The 'Man in Black' in Irish folklore

To give you an idea of what the podcast Patreon is like I've compiled this show from some of last years bonus content from the community. Yes, I'm on the hard sell...

The 'Man in black' is a figure that has come up a few times in the podcast not least as an adversary in the guise of 'Old Nick' or in a more modern context the MIB phenomenon. In this bonus show, I'll talk about how this figure is represented in both Irish folklore and in Irish mythology as the 'Fear Dubh Dorcha'. The stories I have gathered are from Duchas.ie.  

"These stories feature the common themes of the 'Dark horseman' trickster that leads the protagonist awry and is quite unnecessarily cruel and spiteful on travellers he meets along the road. ... things take a darker turn and the human visitor gets an unpleasant supernatural brush with death.    

The stories propose that the reason for this unnecessary cruelty is a grudge the fairy folk has against humanity, much like the Djinn. I then briefly discuss the startlingly similar origin myths of the Fairies and Djinn."  

All these pieces have been gathered from the rural communities of Ireland via numerous folklorists and cataloged meticulously. I'm in their debt, it was a privilege to read through these handwritten stories and testimonies.   

Anyway, hurry along the road this dark night, lest you cross paths with the 'Man in black'.

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