Is your Giant or Beast still active or has it retired?
Still active
Description: Gryla is an ancient giantess and Flukler is an ancient giant in Shetland folklore. They were brought to life through family workshops organised by Shetland artist, Alex Purbrick in April 2026 from funding from Shetland Arts. Six women artists constructed the giant heads from chicken wire and paper mache. These heads were then painted and decorated by children in a series of workshops helped by artists Jane Cockayne and Lauren Bulter using paint, fabric, seaweed and recycled parts. Local artist John Hunter assisted in building frames for the giant heads using old backpacks and plastic piping and the children decorated the giants tunics with paint and textiles. Alex made a giant pair of shorts for Flukler for the beach carnival parade which were decorated with scraps of fabric printed by the children
What Was the First Event the Giant / Beast Attended? Giants Dance in Da Simmer Dim carnival at St Ninians Beach, Bigton, Shetland on June 28th 2026
Who Carries the Giant / Inhabits the Beast, or Is It a Shared Role? It is carried by one person with a backpack and two people at either side holding the giant hands
How is it stored? Currently in Hymhus, Bigton and not sure after that as it may have to go to different locations for storage!
Maker / Creator(s) Alex Purbrick and Shetland community
What is the story behind your Giant/Beast?
If there is a folktale connected to your Giant or Beast, please tell us about that too.
Gryla
Once upon a time in Shetland there lived a giantess called Gryla. She was known to the other giants of Shetland as Gryla but to the human people she was also known as Skekla which meant Ogress.
Gryla was a very friendly giantess but to some of the humans she could be a bit scary as her voice was very loud and her footsteps sent rumbles through the earth as she leapt across the isles from Foula to Vee Skerries to Sandness as if she was playing hopscotch!
Gryla was quite fierce in appearance. Her dress was made from tattered animal skins, and she had a straw apron and a large cloak made from seaweed which used to drag behind her like a giant tail.
When the folk who lived in Foula saw her they used to shout;
Skekla komena rina tuna Swarta haesta blaeta bruna Fo’mtena hala Fo’mtena bjadnis a kwara hala
Now in these times folk used to speak old Norse which is what this verse is from. And in English it means:
Skekla rides into the homefield On a black horse with a white patch on its brow With 15 tails and 15 children on each tail.”
Although the adults were afraid and suspicious of Gryla, the children loved her. Whenever she came down from the hills to the crofts and fields she would scoop each child into her giant arms and place them one of the horses’ 15 tails, riding at full speed as they squealed in delight and excitement.
Gryla didn’t speak Norse, English or any language that the children or adults could understand as it was very old speech from an age long before humans existed on this Earth. So the children used to speak to her by making animal sounds like the sheep or kye or the grice.
It was a special occasion when Gryla came down from the hills to visit the children. She preferred the wild, quiet moor to the tamed, farmed sea level homesteads. Indeed, the folk considered her like a wild nature goddess who could control the wind with her breath and stir the ocean into a wild soup when she stirred it with her giant wooden spoon.
On the Isle of Bressay it is said that Gryla made a kirning stane from a collapsed sea cave. Apparently, she set one foot on Anderhill and the other on Da Wart and set to kirning the sea, churning up the water to make soup with seaweed and fish. This is why if you visit Bressay and hear the rhymical thumping of the waves it is Gryla kirning the water making soup. This is how the water is supposed to be salty because all the kirning on the rocks grinds the minerals to make salt.
When Gryla came to visit the children once a year, the children would dress up in straw suits and hats, in respect to her and her straw apron.
She would sing to them, “ma Groleks, ma Groleks.”
Grolek was another word for Gryla but to the giant goddess she considered them her children so named them after herself in the old tongue she spoke.
They would give her mutton, kye or grice meat as an offering which she gladly accepted as she got tired of eating fish and seaweed soup all the time. As time passed Gryla stopped visiting the children as they no longer believed in her or saw her as an important part of the wild hills of Shetland.
Some of the people still dressed in straw costumes and became known as the skeklers after her old name and went guizing at Halloween and Auld Yule to folks houses demanding meat and dancing.
And Gryla retired further and further into the mists of the remote hills where no one walked or ventured. She is still here though living in the sea caves, kirning the ocean and occasionally leaping across the hilltops during the dark winter nights. If you see her mind and sing an auld song to her as she loves to hear you sing. And in return she may sing back to you, ma Grolek, ma Grolek.
