Scotland is a country full of mystery and wonder, it has a reputation for myths and legends with many tales of folklore. Over hundreds of years, eerie haunting sights have been encountered, even by the most sceptical of unbelievers.

We are blessed with many beautiful historical homes and castles, however some may also have a paranormal aura around them. This article will tell you about some of Scotland’s most haunted Castles that you can visit… enter if you dare.

Ballindalloch Castle, Moray

Ballindalloch Castle in the north east of Scotland has quite the reputation for ghosts. The Castle has been inhabited since the mid 16th century and the Macpherson-Grant family continue to live in the castle to this day. As you enter the castle above the entrance you will see the inscription “1546” cut into the stone that shows the date of the castle.

There have been reports of ghost sightings from members of the public and the family who reside there. Their claim - a beautiful lady dressed in a crinoline outfit (in other words a large puff like dress of the era) is found in one of the bedrooms of the castle known as The Pink Tower. Reports of people who have seen this ghostly lady say that she has a kind presence who gives the impression that she means no harm.

However, there has also been reports of a male ghost at the castle. It is thought to be the ghost of General James Grant of the American Wars of Independence.

He was a member of the household and he died in 1806, he was buried nearby to the estate as were his wishes. Allegedly, his favourite room in the castle was beneath the stone floors in the dungeon.

It is said that every night he returns to the castle riding a beautiful white horse, his ghost also walks freely around the castle corridors frequently making the journey from the foot of one of the towers down to the wine cellar.

Visiting Ballindalloch

The castle is also open to members of the public for a few months of the year (summer months only). I have linked their website here.

The Castle is in the Speyside region and is 65 miles west from Aberdeen.

Entrance fees: Castle & grounds - £15.50

Castle of Mey, Sutherland

Situated in the very north of Scotland (a great stop if you are driving the scenic NC500 route) is the Castle of Mey.

The Castle dates back to the 16th century and overtime it fell into disrepair, before the Queen Mother took it on and restored it in 1952, she then used it as her holiday home. Nowadays it is in the care of the Castle of Mey Trust and you an visit during the summer months.

It has been alleged that the castle is haunted by a green lady ghost called Lady Elizabeth “Fanny” Sinclair who appears in one of the rooms at the top of the tower.

During the mid 1600’s Elizabeth, the daughter of the 5th Earl of Caithness fell in love with a local farm worker. Her father disagreed with the romance and regarded the boy as an undesirable suitor for his daughter. He sought to put an end to their relationship, despite his daughter's anguish.

The Earl had Elizabeth confined to the room in the high tower until she saw sense, however when the girl leaned out of the tower window to try and catch a glimpse of her lover, she lost her balance and fell to her death. It has been rumoured however that perhaps Elizabeth deliberately threw herself from the tower, and it is her sad ghost that haunts the castle.

Visitors to the Mey have reported feeling a chilling presence and some doors in the upper levels shut for no reason.

Visiting Castle Of Mey

The Castle is open from May 1st 2025 until the end of September. The Castle is 14 miles from Thurso and 6 miles from John O’ Groats.

Entrance fees: Castle, grounds & gardens - £17.60

Their website is here

Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire

Crathes Castle is a 16th century castle near Banchory set in the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire. The castle was built by the Burnett family who lived there for over 350 years, the building is a labyrinth of intricate maze of turrets and towers.

In the oldest part of the castle in a room known as the “Green Lady’s Room” there is said to be the spirit of a young lady who wears a green dress who can be seen standing next to the fireplace - in her arms she is cradling a small baby.

During the 1800’s when the castle underwent renovation works, bones of a child were discovered underneath the hearthstone of the fireplace.

Theories have included that the bones were that of a servant who had been impregnated by a member of the Burnett family, possibly in the mid-1600s, with both mother and child both killed to save the family reputation. Another theory is that she had been one of the Lairds daughters and she was in a relationship with a stable worker and fell pregnant. Soon after this revelation both the daughter and the baby disappeared.

The Castle is now open to the public and the castle tour guides have reported strange happenings such as having a chill down their back in an otherwise warm room, and hearing odd noises coming from an empty castle.

Even on a visit north, Queen Victoria reported a sighting of the Green Lady.

Visiting Crathes Castle

Crathes Castle is 15 miles west of Aberdeen and 3 miles east from Banchory.

The Castle and Gardens are open throughout the year. The Castle also has a cafe and adventure play park.

Entrance fees: Castle & Garden £16.00

Their website is here

Edinburgh Caste, Midlothian

One of the most famous castles in the world - Edinburgh Castle is said to be home to some very peculiar happenings.

The Castle has dominated Edinburgh’s skyline since the 1300’s and one well known haunted tales is about a headless drummer boy from 1650.

No one can determine who the boy was or why he became headless, but many visitors in the past have claimed to see his ghost or at least heard him drumming. During quiet times of the day, the unmistakable ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ sound of drums can be heard coming from the battlements.

Legend has it that whenever the drummer boy’s ghost is spotted, the castle is about to come under attack – he was first seen in 1650, shortly before Oliver Cromwell attacked Edinburgh Castle.

Traditionally the drummer has been seen as a bad omen, he appears to foretell imminent disaster for the castle. Although in more recent times the boy drummer hasn’t been seen..

Visiting Edinburgh Castle

The Castle is situated in the Old Town area of Edinburgh and is open all year round. During the month of August The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo also put on a show on the castle esplanade.

