A nuggle (also neugle, njuggle, shoepultie or shoopiltee) is a mythical aquatic horse-like creature of primarily Shetland folklore. A nocturnal creature that was always of a male gender, there were occasional fleeting mentions of him connected with the Orkney islands but he was more frequently associated with the rivers, streams and lochs of Shetland. (Similar "water horses" haunt other locations in Scotland.) Legends usually depicted the nuggle as mischievous rather than malicious, with the nuggle tricking people into riding it, and then running into the nearest body of fresh water. However, some legends depict the nuggle as deliberately drowning riders rather than getting them wet.
Nuggle in "The Njuggle"[]
In his youth, Olav Larsen lost his friend Andrew Grott to a Njuggle. One evening, while they were on the road to Loch Brekkan, they came across a pony that appeared abruptly. Grott approached it without a second thought, whereas Larsen was suspicious, especially when it saw the malice in the pony's eyes. Larsen tried to warn Grott to leave the pony, but Grott didn't listen, and mounted it. The pony was in fact a Njuggle. It immediately ran to the Loch with Grott on its back and went in. Grott drowned; his body was recovered the next day. From then on, Larsen carried a charm designed to ward off the Njuggle, and told everyone he met about Grott's death.[1]
Among those he told were his grandsons, Ramus and Magnus. While Magnus didn't believe Olav, Rasmus accepted his own charm to ward off the Njuggle: a lasso with iron studs.[2]
In July, 1876, Rasmus and Magnus where headed to their Aunt Sinnie's home for medicine for Olav when they saw an object that Rasmus had first thought was a piece of wood, but proved to be a horse when they were close enough. Rasmus, remembering the story of the Njuggle, warned Magnus to avoid the horse, but Magnus didn't listen and mounted the horse.[3]
The horse was a Njuggle, and immediately ran off towards Loch Brekkan. Magnus couldn't get off, and Rasmus couldn't catch up, nor could he use the charm Olav had given him. Panicked, Rasmus threw his lucky stone at the Njuggle, hitting it. In pain, the Njuggle tossed Magnus off of its back. Once Rasmus confirmed that Magnus was okay, he threw the charm on the Njuggle: a thin lasso with iron studs, to which the Njuggle proved vulnerable.[4] Rasmus and Magnus dragged the Njuggle to the standing stones on the beach, where they chained it up.[5]
They then went to Aunt Sinnie's, but didn't say anything about the Njuggle. Magnus asked to be the one who told Olav, in part as an apology. Rasmus agreed. The next morning, both went out to the stones, and saw the chain empty. However, Magnus confirmed that the Njuggle had died in the sunrise, reduced to a gelatinous blob.[6]
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