Tales of hauntings are all too common in the British Isles, and none more so than in Scotland. We have been around Scotland several times and as a castle hunter, I have had the opportunity to visit several of these with Vicky, as well as some manor houses and old inns.
Braemar: was one of the castles we visited many moons ago. While most of this old tower house felt fine, there was one room we entered that reeked of hatred. We both felt it - it was like a cold draft (no, the windows were closed), and a thought that we were NOT welcome.
What a sorry tale to tell: a young bride who lost her life to a tragic misunderstanding. On the morning after her wedding night, she found her husband gone from their bed, and thinking that he had been unsatisfied and angry, she jumped from the Bridal Room window to her death below. The husband came home having gone on an early morning hunting expedition to find his bride – dead. Her ghost returns to the room whenever newlyweds are visiting… but… what was the bridegroom doing going hunting the morning after his wedding?
During our West Highland Way hike, we had lunch at the The Drover’s Inn, just north of Loch Lomond.
(While not really a castle), this ancient establishment (1705) boasts five ghosts. Here are two of them:
During the Highland Clearances, a young family was evicted from their small croft. Seeking shelter, they set out for the Drover’s Inn only to be overtaken by a snowstorm, losing their way and perishing in the cold. They have been seen frequently on or about the grounds, and a young couple, staying in Room 2 reported that they awoke during the night with a cold shiver, to see the ghostly family standing shivering at the foot of their bed… even their breath was seen in the now-cold room. Yikes!! I think a few screams would have been in order.
There’s also the ‘Ghostly Child’ who appeared on a photograph in a pink dress. Later, when inquiring who the little girl with the pink dress was, the couple who took the picture were told that there were no children staying at the Inn. Spooky!!
Inveraray Castle home of the Campbell clan is reported to have five ghosts, the most gruesome is the story of the young Irish harpist. In 1644 the Duke of Argyll fled his castle to prevent capture by Montrose, but left his young harpist behind. When Montrose occupied Inveraray, his Irish troops were incensed to find an Irish lad in the pay of their enemy, so…they killed him and left him on the Duke’s bed. The story goes that when a member of the family is about to die, harp music is heard coming from that bedroom – the MacArthur Room.
In the Old Kitchen, there is a happier ghost in the form of a laundry maid who has been frequently heard laughing hysterically – I’d love to know that back-story.
Kilchurn Castle: If you make a left turn on the road up to Glen Coe at Tyndrum, passing Inverlochy you will arrive shortly at the evocative (read, dreary) ruins of this haunted castle. For most of its existence it was situated on an island, however, recently the water level of Loch Awe had been lowered and now it is possible to approach it by land. For the very best effects, make sure that it is drizzling rain and misty (not difficult in these parts) when you arrive … and if you happen to step inside this lightning-blasted-and-destroyed-wreck, you might hear the wailing of a young child who was locked away (some say walled away) high in a tower some long time ago. Recently, some visitors reported footsteps above them on the floor boards in the turret, though when they went up, there was nobody up there. Visitors reported a general feeling of being unwelcome at the castle… the spirits didn’t want company. This was confirmed by a photographer acquaintance of ours, we took the picture below.
Airth Castle: If you dare stay at this (now) hotel, you might hear the cries of children who died in a fire in Rooms 3,4, and 9, as well as the tread of the housekeeper who roams the castle in search of the kids who died while in her care… then there are the dusty footsteps that appear and disappear on disused staircases, clomping footsteps outside doors that stop, and an ankle-biting ghostly dog!!!!
Tantallon Castle, sits near Edinburgh on a clifftop on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. Built in the 1350s by a nobleman it soon became the stronghold of the Douglas dynasty. For 300 years, the Douglas Earls of Angus held sway at the castle as one of the most powerful families in Scotland. The castle has been the scene of violence, enduring three great sieges. The last, by Cromwell's army, resulted in total destruction and the fortress was abandoned. It remains the last truly great castle built in Scotland, with enormously thick and high stone walls built to endure cannon fire, enclosing large courtyards, and high stone towers.
