“KIRK”
“There be many Places called Fairie-hills, which the Mountain People think impious and dangerous to peel or discover, by taking Earth or Wood from them; superstitiously believing the Souls of their predecessors to dwell there. And for that end (say they) a Mote or Mount was dedicate beside every Church-yard, to receive the Souls till their adjacent Bodies arise, and so become as a Fairie-hill; they using Bodies of Air when called abroad”
The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies by Robert Kirk (1691) commentary by Andrew Lang (1893)
Some time ago we mentioned The Secret Commonwealth, penned by an Episcopalian Minister, Rev. Robert Kirk ((1641–1692)) which documented the faerie beliefs of his parishioners in Aberfoyle, Scotland. Robert Kirk, a scholar who, after attending both Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities, became Minister of Balquidder and proceeded to publish “Kirks Bible” (published 1684) which comprised of 50 metric psalms in Gaelic. Kirk was also the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and thus reputed to have powers of healing and the Second Sight.
In 1685 he succeeded his father as parish Minister in Aberfoyle, where he took regular walks on Doon Hill and its opposite hill, the Fairy Knowe, in full awareness of their reputations as dwellings for the good folk. On 14th May 1692, locals discovered the body of Robert Kirk on Doon Hill and immediately suspected that Kirk had been abducted by the Faerie folk, the corpse being nothing more than a “doppelganger”.
This belief strengthened when shortly after the funeral, a close relative was confronted by the shade of Kirk who revealed that he had indeed been taken by the inhabitants of the hill and gave precise instruction for the means in which he may be rescued. Story tells that the shocked relative failed to comply and Robert Kirk remains captive in the otherworld to this very day.
Michael Ferns is a dynamic young film director whose latest offering, “KIRK”, is based upon the story of the Minister and his experiences between the worlds of Faerie and mortals. We recently wrote to Michael and he kindly provided this synopsis and some promotional images from the film:
“KIRK” is loosely based upon the true story of the Reverend Robert Kirk of Aberfoyle, a scholar and minister of religion, who believed in the Secret Commonwealth of Elves and Faeries. The film shows how passionately he wanted his wife to also believe, and the drastic action he took to fulfil this mission. Set in the 17th Century, and filmed in the beautiful locations of Loch Lomond, Ardyll Woods Cashel Forest Rowardennan, and Culross conservation village in Fife. This romantic and mystical tale will please audiences of all ages.
There is an excellent trailer for the film on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfpnLXkAsiE
Further information about Michael’s past, current and future cinematic work can be found here: www.michaelfernsfilms.com
An online version of The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies can be found here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sce/
