The Top 3 Must Visit Haunted Castles in Scotland!

If you’ve got a thing for ghosts and all things other-worldly, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you visit some (if not all) of these wonderfully haunted castles on your next long-distance walking visit to Scotland.

They’re steeped in history too, and the tours are so informative, so even if you don’t happen to spot a ghostly figure or apparition while you’re there you’ll certainly have learned much about the past inhabitants. Why are there so many haunted Scottish castles you may ask?

Life in Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries was somewhat grizzly, there were many bloody battles and killings, not to mention jealous husbands, angry fathers, spurned lovers, and the like, so as you can imagine life back then was quite interesting, but at least it gives us some great stories to intrigue us and some fabulous, haunted castles to explore.

The Green Lady of Stirling Castle

One of Scotland’s most popular castles is the beautiful Stirling Castle sits perched atop a hill, its high stone walls have kept this castle safe for centuries – the castle has also played home to many generations of Scottish royalty, including Mary Queen of Scots, and was also home to the Stewart clan for many years.

Of course, it goes without saying that a castle this old has its fair share of spooky apparitions, and oddly the most famous ones are all ladies, identified by the different colours of their gowns, the blue lady, the pink lady and the most famous of all, the green lady.

The story goes that the green lady was a young serving girl at the castle, who had a premonition that Mary Queen of Scots who was soon to arrive at the castle, would meet her end if she were to stay but one night within its walls. Practical Queen Mary suggested that the young lady watch over her while she sleeps and awaken her or call for assistance should anything occur during the night.

The young servant girl sat up to watch the queen as she slept, but eventually her own eyes started to grow tired, so she lit a candle and placed it next to the bed to light the room in case the queen awakened, and she closed her heavy eyelids briefly, only to be awoken by the smell of smoke.

The candle had set fire to the curtains around the bed and the room was engulfed in flames and smoke. Unable to call for help as her throat was so dry from inhaling the smoke, she struggled towards the bed to awaken the queen, however the smoke had rendered Queen Mary unconscious.

The servant girl picked up the queen from the bed and managed to kick her way through the door which was bolted from the outside, saving the queen who managed to live another good twenty-two years after the incident, however the young lass is believed to have died from her injuries sustained from the fire.

The green lady is said to wander the halls of Stirling Castle to this day, paying penance and filled with despair for her folly on that fateful night. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot her, or one of the other colourful ghost ladies on your visit!

The Grey Lady of Edinburgh Castle

Considered the most haunted castle in Scotland, Edinburgh Castle sits perched on a massive rock, and has served as a fortress and look out point since 683AD. The castle that we see today was erected during the 15th century and the area has been the site of many gory battles.

Many ghosts are rumoured to roam the castle, including a headless little drummer boy that appears and plays an old Scottish war tune whenever the castle is under attack, however since Edinburgh Castle has not been attacked since 1745, he has not been seen for quite a while.

However the phantom piper is still heard to this day – the poor boy was sent down into a series of tunnels discovered under the castle to explore them while playing his pipes for those above the ground to listen to the sound and get an idea of where the tunnels led to.

The piper suddenly stopped playing near Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile, and rescuers were sent down, however they could not locate him, which led to the tunnels being sealed and ordered never to be reopened.

However, the most famous ghost of Edinburgh Castle must be Janet Douglas, aka the ‘Grey Lady.’ King James V of Scotland eventually executed Lady Douglas thanks to a long-standing feud with her brother Archibald Douglas, the 6th Earl of Angus, who was the King’s stepfather and very much hated by King James, understandably, as he was imprisoned thanks to his stepfather.

King James accused Lady Douglas of witchcraft and trying to poison him, however finding evidence proved difficult so the king set about torturing family, friends, and servants until he got the evidence he needed, and convicted Janet, who was burned at the stake outside the castle in 1537, and her weeping ghost is said to roam the castle til this day.

The Ghostly Piper of Culzean Castle

Beautiful Culzean castle was built in the late 1700s and was the home of the head of the Kennedy Clan, the 10th Earl of Cassillis, David Kennedy. Perched high on a clifftop overlooking the West coast, Culzean was built as a display of wealth by the Earl, and sports glorious woods, beaches and parklands which are filled with wildlife. The gardens, ponds and glasshouses are well worth exploring and a visit to Culzean Castle is always a treat.

Aside from its beauty however, Culzean Castle is known for its ghostly residents. Apparently, there are seven spirits residing in the castle, however local staff attest that it is in fact only five – and that mysterious goings on are often spotted within the castle’s walls.

From a mysterious misty shape that can be spotted on the staircase, to moving paintings, a lady in a ball gown that appears in the garden or the staircase and more odd mists in the dungeons, Culzean is quite paranormally active however, the most famous ghostly happening is that of the piper of Culzean Castle.

Residents believed that caves below the castle were haunted, so to set about proving that they were not, a piper and his dog were sent into the caves, and he was to play his bagpipes while traversing the caves from the entrance of the castle to the exit on a nearby hill. (Seems that being a piper in those days was a job that saw one having to take some risks – we wonder if they received ‘danger pay’!)

The pipes could be heard howling below in the caves while those above land listened, until the piping suddenly stopped, and the dogs barking ceased too. Assuming that the piper had gotten stuck a search party went in to rescue the piper and his dog, but they had both however mysteriously vanished.

Legend has it that on the eve of a Kennedy family wedding the sound of bagpipes can be heard coming from the caves below the castle and the figure of a lone piper can be spotted standing on the hill, now named Piper’s Brae.

Have you visited any of these castles listed above? Have you seen a ghostly apparition or experienced some paranormal activity at one of the many haunted castles in Scotland? If you have, comment below and let us know!

We hope that you’ll visit us in Scotland soon for a haunted castle visit, and of course to undertake one of our world-famous Scottish long walks.

We’ll see you on the hills soon! The Walkers Club Team.