My Kelpie Friend

Chapter 1: From America to Scotland

My name is Jake. I am 28 years old and this happened when I was 19. I am the typical geek who loves reading horror books and watching shows and movies about loads of topics. I'm a typical person who has many interests and hobbies. However my story quickly changed and I went from being a skeptical person to a full blown believer in things that are not of this world. For context I'm an introverted person and don't have many friends. I tend to stay away from people and just keep to myself. Anyway, I'm part Scottish and have Scottish relatives so when I was given the opportunity to travel to Scotland and visit some family relatives, I was more than happy. Going to another country was exciting for me and by far the best thing I could do during the summer. After my parents brought me a ticket and I packed my bags, got driven to the airport and made it on time to my flight. After 9+ hours flying in the air, we finally landed at the Scottish airport. And honestly it was great to take in a breath of fresh air. As I left the airport and headed for the terminal, I was greeted by my Grandmother and another distant relative. After we hugged and had food from the cafeteria, we decided to go and head to the countryside which is where my grandmother and my other distant relatives lived. My distant relative was born in the UK and moved to Scotland for a better life in farming and living due to certain places in the UK having living costs going uphill. Anyway, we reached a small road and after a good solid 2 hour drive. After about 90 seconds, we officially reached the driveway. The house wasn't that big but big enough for a large family. The barn was even bigger. There I saw a few ranch hands working on the horses and other livestock. Once I got out of the car, my relative showed me around. The horse stalls, the water well, barn, sheep, couple cows, chickens, a lot of animals. After having fun and almost getting knocked over by one of the horses named Joey, I went back to the car to retrieve my belongings. My grandmother showed me inside the house and eventually we reached the second floor. She showed me my room. And it honestly was pretty big despite the house not being big but just big enough. The closest was small but had enough space to put all my spare clothes and shoes in. I had a large dresser for my books, backpack, and my computer. After getting all settled in, I noticed as I was about to leave the room, a small book. This book had the words "The Water Horse". I didn't pay much attention since I was hungry and food was already waiting for me downstairs. So I brought the book with me and went to eat. During dinner, I began reading the book while eating soup, bread, and cheese cake. My grandmother noticed me. She asked what I was reading and when I told her "oh, this book I found in my room" she asked to see it. When I showed her she almost froze. She looked at the book and back at me. Then looked over to my distant relative and gave him a weird look. Do you know what this book is about? No, I replied. After taking in a deep breath she went on to explain what the story describes. There is a spirit or demon creature. It takes the form of a beautiful white horse or even a woman. However it is a sinister terrifying monster that lures people to it. When they attempt to ride it, the monster traps them onto its back and pulls them into the water. It drowns them and eats the victim's flesh and even organs. Nothing except some bones can be found washed up on the shores of the rivers that it inhabits. After telling the story and legend I instead of being scared, was fascinated by this. I asked what the creature's name was. But neither my grandmother nor my distant relative would tell me. "We do not speak of its name" she replied. Saying its name is almost allowing it to find you and take your very soul. That kinda was a creepy thing but I being a young adult and stupid at the time, didn't really care. After eating, I went to go brush my teeth, watch some TV and then decided to sleep on the couch. I didn't want to sleep in my room because I felt a little creeped out. So I stayed on the couch and slept til morning. In the morning, my grandmother asked me to go down to the lake which is probably a good 2 miles down the hill and try and catch some fish. When I asked why, she said it's better to go out and get into nature. I didn't want to be disrespectful or seem mean despite my annoyance, so I decided to just grab the fishing pole by the side of the door and get dressed. After getting dressed, I headed out down the hill and towards the small river. After finally reaching the river bank, I sat down and began to fix up my fishing line. Once the bait was secure, I tossed it into the river and sat and waited. I waited a while before finally getting a tug. I did my best to reel in the fish and after a long struggle, I was finally able to yank it out the water. The fish had to be a good solid 4 foot. I figured that was enough fishing for the day so I decided to just pack up and head plus bring the fish with me to show my grandma and my relative. But as I started to walk up the trail, I spotted something. It was a horse. And not just any horse. But it was a stunning black shiny haired one. It was tall and long. It had to have been a good solid 6 and a half feet tall. But something was almost off about this horse. Its main was almost wet and dripping even though parts of its body were completely dry. On top of that, its eyes almost seemed to glow green despite it being broad daylight and only like 2 pm in the afternoon in Scotland. I wasn't sure if this was a wild horse or someone's runaway. Or even one of my grandmother's horses. While I was trying to process what to do, the horse seemed to notice me. It began to walk slowly but hastily towards me. It made me unnerved because what if this was a wild mustang about to attack me. I got scared and began to back away slowly. But as I took a step backwards the horse stepped forward. Then it seemed to almost smile at me. I kid you not, it looked like the thing smiled. With that unnerving and somewhat scary feeling I dropped the fishing pole, 4 foot fish, my backpack and just ran. I looked back to see the horse still standing there. But I didn't stop, I kept running and running until I finally made it halfway up the hill. When I looked back for the final time, I saw the horse galloping into the river and disappearing. I ran up the dirt road not slowing down until I reached the front door to the farm house. I collapsed on the front lawn. And I think I went unconscious. I awoke to one of our farm horses smelling me and I quickly jumped. After calming down, I went to put the big guy in the barn and lock up for the night. Then I went inside and closed the door behind me, locking it. My grandmother saw me panting and frantic. So she calmed me down with supper and tea. She asked me what happened, and why I was back so early. I explained to her what I saw and what I felt. She seemed scared and worried at the same time. "I believe you encountered the kelpie that stalks the waters near the river. "But you told me it was supposed to look like a white horse". "U never said it had glowing green eyes either". She took a moment to respond and after she explained more information about the creature. About the various black and white horses forms to the glowing eyes, to more origins and different stories of people who died and survived the monster. "I need to go get the fish and fishing pole grandma" I said. She said take one of the horses. As soon as u retrieve them, gallop ur teenage butt back here you understand? Yes, mam I replied. I retrieved the black stallion I had locked up in the stall earlier and went back to the river. I found my pole and the fish. I quickly retrieved them and galloped my ass back to the farm house. I once again locked up the black stallion in the stalls of the barn. And high tailed it to the front door. I locked it behind me. "my, my you caught a big one" my grandmother said. Go on. Go get some sleep, I'll take it and put it in the freezer. I brushed my teeth and went to bed not long after. But unfortunately my brush with this kelpie was only just beginning.