#nykur

Nøkken ☆ It's true form is a brilliant white horse according to some of the lore!

NYKUR

AKA: Nykur Hestur (Nykur Horse), Nickur; Nennir, Ninnir (Ninny); Flóðhestur (Hippopotamus); Kumbur (Clump); Skolli (Devil); Vatnaskratti (Water Fiend)

Water horses as a mythological creatures appear in Celtic and Scandinavian folklore. They're shape-shifting water spirits, who lure and drag their unsuspecting victims to their demise. However, there are many types of water horses, differing from each other not only by places of origin but in behaviour. What they all have in common is: inhabiting bodies of water and taking the form of a horse. I'll try my best to present the best known and least known ones, in simple to understand fashion. In advance, I want to apologies for any mistakes made. I'm only one person doing this partly as a story research and partly as my love/fascination for those creatures. I advise taking this post as a starting point and encourage to look into the folklore yourselves. Also, I apologies for any grammatical mistakes, English is my second language.

Kelpie

Location: Scotland Other names: x Body of water: streams and rivers

the best known of all water horse

appears as a powerful and beautiful black, dark grey or white horse, with reversed hooves and, in some sources, equipped with a bridle and sometimes a saddle

if the kelpie was already wearing a bridle, "exorcism" might be achieved by removing it, which would be endowed with magical properties, like healing, and if brandished towards someone, was able to transform that person into a horse or pony

can shape-shift into a human figures, with water weeds in hair, such as old wizened man; rough, shaggy man; handsome young man wearing a silver necklace, which was its bridle; or a tall woman dressed in green

in the form of handsome young man, said to seeks "human companionship" and will woo a pretty young girl which is determined to take for its wife

if mounted, its skin becomes adhesive, in stories where a hand or a finger got stuck to the creature, the only way to break free was to cut it off

most stories say they only drown their victims, but some say they tear them apart and devour them, leave the entrails to washout to the water's edge

could entice victims onto its back by singing

some sources say, it can have a offspring with a horse, which would be impossible to drown and had ears shorter then normal

could be k*lled with a silver bullet or heated iron, and after dying, it’ll turn into turf and soft mass, like jellyfish

could be tamed with well placed halter, some sources say in should have sign of a cross on it

the noise a kelpie's tail makes when it entered water sounds like thunder

its howls and wails, as a warning of approaching storms

Each-uisge

Location: Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man Other names: each-uisce/aughisky/ech-ushkya (Irish), cabyll-ushtey (Manx) Body of water: sea, sea lochs and fresh water lochs

the name means "water horse", literally

has been described as "perhaps the fiercest and most dangerous of all the water-horses", being unpredictable in nature

can shape-shift into fine horse, pony, a handsome man (water weeds, sand or mud in hair) or an enormous bird (such as a boobrie/great auk)

tears apart and devours the entire body of its victim, except for the liver, lungs or heart (depending on the source), and  some times pieces of clothing are also present

preys not only on humans but also cattle and sheep

could be lured out off the water by the smell of roasted meat

can be k*lled with red-hot iron and after being k*lled, leaves jelly-like substance

repelled by silver and fire

sometimes comes out of the water to gallop on land and, despite the danger, if caught and tamed then it will make the finest of steeds

most likely to come out in November

can be ride safety on interior land as long as they don't smell or gets a glimpse of water

because of their pr*datory hunger, they may even turn on their own kind, if the scent of a human rider is strong enough on the monster's body

Ceffyl Dŵr

Location: Wales Other names: x Body of water: mountain pools, waterfalls and seashore (few sources)

most stories say they're fresh water but some sources say there is a salt water version, differing mostly in colour

its characterisation depends on the region, in North Wales its represented as being rather formidable with fiery eyes and a dark forbidding presence, while in South Wales its seen more positively as, at worst a cheeky pest to travellers and at best, luminous, fascinating and sometimes a winged steed

appears as a pony or cob sized horse, dappled grey or sand colour, with hooves facing backwards; or large chestnut or piebald horse

though it appears solid, it can evaporate into mist or grown wings

some sources say, it could transform into frogs

can k*ll its victims by trampling them on the pathways they frequent; or by convincing someone to ride them, only to drown them; or fly them into the air only to turn to mist, dropping the unfortunate rider to his death

like with kelpies, they can be tamed by use of a well placed bridle, though it’s much harder, due to their ability to turn intangible

in some sources its connected with sea-storm: appearing with sea-foam white coat in storm seasons; dapple, grey or white, clumsily stomping about in the ocean waves prior to the storm (possibly brewing up the very storm its sighting precedes); and as large chestnut or piebald horse trotting along the coast after storm

Nykur

Location: Iceland Other names: x Body of water: lake, river, stream and sea

appears as a grey horse with backwards hooves and ears

could change itself into all forms, living or dead, e.g. lambswool or peeled barley

repelled by speaking its name or a synonyms of it (Nennir, Nóni, Vatnaskratti (“water demon”) or Kumbur)

appears on the lake-shore, with half its body in the water, and looks to be quite tame to its unsuspecting victims

if mounted, its skin becomes adhesive and its will ride into the water and drown its victim

its neighing is said to sound like ice cracking

could breed with a horse (giving birth like a normal mare, albeit in the water), its offspring were indistinguishable from those of a normal horse but had a tendency to lie down when splashed with water or when led through belly-deep water

Tangie

Location: Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands Other names: tongie Body of water: fresh and salt water

the name comes from 'tang', which comes from Old Norse "þang" meaning 'seaweed' (probably referring to seaweed of genus Fucus)

appears as a coarse-haired, apple-green pony or a black horse with seaweed or shells in its mane

in other forms, appears as an aged man or merman, also covered in seaweeds

known for terrorizing lonely travellers, especially young women on roads at night near the lochs, whom it will abduct and devour under the water

said to be able to cause derangement in humans and animals

best known for playing a major role in the Shetland legend of Black Eric, a sheep rustler

