According to folklorist
Katharine Briggs, the Ghillie Dhu was a gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirit, or a "rather unusual nature fairy." He was generally timid, yet he could also be "wild". Generally of a dishevelled appearance, he used green moss and leaves taken from trees as clothing. As indicated by his name, he had black hair. He was of a small stature. His fondness of children is similar to that displayed by the little known Hyter sprite of English mythology. He was said to live in the
birch woods near Loch a Druing, in the north-west Highland area of
Gairloch. The woods are in a dip alongside a hilly area around from where
Rua Reidh Lighthouse was later built. He was mainly reported in the latter part of the 18th century. He was described by
Osgood Mackenzie, a Scottish landowner and horticulturist, in his 1921 memoirs. The best known account of the Ghillie Dhu involves a girl named Jessie Macrae, who lived near the woods. She wandered into the woods and became lost as the sun went down. Her sobs reportedly drew the attention of the Ghillie Dhu, who comforted her and either led her home before darkness fell, or stayed with her all night and led her home in the morning. Over a period of four decades the fairy was reportedly seen by many people but Jessie was the only person with whom he conversed. At some point, landowner
Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch invited a group of five Mackenzie dignitaries to hunt and capture the Ghillie Dhu, which he believed posed a threat. Despite searching extensively throughout the night, the hunters could not find their prey; according to mythology scholar
Patricia Monaghan, the Ghillie Dhu was never seen again. ==Origins==