Flukler
The giant Flukler lives in Fetlar. He is a very peaceable, friendly giant. He lives in a Hadd (hiding hole) in the high east cliffs near the Head of Cumla. He used to sometimes come down to a small settlement called Funzie where folk lived.
The local women didn’t like Flukler visiting as they said he was a bit smelly which made Flukler very angry.
So one day he saw a young boy called Magnie playing by some standing stones called Haltadans. He picked up the boy in his hand and carried him to his hadd. Now Flukler was a wizard as well as a giant so he waved his hand and cast a thik mist over the whole of Fetlar so that no one could see him carryinbg away peerie Magnie. Magnie’s mum was very worried about him as now he had been gone for several hours and his family were scared Magnie had fallen into the sea. Magnie’s mum walked along the banks looking for Magnie, crying, “ Less! Less! My peerie boy!” Flukler heard Magnie’s mum crying and his heart softened.
“Oh ny goodness,” he thought to himself, “What have I done, that poor mither I have taen her peerie boy fae her.”
Flukler went back to the hadd where he had placed the boy sleeping in some heather and moss, feeling regretful that he stolen the boy.
But when he got there, Magnie had vanished!
A mermaid called Cissie who frequented the coast near Flukler’s Hadd had seen Magnie and carried him to the ruins of the Broch at Strandburgh Ness. Cissie liked to go to the Broch sometimes and shelter from the winter storms.
A boat passing by the Broch saw Magnie sleeping in the broch covered in a mermaid blanket, so came inshore and rescued Magnie, carrying him home to his mother. She was very relieved when she saw peerie Magnie was safe and well.
When Flukler discovered that Cissie had interfered with his actions, he went looking for her and roared at her in anger, throwing stones at her and trying to knock her over.
But she swam away just in time as one of the rocks almost hit her tail and landed near the shore.
This place is now called ‘Da mermaid’s Baa’. And it is a big rock on the coast of Fetlar.
Ref: 09 BFG
If you notice an error in this information, want to ask for additional details to be added or request the removal of any image or information, please contact us quoting the reference number above via email in the footer.
Gryla and Flukler
Location: Shetland, Scotland
Year / Period Created
2026
Description:
Gryla is an ancient giantess and Flukler is an ancient giant in Shetland folklore. They were brought to life through family workshops organised by Shetland artist, Alex Purbrick in April 2026 from funding from Shetland Arts. Six women artists constructed the giant heads from chicken wire and paper mache. These heads were then painted and decorated by children in a series of workshops helped by artists Jane Cockayne and Lauren Bulter using paint, fabric, seaweed and recycled parts. Local artist John Hunter assisted in building frames for the giant heads using old backpacks and plastic piping and the children decorated the giants tunics with paint and textiles. Alex made a giant pair of shorts for Flukler for the beach carnival parade which were decorated with scraps of fabric printed by the children
What Was the First Event the Giant / Beast Attended?
Giants Dance in Da Simmer Dim carnival at St Ninians Beach, Bigton, Shetland on June 28th 2026
Who Carries the Giant / Inhabits the Beast, or Is It a Shared Role?
It is carried by one person with a backpack and two people at either side holding the giant hands
How is it stored?
Currently in Hymhus, Bigton and not sure after that as it may have to go to different locations for storage!
Maker / Creator(s)
Alex Purbrick and Shetland community
If there is a folktale connected to your Giant or Beast, please tell us about that too.
Once upon a time in Shetland there lived a giantess called Gryla. She was known to the other giants of Shetland as Gryla but to the human people she was also known as Skekla which meant Ogress.
Gryla was a very friendly giantess but to some of the humans she could be a bit scary as her voice was very loud and her footsteps sent rumbles through the earth as she leapt across the isles from Foula to Vee Skerries to Sandness as if she was playing hopscotch!
Gryla was quite fierce in appearance. Her dress was made from tattered animal skins, and she had a straw apron and a large cloak made from seaweed which used to drag behind her like a giant tail.
When the folk who lived in Foula saw her they used to shout;
Skekla komena rina tuna
Swarta haesta blaeta bruna
Fo’mtena hala
Fo’mtena bjadnis a kwara hala
Now in these times folk used to speak old Norse which is what this verse is from. And in English it means:
Skekla rides into the homefield
On a black horse with a white patch on its brow
With 15 tails and 15 children on each tail.”
