Bridging Appalachia

The Abhartach – “It is very curious that, in some parts of the country, the people still retain a dim traditional memory of this mode of sepulture, and of the superstition connected with it. There is a place in the parish of Errigal in Londonderry, called Slaghtaverty, but it ought to have been called Laghtaterty, the laght or sepulchral monument of the abhartach [avartagh] or dwarf…This dwarf was a magician, and a drendful tyrant, and after having perpetrated great cruelties on the people he was at last vanquished and slain by a neighbouring chief-tain; some say by Finn Mac Cumhail. He was buried in a standing posture, but the very next day he appeared in his old haunts, more cruel and vigorous than ever.

And the chief slew him a second time and buried him as before, but again he escaped from the grave, and spread terror through the whole country. The chief then consulted a druid, and according to his directions, he slew the dwarf a third time, and buried him in the same place, with his head downards; which subdued his magical power, so that he never again appeared on the earth. The laght raised over the dwarf is still there, and you may hear the legend with much detail, from the natives of the place, one of whom told it to me.

(The Origin and History of Irish Names and Places – Patrick Weston Joyce – 1871)