Fear Dorcha
Fear Dorcha | Dark Man While researching folklore on Duchas.ie there are a variety of dark man’s. Sometimes this refers to dark hair and to have a dark haired man visit on New Year's day is supposed to be good luck. . Then there are some really epic stories of the King and Queen of the sidhe where the King is described as a well dressed elegant dark man with glowing eyes (getting some Morpheus sandman vibes there) and the Queen is beautiful and dressed in white. They sometimes whisk people away on horseback to the otherworld.
But then there's the terrifying ghost story fear dorcha (not that the sidhe are not terrifying!) These stories are either moral tales warning people off drinking and gambling or they’d be met with a type of well dressed devil who would leer over them with a wild grin. Or they are unlucky folk caught out on dark moonless nights being chased by a shape shifting fear dorcha and they usually must make it to church ground or say the right prayers to get to safety. In one story where a pair on a horse and cart are being chased, the fear dorcha transforms into a red hound (red hair and fur often being linked to sidhe and otherworldly creatures) and their prayers stop working so its a mad dash to make it to a graveyard for safety! .
Links are links to my favourite stories referencing the fear dorcha on Duchas.ie .
The farmers wife whom the fairies took
‘As Gaeilge - In Irish’
Irish text about funeral rights and the arrival of ‘an fear dorcha’ to a funeral