Although the adults were afraid and suspicious of Gryla, the children loved her. Whenever she came down from the hills to the crofts and fields she would scoop each child into her giant arms and place them one of the horses’ 15 tails, riding at full speed as they squealed in delight and excitement.
Gryla didn’t speak Norse, English or any language that the children or adults could understand as it was very old speech from an age long before humans existed on this Earth. So the children used to speak to her by making animal sounds like the sheep or kye or the grice.
It was a special occasion when Gryla came down from the hills to visit the children. She preferred the wild, quiet moor to the tamed, farmed sea level homesteads. Indeed, the folk considered her like a wild nature goddess who could control the wind with her breath and stir the ocean into a wild soup when she stirred it with her giant wooden spoon.
On the Isle of Bressay it is said that Gryla made a kirning stane from a collapsed sea cave. Apparently, she set one foot on Anderhill and the other on Da Wart and set to kirning the sea, churning up the water to make soup with seaweed and fish. This is why if you visit Bressay and hear the rhymical thumping of the waves it is Gryla kirning the water making soup. This is how the water is supposed to be salty because all the kirning on the rocks grinds the minerals to make salt.
When Gryla came to visit the children once a year, the children would dress up in straw suits and hats, in respect to her and her straw apron.
She would sing to them,
“ma Groleks, ma Groleks.”
Grolek was another word for Gryla but to the giant goddess she considered them her children so named them after herself in the old tongue she spoke.
They would give her mutton, kye or grice meat as an offering which she gladly accepted as she got tired of eating fish and seaweed soup all the time. As time passed Gryla stopped visiting the children as they no longer believed in her or saw her as an important part of the wild hills of Shetland.
Some of the people still dressed in straw costumes and became known as the skeklers after her old name and went guizing at Halloween and Auld Yule to folks houses demanding meat and dancing.
And Gryla retired further and further into the mists of the remote hills where no one walked or ventured. She is still here though living in the sea caves, kirning the ocean and occasionally leaping across the hilltops during the dark winter nights. If you see her mind and sing an auld song to her as she loves to hear you sing. And in return she may sing back to you,
ma Grolek, ma Grolek.
The giant Flukler lives in Fetlar. He is a very peaceable, friendly giant. He lives in a Hadd (hiding hole) in the high east cliffs near the Head of Cumla. He used to sometimes come down to a small settlement called Funzie where folk lived.
The local women didn’t like Flukler visiting as they said he was a bit smelly which made Flukler very angry.
So one day he saw a young boy called Magnie playing by some standing stones called Haltadans. He picked up the boy in his hand and carried him to his hadd. Now Flukler was a wizard as well as a giant so he waved his hand and cast a thik mist over the whole of Fetlar so that no one could see him carryinbg away peerie Magnie. Magnie’s mum was very worried about him as now he had been gone for several hours and his family were scared Magnie had fallen into the sea. Magnie’s mum walked along the banks looking for Magnie, crying, “ Less! Less! My peerie boy!” Flukler heard Magnie’s mum crying and his heart softened.
“Oh ny goodness,” he thought to himself, “What have I done, that poor mither I have taen her peerie boy fae her.”
Flukler went back to the hadd where he had placed the boy sleeping in some heather and moss, feeling regretful that he stolen the boy.
But when he got there, Magnie had vanished!
A mermaid called Cissie who frequented the coast near Flukler’s Hadd had seen Magnie and carried him to the ruins of the Broch at Strandburgh Ness. Cissie liked to go to the Broch sometimes and shelter from the winter storms.
A boat passing by the Broch saw Magnie sleeping in the broch covered in a mermaid blanket, so came inshore and rescued Magnie, carrying him home to his mother. She was very relieved when she saw peerie Magnie was safe and well.
When Flukler discovered that Cissie had interfered with his actions, he went looking for her and roared at her in anger, throwing stones at her and trying to knock her over.
But she swam away just in time as one of the rocks almost hit her tail and landed near the shore.
This place is now called ‘Da mermaid’s Baa’. And it is a big rock on the coast of Fetlar.
Ref: 09 BFG
If you notice an error in this information, want to ask for additional details to be added or request the removal of any image or information, please contact us quoting the reference number above via email in the footer.
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