What this is
The old stories, told straight
Otherworld tells Irish myth and folklore one story at a time: the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dullahan and the Bean Sí, the fairy forts no farmer would plough.
Every story comes from the old sources, the medieval manuscripts and the folklore collected in the fields, and most of them are tied to a place you can still stand in today.
A new story goes out every day in under ninety seconds, drawn as hand-coloured woodcuts. Behind them, a series of films is in the making.
Monsters of the Otherworld
Start with these
The Muirdris
“This is why no one in Ulster let their king see his own face.”
Watch the story: The Muirdris
The Fomorians
Say it: fo-mor-ee-ans
“Every Samhain, the people of Ireland paid a tax. Not in gold. In children.”
Watch the story: The Fomorians
The Adventure of Nera
Say it: nyeh-ra
“On Samhain night, the wall between our world and the Otherworld falls, and the dead walk.”
Watch the story: The Adventure of Nera
Stingy Jack
“Before there were pumpkins, there was a turnip. And a man called Stingy Jack.”
Watch the story: Stingy Jack
Balor of the Evil Eye
Watch the story: Balor of the Evil Eye
The Fear Gorta
“Long ago, no one in Ireland crossed the hills without a crust of bread in their pocket.”
Watch the story: The Fear Gorta
Fairy Forts
“Every farmer in Ireland knew the rule. You don't touch the fort.”
Watch the story: Fairy Forts
Tlachtga
Say it: tlakh-ta
“Every Halloween, on a hill in County Meath, a fire is lit for a woman who died there two thousand years ago.”
Watch the story: Tlachtga
Oweynagat
Say it: owen-a-gat
“Long ago, on Samhain night, the king of Connacht made a dare.”
Watch the story: Oweynagat
The Oilliphéist
“Forget the Loch Ness Monster. Ireland had a serpent so big, it carved a river.”
Watch the story: The Oilliphéist
Fintan mac Bóchra
“There was a man who lived in Ireland for five and a half thousand years, and saw every people who ever came to this island.”
Watch the story: Fintan mac Bóchra
Crom Cruach
“Did you know there's a field in Ireland called the Plain of Prostration?”
Watch the story: Crom Cruach
Abhartach
Say it: ow-er-tukh
“Ireland's vampire.”
Watch the story: Abhartach
The Caorthannach
“If you've ever drunk from a holy well in Ireland, you've drunk from a trap that failed.”
Watch the story: The Caorthannach
The Dearg Due
“She's been dead for a year. Tonight, she's getting out.”
Watch the story: The Dearg Due
The Ríastrad
“Before every great battle, Ireland's greatest hero turned into something else.”
Watch the story: The Ríastrad
The Morrígan
“It is at the guarding of your death that I am. And I shall be.”
Watch the story: The Morrígan
The Dobhar-chú
“In 1722, a woman went down to the lake, and never came home.”
Watch the story: The Dobhar-chú
Changelings
“If your baby ever stops smiling at you overnight, the old Irish would say, it isn't your baby.”
Watch the story: Changelings
The Ellén Trechend
“Did you know Ireland had its own three-headed monster?”
Watch the story: The Ellén Trechend
The Fear Dearg
“This is why Irish people never refused a stranger a seat by the fire.”
Watch the story: The Fear Dearg
The Sluagh
Say it: sloo-ah
“The host of the restless dead.”
Watch the story: The Sluagh
Aillen mac Midgna
Say it: al-en mok midna
“The burner of Tara.”
Watch the story: Aillen mac Midgna
The Each-Uisce
Say it: akh-ishka
“The water horse.”
Watch the story: The Each-Uisce
The Púca
Say it: poo-ka
“The shapeshifter.”
Watch the story: The Púca
The Bean Sí
Say it: ban-shee
“The woman of the fairy mound.”
Watch the story: The Bean Sí
The Dullahan
Say it: dulla-han
“Ireland's headless rider.”
Watch the story: The Dullahan
Partholon
Say it: par-ho-lon
“There's a town in Dublin whose name means "the plague-grave", and nine thousand people are buried beneath it.”
Watch the story: Partholon
Tuan mac Cairill
Say it: too-an
“A man lived in Ireland for two thousand years, as a stag, a boar, a hawk, and a salmon.”
Watch the story: Tuan mac Cairill
The Werewolves of Ossory
Say it: oss-ree
“In 1182, a priest walking through the woods of Meath met a wolf, and the wolf spoke to him.”
Watch the story: The Werewolves of Ossory
Mug Ruith
Say it: mug rih
“The most powerful druid in Ireland was blind, and he could turn a man to stone with his breath.”
Watch the story: Mug Ruith
The Fir Bolg
Say it: fir bul-ug
“In Greece, they were slaves. They carried earth in leather bags up bare mountains, until the rock turned green.”
Watch the story: The Fir Bolg
The Tuatha Dé Danann
Say it: too-ha day dan-an
“When the gods came to Ireland, the first thing they did was burn their own ships.”
Watch the story: The Tuatha Dé Danann
Bres the Tyrant
Watch the story: Bres the Tyrant
Balor's Origin
“Balor's eye could kill an army with a single look, and he got it because he couldn't resist peeking through a window.”
Watch the story: Balor's Origin
The Prophecy
“Balor feared no army, no god, no weapon in all of Ireland.”
Watch the story: The Prophecy
The films
Three films, one prophecy
- Balor: The Demon King
BalorThe Demon King
The Fomorian king with the eye that kills, and the prophecy that his own grandson will end him.
Finished. On the festival circuit.
- Lugh: The Demon Slayer
LughThe Demon Slayer
A boy raised in hiding, trained by a smith, a sea god and a queen, arrives at the gates of Tara.
In production.
- Ethniu: The Demon's Daughter
EthniuThe Demon's Daughter
Balor’s daughter, locked in a tower on Tory Island so the prophecy can never come true.
In development.
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The best story of the week, the place it happened, and first word on the films. No algorithm in between.