From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
High on my list of bucket list tours—Note to self: Great name for my travel agency—is a haunted tour of Scotland. Apparently, you can’t swing a cat in Scotland without smacking into some kind of supernatural entity. The place is stiff with ghosts, spirits, mermaids, fairies, mysterious and shadowy figures, haunted castles, ladies of all the hues in the rainbow, and any other kind of paranormal critter you can imagine.
As I prepare for my tour, I’ve made a list of some of the places to visit. If you’ve visited a spooky place in Scotland, or if you have a great spooky story from anywhere, please share it by leaving a comment.
Culloden Battlefield—a very sober place and reputed to be the most haunted place in the entire pixilated country. Culloden Battlefield is the scene of the last battle of the Jacobite uprising of 1745. The Loyalist amy who supported the House of Hanover, overwhelmingly defeated the winter-weary and scattered Jacobite forces. And then they went on to clear the Highlands of any and all supporters of Prince Charles, brutally murdering families of clan members or turning them out to die of starvation. After Culloden, the British banned the wearing of tartans and the playing of pipes. The culture of Scotland, the Highlands in particular, changed irrevocably after the Battle of Culloden
I’ve talked to people who have been to Culloden and they all say the place has a tragic aura. Several said they felt uneasy, but more sad than scared. This will be the start of my tour, I think.
Culzean (Kuh ‘Leen) Castle. Renting the Eisenhower Suite in the castle (or at least a room in it) — 150 to 340 pounds; hearing the ghostly piper and seeing the supernatural knight for myself–– Priceless!
Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh is ripe with spirits—and tours of death. Besides a headless drummer and phantom piper are numerous other stories of apparitions throughout the city. This will take some time.
Eileen Donan Castle—a headless Spanish soldier wanders around with his head under his arm—that’s worth the trip.
Fyvie Castle is haunted by Lilias Drummond who was either starved by her husband or died of a broken heart. Either way, she was not pleased when he took a new wife. She carved her name in the stone windowsill of his bedroom on the night of his nuptials. That’s neat but it might have been more fun to carve her name in hubby and/or the new wife.
Glamis Castle is crazy-full of spooks including Earl Beardie who plays a never-ending card game with the devil somewhere inside. A place is always set for The Grey Lady, Lady Janet Douglas. She was burnt at the stake as a witch in 1537. Whether she was really a witch or whether someone found it expedient to have her out of the way so that her property could be . . um. . liberated is a mystery.
Rosslyn Chapel in Edinburgh. If you’ve read or watched The Da Vinci Code, you know about this place. I want to see the Green Men that festoon the entire building and, of course, whatever spooks want to come out. A Black Knight, a murdered apprentice, a white lady and a hound have all been seen in and around the Chapel and nearby castle.
Stirling Castle—A green lady and a Pink Lady are seen here among others.
I’ve also noted the position of the Laphroaig distillery on my map since a stop here both before and after my haunted tour seems to be a wise precaution.
