Stories in the Stone: The Kelpie’s Chimney
Special Guests from Folklore Scotland
Rebecca Brown & Dave White
How storytelling helps us understand nature, danger, and the landscapes we live in.
In this episode, we travel to the misty shores of Loch Garve to uncover the legend of Kelpie’s Chimney—a tale of magical creatures, love, and one very cold underwater lair. Through a beautifully adapted Scottish folktale and insights from our friends at Folklore Scotland, kids explore how stories help us understand the world around us, especially the natural landscapes we live in.
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Scottish Folklore with Folklore Scotland
What We're Learning Today
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What a Kelpie is and why they appear in Scottish folklore
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How people use stories to explain natural dangers and strange places
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How folklore travels, changes, and survives through generations
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What it means to “read” a landscape through cultural stories
In The Classroom
Discussion Questions for the Classroom
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Why do you think people told stories like this about lakes and lochs?
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Do you know any places near your home that feel mysterious or magical?
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What would it feel like to meet a creature like a Kelpie?
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Do stories help us remember to be careful, or do they just help us imagine?
Curriculum Connection
NC Standards:
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3.H.1, 4.H.1 – Understanding historical narratives and oral traditions
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RL.3.2, RL.4.3 – Recounting and understanding folktales and cultural stories
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EEn.2.2 – Understanding Earth’s structure (tie-in to landscape + loch)
Extension Ideas
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Geography + Story Map: Mark Scotland and North Carolina on a map. Talk about how stories may have traveled over time (or even during “continental drift”!).
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Mythical Creature Design: Create your own creature that protects or hides in nature. What’s its job? What does it look like?
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Storytelling Circle: Students take turns telling stories about special places they know—real or imaginary!
More From This Series:
Scotland In Our Backyard is a video series celebrating Scottish heritage in North Carolina — created by the Scottish Cultural Outreach Foundation with support from NC Humanities.
Explore the full series on YouTube
This program is supported in part by North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, www.nchumanities.org.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this video do not necessarily represent those of North Carolina Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