Entrance fee: £21.50

I have written a blog post on visiting Edinburgh Castle here

Glamis Castle, Angus

Set in the Strathmore valley, Glamis Castle (pronounced ‘Glahms’) has been home to the Lyon’s family since the 14th century. In more recent times the castle was the childhood home of the Queen Mother and later where Princess Margaret was born. The Castle has a long history dating back to 1372 was the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Glamis Castle is regarded as one of the most haunted castles in all of Scotland with many ghostly dark tales, up to 9 different ghosts have been reported. In this post I will mention two bizarre encounters.

One of the most harrowing is the “Monster of Glamis”.

In 1821, Lord Glamis and his wife welcomed the birth of a son and heir, Thomas. Soon after his birth their son tragically died. However, rumours soon spread that the boy was in fact alive but hideously deformed and to spare the family from disgrace was being raised in a secret chamber underneath Glamis Castle.

An apparent lack of gravestone for the boy probably supported the suspicions surrounding his fate, especially in the nearby village the rumours were rife.

Furthermore, a story dating to about 1865 details that workmen at the castle unexpectedly came upon a door that opened into a long passage near the chapel. One of the workman ventured in, and the man saw “something similar to a human toad” at the far end of the corridor. On reporting his sighting to Lord Glamis —the workmen was pressingly encouraged to emigrate to Australia, his passage paid by the anxious Earl.

Visually the heir Thomas was described as having no neck, and a barrel-shaped torso with tiny limbs covered completely in hair. The Monster of Glamis was said to be kept in the castle all his life and his suite of rooms bricked up after his death. There have been tales of strange shadows seen on battlements at night, some believe it to be the ghost of The Monster of Glamis.

Another harrowing encounter is that of the Tongueless Woman, a service maid who stumbled on the terrible secret.

Horrified, she threatened to expose it. The Earl ordered the guards to cut out her tongue. She broke free from her assailants and tried to escape through the grounds, but they caught and killed her. This horrific apparition has apparently been seen wandering around the grounds pointing to her badly wounded face, blood spilling from her mouth on the lawns of Glamis Castle.

Visiting Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle is 12 miles from Dundee and 3 miles from Forfar.

The Castle and grounds will re-open on the 19th March until 31st October, 2025.

Their website is here

House of Dun, Montrose

Originally built as a castle in 1375, the House of Dun was turned into ancestral home of the Erskine family from the early 1600’s. Parts of the exterior design have changed and in 1730’s the plaster work and decoration was loosed based on the Chateau d’Issy near Paris, France. Today, the house is now under the guardianship of the National Trust for Scotland.

As beautiful as the house is, there is a sinister side to this historic home.

The house is said to be haunted by three or more apparitions… the most well known is the ghostly figure of “The Lady of Dun” who has been sighted throughout the estate, walking late at night or riding a horse through the grounds - unusually, she is facing backwards on the horse. Her movements had been documented in Catherine Crowe’s classic compendium The Night Side of Nature (1848). The female ghost cannot be identified but from what I can find, she does not appear to be threatening.

Another report is of the murdered harpist, who was killed on the very spot where his ghost has been seen playing music. The phantom sounds of harp music have been reported amongst the trees on the grounds.

Despite the House of Dun being infested with ghostly figures, there is an even more sinister tale to the home.

Murder, witchcraft and poison

When John Erskine, the ninth laird of Dun, died in 1610 without a son, his nephew, also called John, stood to inherit the property and title. Young John alongside his brother Alexander were put into care and tutelage of a relative, another John Erskine. However, Robert their uncle and brother to the ninth laird had hoped to gain the position of laird for himself, he wanted to have the estate in his power. It was obvious that he was angry and vengeful that he had been passed over for a more distant relation. So Robert decided to plot along with his three sisters (the boy’s aunts) – Isobel, Anna and Helen – to remove the obstacle to him inheriting the estate. Initially they had attempted to pay a man named David Blewhouse to help in their scheme, but he refused (despite being offered 500 silver merks).

So two of the sisters went to a local woman, Janet Irving who had a reputation for being a witch. Janet promised that she could give them certain herbs which she assured the conspirators would “solve their problem”. The herbs were soaked in ale and the poisoned drink was then given to the two nephews at a house in nearby Montrose.

Almost immediately they fell violently ill and started to vomit. The heir John Erskine suffered an appalling illness: his skin went black, his inner parts were consumed and he wasted away in agony until his death.

It is said that before he finally died, he said:

“Woe is me, that ever I had right of succession to my lands or living! For had I been born some poor cottar’s son, I had not been so treated, nor wicked practices had plotted against me for my lands!”

The second nephew, Alexander, the younger of the boys, was also very sick and poorly but somehow he survived. Of course a crime was suspected, and in 1613 Robert Erskine was interrogated by the Privy Council and confessed to his part in the boys’ poisoning, also implicating his three sisters, as well as Janet Irving.

After a trial he was found guilty of murder and poisoning for profit. He was executed by beheading at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh.

A year later, also in Edinburgh two of the sisters (Isobel and Anna) were also tried and found guilty in Edinburgh and beheaded. The third sister, Helen seemed to have had a less significant role in the crime and it was said she had shown much more remorse that the others, therefore her sentence was to be banished. It has been reported that she fled up to the Orkney isles.

As for the witch Janet Irving, there are no detailed records of what happened to her, but my guess is she was also executed under the Witchcraft Acts of the time.

Visiting House of Dun

The house is located four miles west of Montrose and is off the A935 road.

The only way in to see the house is by guided tour only. You should pre book online before arrival. They have tour dates up on their website here.

You can access the garden and estate for free and it is open all year round.

Entrance fee: £16.00 per person

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