Editing Sluagh (section)

{{short description|Spirits of the unforgiven dead in Scottish and Irish Gaelic folklore}}
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The '''Sluagh''' ({{IPA|ga|ˈsˠl̪ˠuə|lang}}, {{IPA|gd|ˈs̪l̪ˠuəɣ|lang}}; {{langx|sga|slúag}}; English: 'host, army, crowd'), or '''Sluagh na marbh''' ('host of the dead'), were the hosts of the unforgiven dead in [[Celtic mythology|Irish and Scottish folklore]].<ref name="MacKillop">{{harvnb|MacKillop|2004}}, s.v. ''Sluagh''.</ref> In the words of British folklorist [[Lewis Spence]], "In the Western Isles of Scotland the Sluagh, or [[fairy]] host, was regarded as composed of the [[soul]]s of the dead flying through the air, and the feast of the dead at [[Halloween|Hallowe'en]] was likewise the festival of the fairies."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spence|first=Lewis|title=The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain|publisher=Courier Corporation|year=1999|isbn=978-0-486-40447-9|pages=88|author-link=Lewis Spence|orig-year=1949}}</ref> Usually taking a crescent form, similar to a flight of grey birds, they were said to be able to approach and pick up a person from any direction and then transport them far away through the air, from one island to another. Although they would sometimes rescue humans from dangerous rock clefts, they were generally portrayed as dangerous to mortals.<ref name="MacKillop"/>