Of all the creatures in Lowland Scottish folklore, none is feared like the Redcap. He is small — a squat, sinewy old goblin with iron-shod boots, talons for fingers, and red eyes that gleam in the dark — but his reputation walks far ahead of him. Travellers in the Anglo-Scottish Borders have warned each other about him for at least seven centuries.
The Redcap takes his name from the cap he wears, which must be kept dyed a deep, fresh red. The dye, the old tales say, is the blood of those unlucky enough to fall asleep in his ruined castle. If the colour ever fades, the Redcap dies. So he hunts. Constantly.
He is said to haunt the abandoned peel towers and broken castles that scatter the Border country — Hermitage, Aikwood, the lonely keeps along the Marches that once held back English raids. Of these, Hermitage Castle in Roxburghshire was reputed to be his favourite lair. The 16th-century wizard-laird Lord Soulis was said to have made a pact with him, and locals will tell you that the castle still feels wrong on a still evening, all these centuries later.
Unlike many fairy creatures, the Redcap cannot be fought. He is too strong, too fast, and his iron boots can outrun a horse. The only defence in the old tellings was scripture — quoted aloud, the word of God would force him to flee, leaving behind a single tooth in his rage.
Our Veiled Redcap design takes the legend at its bleakest: the bloodied cap, the iron pike, the grin in the ruins. Some folktales are sweet. This one was a warning to children not to wander into the broken towers at dusk. It worked.