In the Isle of Man there was once said to haunt Peel Castle a great black spectral dog known as the Moddey Dhoo.
It appeared as a large shaggy hound, often described as resembling a black spaniel. The creature was seen moving through the rooms of the castle, but most often it lay in the guardroom beside the fire, visible to the soldiers stationed there. Over time, they grew accustomed to its presence, though it never ceased to disturb them.
The dog was said to enter and leave through a certain passage in the castle each evening and return to it again at dawn.
One night, a guard, emboldened by drink, ignored the custom that the castle gates should be locked by two men together. He took the keys alone and went down the haunted passage to deliver them. Soon afterward, he returned pale and shaken, unable or unwilling to say what he had seen.
Within a few days he died.
After this, the passage was sealed and never used again. From that time onward, the black dog was no longer seen.
Thus the Moddey Dhoo was remembered as the silent hound of Peel Castle — a spirit that walked the halls, appeared before soldiers, and vanished after leaving one final warning behind.
On the Isle of Man there once roamed a terrible being known as the Buggane—a great, hulking creature of malice and brute strength.
The Buggane was a shapeshifter. At times it appeared as a monstrous black calf, at others as a towering man with horse’s ears or hooves. In its truest and most dreadful shape it was covered in coarse black hair, with blazing eyes like torches and sharp tusks gleaming in its mouth. Some said it bore bull’s horns. It was so immense that it could tear the roof from a church as easily as a man might lift a hat.
Though powerful, the Buggane had its limits. It could not cross running water, nor could it stand upon ground made holy.
One tale tells of a Buggane that found itself accidentally carried away on a ship bound for Ireland. Furious at being taken from its island home, it whipped up a savage storm, driving the vessel toward the jagged rocks of Contrary Head. The terrified captain prayed to St. Trinian, promising to build him a chapel if they were spared. The saint guided the ship safely into Peel Harbour. Enraged, the Buggane roared, “St. Trinian shall never have a whole church in Ellan Vannin!”
True to its word, when a chapel was built in the saint’s honor, the Buggane tore its roof off—once, twice, three times—so that St. Trinian’s Church was never left complete.
Bugganes were not only destroyers of churches. They plagued farms and villages. One from Glen Maye nearly hurled a lazy housewife into a waterfall for neglecting her baking. She escaped only by slipping free of her apron strings. Another, at Gob-na-Scuit, ripped thatch from haystacks, blew smoke back down chimneys, and shoved sheep from steep grassy cliffs.
Some Bugganes lived by the sea in dark caves. The Buggan ny Hushtey was known for despising idleness, punishing those who shirked their work.
Most famous of all is the battle between the Buggane of Barrule and the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill.
When Fionn came to the Isle of Man, the Buggane sought him out for combat. Fionn wished to avoid the fight, so his clever wife disguised him as a baby and laid him in a cradle. When the Buggane saw the size of the “child,” he thought, “If this is the baby, what size must the father be?” and withdrew—for a time.
But they did meet at last, near Kirk Christ Rushen. From sunrise to sunset they fought. Fionn planted one foot in the Big Sound and the other in the Little Sound, shaping the channels between the Calf of Man, Kitterland, and the main island as he struggled. The Buggane stood firm at Port Erin. In the end, the Buggane wounded Fionn so grievously that he fled toward Ireland.
The Buggane could not follow across the sea. Instead, it tore out one of its own teeth and hurled it after him. The tooth struck Fionn and fell into the water, becoming the jagged rock known today as Chicken Rock. Fionn turned and laid a mighty curse upon it, condemning it to remain there as a hazard for sailors as long as water runs and grass grows.
And so the Bugganes remain in Manx memory—wild, shape-shifting giants of fury and strength, feared for their violence and remembered in the land itself.
Gallery
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Buggane. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buggane
Tradition / Region: Manx mythology Alternate Names: Themselves, Little People, Little Ones, Lil’ Boys Category:Gnome
The Myth
On the Isle of Man, the Little Fellows still walk the land—though never, ever should they be called fairies. To name them so is careless, even dangerous. They are spoken of politely, as Themselves or the Little People, for they may be listening.
The Little Fellows are not tiny, winged creatures, but small folk, two to three feet tall, shaped much like humans. They dress in red caps and green jackets, and they love the hunt above all things. Many have seen them riding out on horseback, followed by packs of little hounds shimmering in every color of the rainbow. Their hunting parties pass swiftly through fields and hills, vanishing as suddenly as they appear.
They are clever, willful, and easily offended. Mischief comes naturally to them, and spite is never far away. A careless word, a disrespectful glance, or a failure to show courtesy may earn their anger. That is why the people of the island speak of them kindly and indirectly, giving them flattering names so as not to draw ill luck.
Though troublesome, the Little Fellows are not wholly evil. They live alongside the human world, slipping in and out of sight, riding the hills, running their hounds, and watching how people behave. Those who respect them may pass unharmed. Those who forget themselves may learn—too late—that the Little People have long memories, sharp tempers, and ways of reminding humans that Ellan Vannin is not theirs alone.