Ghost stories for staygold

[jacobitedreamer]

As promised, some ghost stories for you. Some collected by own hand, some handed down in my family, some from a book.
Polwarth and others, please note I don't want to bother or annoy anyone coming up with the mentioning of a certain name again. This time it's GHOST STORIES only and those I post here are the ones I know best.


Some days before the fatal battle of Culloden, Cameron of Lochiel saw a woman washing in a well or river what he first beheld to be tartan plaids. But he soon realized that it were shrouds she was washing, sighing and dressed all in white. Soon the strange vision disappeared... It was the white fairy washerwoman who appears to those who have the gift of secondsight announcing the coming of unnatural death.


Another jacobite ghost story is that of Viscount Dundee's nightly visit to his friend Balcarres.
Without judging his person or character here, it is a clear fact that he died - either directly in the battle of Killiecrankie or later the same evening - on July 27th 1689. At that time, his best friend and comrade Balcarres was imprisoned up in Edinburgh Castle. Some time in this night, Balcarres woke up because someone touched his shoulder and then drew back his blankets. As he turned round and opened his eyes, he saw his friend Dundee standing close to him, next going a bit away just to lean his back to the wall, close by the window. Balcarres got up in order to speak to him, but that moment the vision disappeared again. It was only later that he learnt that Dundee had died that very evening.


Dundee is also said to haunt the lawn of Duntrune, I suppose this is close to the battlefield of Killiecrankie, at least I was told so. There used to be a huge old tree, I know not of what sort, that played a central role in those haunting scenes. Dundee is said to appear on horseback, his face never turned to the spectator. Surrounded by grey light and strange music, he would appear as if waiting for someone to follow him and then, waving his rapier, disappear again. It will go on that way every summer until another prophecy turns to be fulfilled...


The story of the Airlie drummer boy you know already, this was the one I posted in that other thread.


There also was a story from the northwest, telling of two schoolboys who went, instead of attending classes, to the moor to look for grouse eggs. Long or short, they got into a fight over sharing the found eggs and one took a stone and knocked down the other. Coming to his senses again, he realized that he had killed the one who actually was his best friend. Afraid and sad, he dug the body in and put a large stone over this terrible grave. Then he ran away, first setting to Ireland and then later to other parts of the world. However, he returned home again about 20 years later and saw the place of his childhood changed and modernized. Somewhat tired and hungry, he went to a nearby pub and ordered a bite to eat. The landlady served the food and gave him a fork and a knife, the handles of which were made of bones, to the great astonishment of the guest. Touching the knife and fork, a rare feeling of horror overcame him and he could not let fork and knife go again. Pale and trembling as he was, the landlady came to enquire what ailed him and he asked her where she had these rare handles from. And she told him that these were the bones of some animal she had found when resting on a stone near this and that place. Now the guest grew even paler and blood was running from his hands, so the landlady thought he would have injured himself somehow. But her guest leapt up, crying it was the blood of his friend and told her all the story. He lead the police and the landlady to the very place of his crime and the poor rests of a boy's body were found. Thus he was forced by strange circumstances to confess his evildoing and was hanged.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed it and if anybody else has a good story to add, please feel free to do so.
Staygold wished to read some spooky stuff, so let's provide a lot of it!
LOL

[staygold]

These are great!! Maybe others will join in and we'll get a whole collection going!! Thanks!
Staygold

[jacobitedreamer]

Happy you liked the stories. The first three are my favourites.
Spooky stuff... Not quite a ghost story, but maybe you'll like it:

And there was this story of the young student who was lead astray in a storm wandering the west coast of Scotland and took shelter from the storm in a little cave in front of which there were little white bones. And he felt so cold and hungry out there when suddenly he heard a sound outside the cave. Not long after that, a young maid appeared before him and asked him to come with her to her mother's hut. So far so good, the mother invited him to eat some fish with her and the young maid refused to eat fish and went out into the storm instead. She came back, her hair all ragged, and she seemed contented. She put herself to sleep on the floor near the fire, her head resting on her arms. Later, the guest went to sleep and woke up from the warm, stinking breath of some beast that touched his face. He leapt to his feet and the beast attacked him. It was a hard fight and in the end the student gripped the beast's throat and held tight. With a groan, the animal died. How astonished was he to find in the morning the young maid that had given him shelter, laying dead on the floor with a drop of blood on her lips and the traces of the nightly fight on her throat...

[staygold]

These are great!! Where do you get them from??? I'll have to pass them on to my daughter, who loves ghost stories. She's a big Stephen King kind of fan, so I know she'll love hearing some "real ghost stories" too!

I'm going to be moving tomorrow, and will be off line for a bit...but I will be back. So, please keep posting them as you find them! I can't wait to be back in touch!

Have a wonderful day!!!

[jacobitedreamer]

Well, the story of Dundee's ghost on horseback, I got it right down from my family, later found that the place is called Duntrune. There is a castle, too, where they have his pistol and personal papers. Maybe he just wants to have them back, hehehe...

I have a fine collection of ghost stories and I will post them here for you and your daughter!

[jacobitedreamer]

Okay, as promised. I remember one of a dark woman wandering the places that used to be battlefields. She is supposed to visit the souls of those who have died there and cannot leave the place for whatever reason. If ever you see her, don't you dare look at her face, though it is said to be beautiful and take care she doesn't walk through you... This one I got from my grandpa...

But there are friendly ghosts, too. There is the story of a shepherd who lost his way when returning home from the market when he tried to find a shortcut through some bogs neear Auchterader (never been there, so I don't know if this is true )and was half about to fall asleep in the mud when a young woman approached him and asked his troubles. He told her he had lost his way and she said he should not worry as she would have the same road to take and she knew the way. So they walked and talked and she gave him a dram and a bite to eat and before the morning they had reached the road that lead directly to his house. So they took leave and each of them went on his way. It was years later that he found out about this lady when he had to visit the local Laird and saw her portrait on one of the walls. Inquiring about the dame, he was told that she had drowned in the moor ages before the shepherd was born...

[jacobitedreamer]

Well, well. Just stumbled across another rare story where I least expected it - in a history book. It tells the following:

A gentlewoman had died very young, to the great woe of her husband, parents and little children. Her coffin was brought to the churchyard and was opened there once more before the gathered congregation. In that instant, the corpse rose up and walked up to her sister, pointing her finger at her. Then she returned to the coffin and moved no more. Her sister broke down trembling and crying and confessed to have poisoned her sister because she could not bear to see her happiness...