If you are interested in a haunting experience, then visit Aberdeenshire. There are several ghosts who seem reluctant to leave the historic houses and castles in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Let me tell you about a few of them, all within an hour’s drive of Aberdeen. Fyvie Castle is one of the most imposing castles in Scotland, just thirty miles north of Aberdeen. It is said to be haunted by Lilias Drummond, the wife of Alexander Seton, one of the lairds, who divorced her because she had not borne him a son. After her death, Seton married another woman and on their wedding night scraping sounds were heard outside the bedroom window; the next morning the words D. LILIAS DRUMMOND were found carved on the windowsill.
Castle Fraser, an equally magnificent castle not far away, is said to be haunted by the ghost of a princess who was murdered there; a ghostly figure is said to be seen on the staircase, whilst visitors have reported hearing piano music, voices and people whispering. At Craigievar Castle, a fairytale castle on Donside, the ghost of a fiddler is said to appear, but only to people called Forbes. The Forbes family owned Craigievar, before it was given to the National Trust.
Crathes Castle, which is near Banchory on Royal Deeside, has the Green Lady’s Room in the 16th-century tower, where a woman dressed in green has been seen moving across the room, sometimes alone, sometimes with a small child. When restoration work was done some years ago, two skeletons were found, one of a woman and one of a child. If you visit Crathes, make time to spend an hour in the beautiful gardens, which are seen at their best in July and August – but no ghosts here.
In Haddo House, a Georgian mansion, the son of the 1st Marquis of Aberdeen, is said to have been sighted in the House after dark; he was tragically killed in a car accident. Haddo sits in the middle of extensive woodlands and grounds, an ideal place to go for a long walk. Leith Hall another historic house in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, has three ghosts. One is a Victorian lady, another is that of John Leith, the fourth laird, who died in 1763, when he was stabbed in an argument with another laird; he is seen standing near the main staircase, with blood-stained bandages around his hair. People have also reported seeing a young soldier passing the windows and walking in the garden.
When you visit one of these castles in Aberdeenshire, ask the guide about their ghosts!
Judith Sleigh
-Tourism Expert
Zusätzliche Informationen
- Webseite von Aberdeenshire
Fotocredits: Udo Haafke / Dr. Birgit Bornemeier
