Haltadans means the 'limping dance'. Trows (the little people) often went there to dance in the light of the full moon. One night they got a bit carried away and danced on until the sunrise - and they were turned to stone. The two stones in the middle (originally there may have been three) are the fiddlers who played for them. Around these is the earth and stone circle, with the originally standing stones around the outside.
Over to the northwest are three cairns - these are know as the fiddlers' crus (the fiddlers' enclosures).
The tune they were allegedly said to have played is in a book from 1642, and reprinted in the Shetland Folk Book II of 1952. This interesting tome contains a number of tunes actually sung by fairies which were collected over the years. Truly.
(folklore from Grinsell's folklore of british prehistoric sites)
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Posted by Rhiannon
23rd September 2003ce
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