCuïl) and lived uncomfortably close to the accursed mound. One winter's evening he was unexpectedly visited by an esteemed friend - the sort of person who would require more than one host to entertain them - and so Macdonall felt that he had no choice but to ask his son of 18 years to venture across the nearby river to the settlement of Bracora in order to track down some friends of his to come and assist with hosting the party. After wandering around the village for a while, the unnamed Macdonall boy failed to find any of the friends he had been looking for, and - although he had been expressly warned not to by his father - decided to return home alone. This route would require him to pass the malevolently-inhabited mound. Predictably, he was quickly intercepted by what one can only presume was the homicidal apparition so dreaded in those parts - and he never returned home. That morning, traces were found of a horrendous struggle in the area. Large stones had been thrown around as if by something inhumanly strong, and there was a copious quantity of blood staining the entire sickening scene crimson.

Horrified by what had happened, Macdonnall vowed that he would not eat or drink until the monster had been slain. Although his friends desperately pleaded with him not to venture out to the haunted rocks, he was unwavering in his conviction. The entity would apparently only manifest its horrid form if its potential victim was alone, and so Macdonnall's friends stayed at the house while the grieving father set out on a quest of vengeance. As it always did, the *Colann Gun Cheann* manifested itself and spoke to Macdonnall. It rightly guessed that he had come to avenge his son's death, and then ordered him to '*take counsel, and go home*'. Refusing to give in that easily, Macdonnall tackled the creature and proceeded to wrestle the foul fiend - dislodging nearby stones which can apparently still be seen in their disturbed positions to this day. After a dreadful struggle, Macdonnall was able to force the monster to the ground - and unsheathed his dirk in an effort to stab the thing to death. Seemingly now desperate to save its skin, the monster cried '*Hold your hand, MacCuïl, touch me not with the iron, and while there is one within the twentieth degree related to you in Morar, I will not again be seen*'.

According to John Gregorson Campbell (the author of the book which serves as the primary source for this article) - there were two living relatives of the legendary Macdonnall who fall under the criteria established by the entity who were living in Morar at the time of his writing, which was the year 1902. He attributes the creature's lack of reappearance to the fact that these two individuals were still alive. I imagine that no close relatives of Macdonnall still exist, and so by the logic of this story there should have been more deaths.

## Other Versions

Although this story is fairly obscure outside of the specific locale around which it was set, there are several versions of the tale to be found from various Scottish sources. There is another telling of the tale involving a local hero referred to as Stout John, Laird of Raasay. In this version, the monster uttered a twist on a famous rhyme before vanishing as opposed to giving its slayer any sort of information about when it would return. There is even a classic ghost story about Sir William Wallace encountering a headless ghost, which is apparently widely known in the Hebrides.

I think that the story about Stout John is likely a duplicate of the Macdonnall story, and should thus be dismissed as entirely fictional. The William Wallace story sounds like a traditional gothic ghost story, and I doubt that it is connected to the legend of the *Colann Gun Cheann*. It would be interesting to see if there are any historical records of Mr. Macdonnall, and whether there are any non-legend recollections of when and how the death of his son occurred. For now, however, I think this tale will have to remain as a shadowy shape lurking in the annals of folklore...

## Sources

'Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland' by John Gregorson Campbell

'Dangerous Ghosts' by Elliott O'Donnell