A Scottish museum which has just won the Art Fund Museum of the Year, has released an exciting new animation voiced by Outlander star Sam Heughan.
The Gairloch Museum created a new short film that sees Sam and local artist Abe Locke bring a beloved folktale from the western Scottish Highlands to life.
Relating to the Museum’s collection of local histories and folklore, it follows the tale of Gille Dubh - Scotland's last fairy.
Tweeting about the project, Sam said: "Wonderful art work by Abe, what an honour to read this beautiful poem! Congrats to the museum!"
Abe added: "The story of Gille Dubh enriches the lore of the area and also brings forth the culture and mythology of the Gaelic language."
The forest sprite Gille was believed to live out at Loch an Draing, near Inverasdale.
The story follows Jessie MacRae, a girl who the imp rescued when she was lost in a local forest, and their adventure in trying to escape the clutches of a local laird.
The museum has just undergone a rebirth after it was moved last year to a new home – not a grand new build but a repurposed nuclear bunker – transforming a village eyesore into an important visitor attraction.
The culmination of an 8-year, £2.4 million redevelopment project realised by the local community and more than 120 volunteers.
Karen Buchanan, Curator of Gairloch Museum, said: "The Gille Dubh is part of Gairloch folklore, he is a shadowy male fairy associated with a place called Loch Adraing where there are beautiful birch wood forests.
"His story has come down through the Gaelic oral tradition. Around the turn of the 20th century many people in the area still claimed to have seen the Gille Dubh.
"When Outlander was being made, the Gaelic consultant used a dictionary edited by a former Gairloch Museum curator whose daughter worked on the show. She knew Sam Heughan and very kindly put us in touch.
"The illustrations are very evocative. We are astounded at how it has captured the public’s imagination all over the world."
