Context (Scottish Highers English): Revision Notes
Context
Story overview
Rain serves as the narrator of this short story, working alongside their wife Alice to renovate a house that Alice has inherited from her deceased grandmother. As the couple moves through each room, clearing and cleaning the space, they begin to discover unusual objects hidden throughout the property.
These objects share a common link: they connect to disturbing secrets from the grandmother's past and draw upon elements of Scottish folklore. The items they find are not simply relics of family history but carry with them a dark supernatural presence.
The cumulative structure
The narrative builds progressively around each discovery. With every object Rain and Alice unearth, the impact on their lives becomes more disturbing and frightening. The story moves forward through this pattern of discovery and consequence, creating mounting tension as the couple begins to understand what is happening to them.
The cumulative structure means that each discovered object adds another layer to the haunting, with effects that build and intensify throughout the narrative. This creates a sense of escalating danger as the story progresses.
The supernatural threat
Rain and Alice gradually recognise they are being haunted by a Kelpie—a malevolent, shape-changing, aquatic spirit from Scottish legend. This creature from folklore becomes an active threat to the couple's wellbeing, making their situation increasingly unbearable.
Understanding the Kelpie
A Kelpie is a water spirit from Scottish folklore with three key characteristics:
- Malevolent: It intends harm to humans
- Shape-changing: It can transform its appearance
- Aquatic: It is associated with bodies of water
This folkloric element is not simply decorative but central to the story's horror—the couple faces a threat rooted in old Scottish legends coming into their modern lives.
Attempted resolution
The haunting becomes so severe that Rain and Alice take decisive action. They collect all the discovered objects, place them in a box, and drive for several hours to reach the coast. Their plan is to throw everything into the sea, hoping this will break the Kelpie's hold on them and free their home from its negative influence.
The ambiguous ending
The story concludes without offering certainty about whether the couple's efforts have succeeded. When Rain and Alice return home, there are suggestions that the malevolent spirit may still be present. This unresolved ending leaves readers uncertain about the couple's fate and whether they have truly escaped the Kelpie's power.
Author background
Kirsty Logan is an established writer based in Glasgow who works in both novel and short story forms. Her writing career demonstrates a sustained interest in exploring unconventional narratives and marginalised experiences.
Published novels
Logan has published three novels:
- Now She is Witch (2023)
- The Gloaming (2019)
- The Gracekeepers (2016)
Short story collections
Her shorter fiction includes:
- No & Other Stories (2025)
- A Portable Shelter (2016)
- The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales (2014)
The 2014 collection The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales received particular recognition, winning the Polari First Book Prize in 2015. This annual award celebrates debut works that explore LGBT experience, highlighting an important dimension of Logan's writing practice.
Publication details
The collection
"Things My Wife and I Found Hidden in Our House" appears in Logan's 2019 short story collection Things We Say in the Dark. This volume contains twenty stories organised into three distinct sections: The House, The Child, and The Past.
Thematic concerns
The stories in Things We Say in the Dark share several connecting features. They frequently incorporate supernatural elements and position these within contemporary, everyday settings rather than distant or fantastical locations. Many of the stories centre on women's experiences and examine the fears women face. A recurring concern is the menace that exists beneath the surface of ordinary domestic life—the way seemingly normal household situations can conceal danger or threat.
Critical reception
Reviewers have described the collection's stories as gripping, dark and shocking. The combination of familiar settings with supernatural elements creates an unsettling effect, as the stories reveal how threat can emerge from within supposedly safe spaces.
Understanding the Scottish folklore connection
The story draws directly on Scottish traditional beliefs about the Kelpie, a water spirit known for its dangerous nature. In folklore, Kelpies are associated with bodies of water and are known for their ability to change form. They are malevolent creatures, meaning they intend harm to humans. This folkloric element is not simply decorative but central to the story's horror—the couple faces a threat rooted in old Scottish legends coming into their modern lives.
The presence of Scottish folklore in a contemporary domestic setting creates a clash between past and present, between traditional belief and modern life. This tension between old supernatural dangers and present-day existence forms part of the story's unsettling atmosphere.
Key Points to Remember:
- Rain narrates the story of renovating an inherited house with their wife Alice
- Objects hidden in the house connect to dark secrets and Scottish folklore, bringing a supernatural threat into the couple's lives
- A Kelpie—a malevolent, shape-changing water spirit from Scottish legend—haunts the couple
- The story builds cumulatively as each discovered object worsens their situation
- The ending remains ambiguous, leaving uncertain whether the couple escapes the haunting after attempting to dispose of the objects in the sea
- Kirsty Logan is a Glasgow-based writer whose work often explores supernatural themes in contemporary settings and has received recognition for writing about LGBT experience