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The Ghosts of Stirling Castle
by
Melissa Martin Ellis
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- Scotland’s Stirling Castle has three ghosts
- The Highland Ghost wanders the castle
- The Green Lady died to save the queen
Most of present-day Stirling Castle dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but there were defensive structures on the site as early as the twelfth century. William Wallace fought successfully to wrest it from English control in 1297, and it was the site of the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1543—but not all of its history is happy.
Three ghosts continue to haunt the castle, and other strange occurrences point to other supernatural inhabitants.
The Highland Ghost
This ghost allegedly wanders about in period costume, and tourists sometimes mistake him for a tour guide. When asked for directions, he usually turns and walks away, much to their annoyance. Only when he has walked through a wall or into a closed door do they realize what they have seen.
In 1935 the spirit was captured on film by an architect who went to the castle in the wee hours of the morning intent on taking some building photos without people in them. To the man’s dismay, when the film was developed there was one person standing under an archway. The architect had been very careful not to take any pictures with people in them, so he was surprised to see the lone man—until he realized it was the highland ghost.
The Green Lady
The green lady was allegedly a maidservant to Mary, Queen of Scots. One night, when she had already retired for the evening, she was said to have had a premonition that the queen’s bed curtains were on fire. She rushed into the queen’s bedchamber, where the curtains were indeed ablaze. Although she managed to save the Queen, she died of the injuries she sustained.
Now her appearance always foreshadows the coming of bad events at the castle. When she appears, the staff knows to be on the lookout for a fire or some other crisis.
The Pink Lady
The Pink Lady has been seen walking from the castle toward an adjacent church, and she is always bathed in an unearthly pink light. She is believed to be the ghost of a woman looking for her lost husband, who was killed when the English took the castle in 1304. Others say the beautiful apparition is none other than Mary, Queen of Scots.
Elphinstone Tower
The staff of Stirling Castle avoids Elphinstone Tower, located on the east side of the castle. Many unexplained incidents, perhaps attributable to the castle’s bloody history, have been recorded here. Much of the tower is gone; only crumbling ruins remain.
This place was believed to have been used as a torture chamber, and people were locked up here with no hope of release. Local legend has it that James V kept a pair of conjoined twins locked within it, using them as an oracle. It is rumored that when one twin died, the other was forced to live on there for ten months, still attached to his brother’s dead body. Although this may seem highly unlikely, the legend lives on.
...from The Everything Ghost Hunting Book.
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