The Outrun: From Selkies to sea monsters, the Orkney folklore behind new hit Saoirse Ronan film

Alea Ibrahim, from Historic Environment Scotland (HES), has researched the enduring tales which shape the film and the journey of recovery where sea serpents, selkies and a vanishing island help Liptrot, who is played by Saoirse Ronan, understand her place in the world and guide her way through it.

To begin, the legend of Mester Stoor Worm and Assipattle is recounted in the film and takes viewers deep into the formation of the islands.

Ms Ibrahim said such tales were likely rooted in Norse mythology and collected by folklorist and antiquarian Walter Traill Dennison, who died in 1894.

She said: “The stoor worm lived in the depths of the water and caused rumbling tremors across the land when it moved. Every now and then, it would glide to the surface and devour anything alive that it could snatch.

“In his growing desperation, the king turned to his citizens for help. A young farm boy named Assipattle steps up to the challenge. Equipped with a smouldering piece of peat from the farm, the young hero begins his journey to find the stoor worm.”

As Assipattle sets off on a small boat to find the beast, the stoor worm rises out of the sea and opens its enormous mouth, with the boy drifting into the depths of its stomach. He plunges the burning piece of coal into its fat, oily liver, with the sea serpent set alight from within.

“The stoor worm screams in pain and as it dies, its teeth begin to fall out,” Ms Ibrahim said. “It is said that they went on to become Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes. Its body turned into Iceland.”

In The Outrun, lead character Rona finds peace by braving the cold crashing waves on Orkney’s shores. In the water, she recounts the legends of the beautiful selkies, the shapeshifting seals who would slip from their skin and dance on the beaches under the moonlight in their human form.

“If their skin was stolen, they were forced to stay human,” Ms Ibrahim said. “There are many stories of men who, captivated by the selkies’ beauty, stole the skins of selkies and forced them to be their wives.”

One version of the selkie tale is called the The Goodman o’ Wastness about a handsome, prosperous farmer who lived on Westray.

One day, Goodman wanders along the shore and spots the beautiful selkies lying near the shore, soaking up the sun, while their radiant skins lie strewn across the rocks.

Ms Ibrahim said: “The selkies scream, scrambling for their skins, rushing to get back into safe waters. But Goodman is quick enough to snatch one skin of a female selkie. The selkie starts pleading with Goodman to return her skin, but he refuses and carries the skin home with him.

“Unable to return to her seal form, the selkie follows Goodman home. She sobs and cries, begging for her skin back to return to her people.”

Goodman convinces the selkie to become his wife. They raise children, but the selkie would stare out of the window, longing to return to the sea where she belonged.

One day, the selkie begins to search the house for her skin. Eventually, her daughter finds the beautiful coat and shows it to her mother.

“Overjoyed, the Selkie runs out of the house,” Ms Ibrahim said. “She throws on her skin and jumps back into the water. Goodman never sees the selkie again. But it is said that he could be seen walking along the shores at night hoping to find the selkie again.”

Liptrot, during her return to Papay, took up a post with the RSPB to track the elusive corncrake, another creature that holds its place in Orkney’s folklore.

“Because of its fickle nature, there are different legends about the corncrake,” Ms Ibrahim said.

According to some beliefs, corncrakes go underground, which is why they are rarely seen. Spotting a corncrake during the day is also considered a sign of good luck. Another legend suggests the hard-to-find birds turn into moorhens over winter.

In The Outrun memoir, the legend of Hether Blether, the mysterious island that appears and disappears in the mist is just off the island of Rousey, is drawn upon. Many claim to have seen it, but no one has actually been there.

According to the story, a Rousay woman is in the hills cutting peat when she encounters a mysterious man. The two begin to talk and after a while, the man persuades her to come home with him.

Beset with an “inexplicable sense of trust”, she follows him to a mysterious large house, unlike any of the ones she had seen before. As they enter, the man introduces the woman to his family. She decides to stay.

As years pass, her father persists with a tireless search for his daughter. One day, the house appears in front of his eyes from the mist.

Ms Ibrahim said: “Her father is overjoyed to have found his missing daughter who reassures him that she is well and happy in this house. “ She gives her father a knife for luck and protection, but he accidentally drops it into the sea. The island vanishes before his eyes and he was never able to return again.

The legend of the Sea Mither and Teran also emerges the film, a folktale “as old as the seasons and the weather”.

While the Sea Mither watches over the seas during the summer, keeping waters calm and warm, the Teran was her nemesis who stirred heavy storms and dangerous conditions.

Ms Ibrahim said: “According to legend, the Sea Mither and Teran go to battle with each other around the spring equinox. This fierce battle, that can go on for weeks, is known as the Vore Tullye or the spring struggle.”

The Sea Mither banishes Teran to the depths of the water and restores calm and serenity to the sea over the summer months. Around autumn, Teran will break free again and the cycle of the battle repeats.

“Although technically not part of The Outrun, the ancient legend is a fitting metaphor for Rona, who tries to break free from her inner demons while she is swimming in the sea,” Ms Ibrahim said.

A version of this feature first appeared on the HES website