Golden Bagpipe Legendarium

The mythology surrounding the famed Golden Bagpipes buried in Phult0n is incredibly rich, and has always been significant in the undercurrent of western thought, particularly in esoteric fields.

Masonic Origins
The true origin of the Bagpipe myth is difficult to place; what is known, is that the object has been rumored to exist and referenced since the mid-1700s. From this century forward, the Bagpipes became popular in the mythos of early American Freemasonry. During this era, supernatural properties were attributed to the Bagpipes, most commonly:


 * That blowing the Bagpipes would grant the player eternal life
 * The Bagpipes had a Midas effect which turned anyone who touched them into gold
 * The Bagpipes song was capable of enchantment and what would now be described as mind-control
 * The Bagpipes could invoke the spirit of Pan

A particularly far-fetched myth proports that the Bagpipes (called 'the Golden Horns') were played by an angel as song of mourning when Jesus was transported from Golgotha to his tomb. This myth's source was a late-1700s piece of pseudepigrapha, attributed to the English occultist John Dee. The divine nature attributed to the Golden Bagpipes was likely influenced by the reputation of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legends, and or the reverence for the Holy Lance by Catholic authorities in earlier centuries. While the Bagpipes quickly became at home in the Masonic body of myths, some members were less than pleased with their incorporation.

Grand Master Benjamin Franklin in particular believed the object's mythology was absurd, in addition to despising the musical quality of the instrument. In a 1765 diary entry, Franklin jokingly wrote:

"Nay, would I have suspected such a racket to pour forth from Heaven's horns, I may have thus led a more wretched life!"

Almost a century later, Albert Pike, a 33rd degree Mason of the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction was also quoted to rag on the instrument's nature. Allegedly pondering:

"What a strange song [that] the angel band is said to play."

Pirate legend
In the early 1900s, some historians identified the Bagpipes as a component of pirate legends from the Golden Age of Piracy. This is a less popular theory, and little evidence has been substantiated to support the claim that the Bagpipes were a popular motif in period tales. This stream of thought may have been influenced by the work, Captain's Greatest Exploits, an obscure anthology of short stories authored by Robert Louis Stevenson, of Treasure Island fame. A six page story in the collection focuses on the Scotch crew boy Jack Shorter, and his attempt to retrieve the bagpipes treasured by his family, which had been recently hidden in the New World.