Nuggle

Location: Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands (few mentions) Other names: neugle, njogel, nuggie, noggle, nogle, nygel, shoepultie/shoopiltee Body of water: rivers, streams and lochs, beside watermills

nocturnal

always male, appearing as a attractive, generously fed and well-conditioned (Shetland) pony or horse, with wheel-like tail which it hides between its back-legs or arched over its back, and sleek coat from a deep bluish-grey through to a very light, almost white, grey

can take many forms, but never of a human

never strays very far from water

fairly gentle disposition, being more prone to playing pranks and making mischief rather than having malicious intents, like stopping the watermill's wheel

some stories state, only magical beings called Finns (Finfolk) were able to ride a nuggle without coming to any harm

Bäckahäst

Location: Scandinavian Other names: brook horse Body of water: rivers, lakes and ponds

appears as a majestic white (sometimes with spotted sides) horse

appears particularly during foggy weather

could be harnessed and made to plough, either because it was trying to trick a person or because the person had tricked the horse into it

Cabyll-Ushtey

Location: Isle of Man, Ireland Other names: glashtyn, cabbyl-ushtey, capall uisce (possibly Irish or Old Irish) Body of water: sea

there are very few tales about it

very similar to each-uisge, but not as dangerous

appears as a pale grey horse, but capable of change into a young man

mostly known for seizing cows and tear them to pieces, stampeding horses, and stealing children

As requested by theLOAD, here is a family tree of all the beings included in the "Nix" family, or how a bunch of water horses, a river dragon, and a violin playing devil are all related to each other. Line-art version because I will never be satisfied with colors here. 

Before I get into that, however, I should say that this shouldn't be taken as absolute fact. Firstly, it's absolutely incomplete. There are many, many, many different water horses in Western Europe. I kind of just lumped three of them together in the bottom left corner. One could argue that the Welsh Ceffyl Dŵr should be on here, as well as the Belgian Kludde or the Breton Mourioche. There's a whole lot of them. Secondly, it isn't as cut and dry as the tree makes it seem. The knucker didn't spontaneously turn into a dragon, it was probably influenced by dragon folklore in the area before the name stuck. Outside influence is all over the place. Were water horses in Britain derived from English and Saxon sources or did the occupying Norse bring them? It's unclear. As well, there's probably a lot of internal influencing going on. It's hard to tell when exactly nixies came about. Were they influenced at all by the Scandinavian nøkk? When? Making family trees larger than this is hard. It would be all tangled up. For now though, let's look at the creatures that are on there right now. 

The oldest of the bunch are the Old English nicor and Old Norse nykr. I couldn't find much about the nykr specifically, but the Icelandic and Faroese nykur was probably the best bet for what the Norse believed about it. The two share an old, old name, and based on the common characteristics it was probably similar to these two. Both the nicor and nykur are water monsters. That's basically it. Outside of Beowulf, the nicor is mentioned rarely if at all. There it's no different from any mundane water creature, and the word could also be used to refer to hippos as well. It's an ambiguous water monster. If specific characteristics existed, they probably haven't survived to the modern era. Judging the nykr by its Icelandic equivalent the nykur, it was primarily a water horse. A creature which mimics a regular horse standing by a river, beckoning weary travelers and children at play to ride it. Then the riders find themselves stuck as the horse leaps into the water, drowning and devouring the unfortunate soul. The nykur is a shapeshifter, rarely known to take human shape as well. It can be discovered by looking at its hooves, which are backwards. 

From there, we split the two into Britain and Continental Europe. Britain has the most regional variants of water horses. They are very much similar to the nykur of before, with some local flair or quirks. The mischievous nuggle of the Shetland Isles has a wheel-shaped tail, while the spiteful, kidnapping tangie can equally appear as an old man covered in seaweed. In Scotland kelpies, the each-uisge, and the Manx glashtyn are all quite similar, being equally water horses while also taking the form of men. Strangely, one branch of the tree led to the knucker, a Sussex water dragon. While certainly different from its cousins, it does bear a resemblance to the ambiguous nicor of yesteryear. Knuckers are slippery fiends with monstrous appetites. The most famous one was killed by feeding it a poisoned meat pie. Knuckers live in knuckerholes, round kettle-like bodies of water that stretch deep into the ground. 

Then, continental Europe. Here the water horse still lives, but was overshadowed by its more humanoid forms. Brook horses are found across Scandinavia and mostly act the same as their counterparts in Britain. A regional trait is that some (I believe Danish or Swedish) can extend their bodies if a large group of victims want to ride it. Pretty nightmarish. This horse just extends and then jumps in the water and kills you. The other form is the nøkk* (Norwegian/Danish), neck (Swedish), nakki (Finnish), or fossegrim/strömkarl. This is a man-shaped being that sits in rivers and waterfalls, usually playing a violin. The music lures people into the water, where he then drowns them. Fossegrim is also an accomplished shapeshifter. His usual form is that of a naked young man, but he can also become a brook horse at will, or simply melt into the water. Regardless, there's usually one part of him that signals his true nature (horse hooves, an inhumanly crooked nose, a third eye, hairy legs). While usually malevolent, killing or kidnapping people, some have been able to coax music lessons out of him. He could also act as an omen for drownings. In Germany, the nix or nixie is similar in that they will sometimes use their enchanting voice to lure people to their deaths, usually in rivers and lakes, even the Rhine itself. Nixies can also be pretty chill though. They can equally be male or female and even take human form. The one give away is their sopping wet clothes. And no I did not unintentionally lift the design from the skin deep comic I swear please don't send me to jail.