Isobel Gowdie was a difficult assignment for us. Spooky Scotland has taken us to many haunted destinations. However, it seems that we pass through Auldearn on a regular occurrence to get to many other spooky sites: Cawdor Castle, Rait Castle, the Clava Cairns and Culloden Moor to name a few. On the surface, Auldearn appears [...]
Of all the buildings associated with ghosts, in my mind, a distillery is one of the least likely to be haunted but this is not the case with the Glenrothes Distillery: it is said to be haunted by the ghost of one Biawa ‘Byeway' Makalanga. How Byeway found himself in the small Moray village of [...]
Perhaps one of the most magical places on Earth, Spooky Scotland investigates haunted Skye. The mention of Skye conjures up images of rugged landscapes, picturesque villages and medieval castles. It is a land overflowing with myths and legends, with tales of faeries and giants and lochs which are home to ferocious Kelpies. It is a [...]
Drummossie Moor, otherwise known as Culloden Moor, is a cold, desolate place. A relentless cold wind tugs at the flags which delineate the battle lines on the site of the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil. It is a cold wind which seeps deep into your bones. Or is it the wind [...]
When it comes to dark history, Rait Castle has it all: a tale of forbidden love, two feuding families, a banquet treacherously planned with murder in mind, a betrayal, a massacre and a ghost known as the ‘Wraith of Rait’. The ruined remains of this 14th Century building are a fine example of a Hall [...]
The crowds gathered at Chanonry Point, a spit of land which extends into the Moray Firth, between the Black Isle towns of Fortrose and Rosemarkie. The curse proclaiming the downfall of the house of Seaforth was still ringing in their ears. Isabella, Countess of Seaforth, was undeterred. She would have her revenge upon the man [...]
Eilean Donan lies in one of the most scenic spots in Scotland. Built on an island, where Loch Duich, Long Long and Loch Alsh meet, it was once the site of an Iron Age vitrified fort, built by the Picts. It takes its name from a Gaelic Priest, Saint Donnán of Eigg who lived around [...]
From before the dawn of history, the early ancestors of the people we now know as the Scots, built impressive monuments which have caught the imagination of those who have followed in their wake. Stone circles, chambered cairns, brochs and vitrified forts stir within us something primeval and stories have been born from their mystical [...]
Murder! Massacre! Betrayal! Treason! Glencoe is one of the most spectacular areas of unspoiled wilderness in Scotland. There is a haunting quality about the moor-clad mountains that stand as sentinels over the eight-mile long glen which runs from east to west along the northern border of Argyll. And there are those who say that the [...]
Immortalised by Shakespeare in his play ‘Macbeth’, built around a holly tree and haunted by an apparition said to be the ghost of an heiress once kidnapped by one of the most powerful families in Scotland, Cawdor Castle lies in a peaceful location which belies its dramatic and intriguing past. Nestled in the heart of [...]