Scottish Ghost Stories

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It is said that on his way to Invergarry castle, to present the heads to the chief of Clan MacDonald of Glengarry, Lom stopped at the spring to wash the heads to make them more presentable. Anyone who drew water from it must immediately replace its covering stone the moment they had finished. Failure to do so would blight the lives of those who lived in the vale. But to return to the ghostly mariner. His roving shade has been encountered by many guests and all have commented on how solid and real he looks. Indeed many of them have not even realised his true nature until they have asked Scott or Cathy who he is and are told that they have been honoured with a sighting of the house’s ghost. An immense amount of excitement was generated when, deep in the undergrowth by the side of the loch, the two discovered a large footprint, apparently left by a massive creature.

It was here that a dramatic manifestation occurred in the late 1990’s, when a lady who had brought her two young sons on a visit, was startled by the sudden appearance of a knight in armour whom, she claimed, chased her angrily from the tower. One tradition holds that she is the shade of a former maidservant, who having become pregnant was so overcome by despair that she threw herself to her death from the battlements. At the age of twenty five he married Hariott Steuart of Auchlunchart, and set about turning Leith Hall into a suitable family home. She bore him three sons and was pregnant with a fourth when, just before Christmas 1763, John rode to Aberdeen to dine with friends. Copious amounts of alcohol flowed at the meal and John reacted angrily when one of the diners accused him of adulterating the grain sold from Leith Hall. Ravenswood’s other ghostly inhabitant is a spectral nanny who only becomes active when small children come to stay. She has never actually been seen, but babies sleeping in cots have been heard over the monitoring intercoms gurgling and calling "nanny" to some unseen presence. When adults go to investigate they often find the child staring at someone that it can apparently see but which adults cannot.

Fingal's Cave

Throughout the 20th century vandals and the elements abetted the castles sad decline and, by the 1970’s, it was little more than a melancholic ruin.

Fans of paranormal television may recall the Edinburgh Vaults from “Most Haunted”, and the BBC special “Joe Swash Believes in Ghosts” ( which was horrifying for all the wrong reasons). There’s also a visit from the American TV show Ghost Adventures.The appearance of the ghost who met his end in Cortachy Castle is said to portend the death of a member of the Ogilvy family, who have owned the castle for many centuries. The phantom is said to be the spirit of a drummer who was pushed into his own drum and thrown from a window in the high tower. Although some mystery surrounds the motive for his murder, it is rumoured that he was having an affair with the wife of the Earl of Airlie or that he was possibly a spy. The house’s oldest resident is the mysterious white lady. She is believed to be the ghost of Isabella Douglas whose portrait hangs above the fire place in the hotel’s cosy reception area. Women in particular are susceptible to her spectral attentions and several housekeepers have reported feeling their apron strings being tugged by her invisible hand. Probably built by Sir Thomas Sibbald, Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, it was added to and expanded over the centuries until David, 3rd Earl of Leven, built the final wing in 1702.Despite playing host to several visitors of note – Mary, Queen of Scots, Rob Roy, Daniel Defoe, James Boswell and Dr Johnson included – the castle lay largely neglected by the 1840’s, and letters began appearing in the Edinburgh press decrying its appalling state. Not only did the ghost of Eoghan a’Chinn Bhig haunt the roads of Mull, but it has even been known to become airborne and visit the island of Coll, another ancient land of the Macleans (how he must have disliked them!).

When the Kings Justiciar accused him of treason, Wallace refused to answer the charge, pointing out that since he had never sworn allegiance to Edward 1st he couldn’t be guilty of treason against him. Every Saturday at sunrise, the Stoor Worm would wake, open his cavernous mouth and yawn nine times. He would then demand a meal of seven virgins for as the old tales record: "although he was a venomous beast, he had a dainty taste." Nobody knows who she was or, even what event, if any, made her such permanent fixture in the castles phantom guest book. She has been seen walking behind the iron bars of the ground floor windows in the ruinous 1702 wing and was recently captured on a digital photograph, taken by a guest at one of the many weddings now held at the castle. These ruined fortresses - silent reminders of old and bitter conflicts - stud the Scottish landscape.According to some sources, the original Dryburgh Abbey House was home to a young woman who entered into a tempestuous love affair with a monk. When the monk’s peers discovered the relationship, they demanded he is executed for his failure to stay faithful to his vocation. Mysterious rooms and dark recesses are set into the tower’s east wall and here a veritable cornucopia of phantoms and presences are known to lurk.

Shortly afterwards the accession was settled in favour of John Balliol who was duly inaugurated at Scone. Legend has it the cave is named after a piper who travelled into its depths to see how far underground he could go, once deep inside the cave he bumped into a female ogre who killed him after he failed to please her with a tune from his pipes. 12. 1934 Austin, Sligachan Ardrossan is a small town in North Ayrshire, from which CalMac Ferries travel to Arran and Campbeltown. Located just around the bay from this busy port on a high ascent are the ruins of Ardrossan Castle. The distant views of moody-grey mountains; the foaming waters of the River Garry, tumbling between steeply wooded cliffs; and the picturesque pathways, that twist their way through the dense undergrowth, all combine to lend the gorge a soothing aura of peaceful detachment.The Macdonald’s of Glencoe were undoubtedly as fearsome and ruthless a tribe as any other in the bloody history of inter-clan rivalry and warfare. But their officially sanctioned massacre at the hands of the Campbell’s caused such a deep sense of outrage, that many of their bitterest enemies viewed it with undisguised revulsion. This wasn’t just murder, this was "murder under trust" and, as such, it broke a moral code to which even the most brutish clan adhered. For it was an inviolable custom of the Highlands that you should provide hospitality to anyone who sought it, be they friend or foe. Whether you believe these stories or not, here are 13 of the most haunting locations along Scotland's west coast, that are sure to send a shiver down your spine this Halloween. 1. Dunstaffnage Castle Blythswood Square in Glasgow was the place to live in the 1800s, but when Captain Smythe moved into his new des res he took a dislike to the bathroom, finding it dark and sinister. One night, just as he was about to enter the tub he saw the apparition of a beautiful woman strangle someone in the bath. Weeks later his son saw the bloated body of an old man in the water. The Smythes swiftly moved out, only to discover the former residents were a wealthy old man, who had been found dead in the bath, and his beautiful young Spanish wife, who inherited his fortune and was never seen again.