An image, a really strange and haunting picture, shows a figure wearing a ruff and ancient clothing who is seen peering from a ruined window. Two photographs, one taken in 1977 and the other in 2008, appear to show the mystery figure standing in an old doorway. Spooky again!!
Linlithgow Palace was built around 1425 by James I and greatly added to in successive years. Once a playground for royalty, you can imagine sumptuous feasts, balls, royal hunts…sadly it was from one of the tall turrets called Queen Margaret’s bower, that the Queen waited in vain for the return of her husband, James IV from the battle of Flodden Field in 1513. The Scots lost, the English won, James died. Linlithgow today in a ruin, no roof, no revelries and was occupied by English soldiers in the 18th century, who upon their departure had forgotten (on purpose?) to put the fireplaces out.
Margaret is said to have been seen going from the palace to the chapel and disappearing through the walls. The rustle of silk skirts has been heard – nobody wears silk skirts these days.
Dunnottar Castle
If you go into the old brewery inside this ruin, you will definitely feel the cold creep into your bones – that’s because it is, cold, that is, being perched on its crag in the north of Scotland (popular places for castles, these crags) facing the North Sea winds – the inhabitants must always have been cold in spite of roaring fireplaces. However, you might also see the castle’s famous ghost: the Green Lady, a woman in green tartan plaid searching for her lost children.
A tall Scandinavian-looking man has been reported wafting into the guardroom; a ghostly soldier can be seen watching over the sea, perhaps the ghost of King Donald II (9th century) who was killed by Vikings while defending Dunnottar.
Falkland, home of Falkland Palace was a favourite picnic outing for Vicky with her parents and siblings from Kirkcaldy-by-the-Sea, nearby. They would run up and down Falkland Hill as kids (a tad too strenuous an activity today) without ever knowing about the ghosts that inhabited the Palace in the town.
A favourite hunting lodge of the Scottish kings, built in 1500 by James IV in the French Renaissance style, it was a favourite of Mary, Queen of Scots. It has the usual turbulent history soaked in murder. Attacked by Rob Roy, partially destroyed by Cromwell, it has its share of ghosts.
When we visited, we did not encounter them, unfortunately, although the interior was sumptuously furnished, but both James and Mary are said to haunt the place, as is the Grey Lady, surrounded by her grey glow – her lover was a soldier who rode off to battle and never returned. She is doomed to walk the Tapestry Gallery waiting for his return (…wait, haven’t we heard this before?..). Or the White Lady, walking the ruins of the East Range disappearing through a wall (and what’s all this with Ladies and walls everywhere??).
And, the pièce de resistance: Edinburgh Castle, one of the most haunted places in Scotland…the piper who was sent to explore the tunnels under the castle and told to keep piping so they could tell his progress towards the Royal Mile, when suddenly his music stopped…they never found him, but sometimes faint piping sounds are heard in the castle. Or the tale of the ghost called Albert who appears in a grey coat with a chill air (…don’t they all?..} either a stagehand who was killed in an accident or a night watchman who committed suicide… or the headless drummer boy who only appears when the castle is about to be attacked…or the gaggle of French prisoners captured during the Seven Years’ War regularly sighted around the Castle…misty figures… things touching your clothes…sudden drops in temperature (AGAIN!!).
Nearby, in the Old Town, is the Greyfriars Bobby Bar, with a sculpture of the pooch in front.
Bobby, a Skye terrier, is a famous landmark on Candlemaker Row, beloved by all Edinburghers. The story goes that the faithful hound spent fourteen years guarding his master’s grave until he himself passed away in 1872 and was buried next to his master. People claim to hear his little bark near his grave. It is said to be good luck to rub Bobby’s nose so, of course, we did. You can’t see it from the picture, but his nose is really shiny.
There, a short history and introduction to some of the many haunted Scottish places – now go and see for yourselves … but go… carefully.