Write a spooky Scottish story

VisitScotlandNikki

You can’t have a country filled with castles, famous legends and moody lochs (plus whisky!) without the odd spooky story. 

Our historic buildings, legendary characters and eerie landscapes are the perfect ingredients for a mysterious story – which may be truth or myth. Crathes Castle has the Green Lady, Edinburgh Castle has a headless drummer and of course, Loch Ness has its monster.

Many of these tales have been whispered into ears for hundreds of years. But there’s always space for a new spooky story!

So, over to you. Write us your best spooky Scottish story in 50 words or less and see if you can terrify our community members the most!

Make sure to like your favourite too, so we can see who’s the spookiest Scotland-lover of all!

(A performance of Macbeth at Glamis Castle, Angus)

Fofoma

One of my best friend’s Mum and Dad ran a Guest House in Edinburgh’s New Town and it was a standing joke that the previous occupant, a dentist called George, still ‘lived’ there in spirit form. No laxative needed when the locked bathroom door opened of its own accord…

DMWScotland

@VisitScotlandNikki

This is a scary feeling based on a recent experience. A ghostly mountain and fearing the unknown!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I could hear the sound of lingering footsteps. The howling wind helped cast dancing shadows on my shaking tent.

I hid inside my sleeping bag hoping to fall asleep on this Scottish mountain. I could hardly breathe.

If I hear a zipping sound of the door opening I'll scream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DMWScotland

VisitScotlandJulie

There is a tiny ghost in my neighbourhood. It goes around in the night doing good deeds and really helping people out. I know it is not a very scary story but there are some nice ghosts out there too. It's always great to have a little community spirit.







 

 

VisitScotlandBrian

They used to call my dad 'the exorcist' because he wouldn't leave the house until all the spirits were gone :-)

Simom

My grandmother was born in Stirling, but the family moved to Dumfries when she was quite young. Walking through Dumfries one day with her mother, they were passing a building where there was a green door. My gran stopped her mother and asked her what was on the other side of the door. "Nothing that concerns you!" was her reply "Why are you asking?" My grandmother  said that she knew that they would be going through that door soon. Her mother  quickly pulled her away and hurried on.  The door led into the local mortuary. A short time later my great grandmother received news that her sister had been killed by a run away horse and she was required to identify her body. As there was no one to look after my Grandmother she had to be taken along through that same door!
 She said that she was the seventh child of a seventh child and that was apparently the first time that she knew she had some kind of gift

finmcd

Cold gusts nipped at my neck. Water rippled toward my bare feet at shoreline. The small wave wrapped my ankle in a chilly embrace. Ripples increased and the frigid water climbed up my legs. In the centre of the loch, the water broke, and flaring black nostrils appeared. 

spoots

IThey bound her in the black chamber of the cairn, ready to spirit her away for a wife.  But the wintry sun sunk through the sky, shooting its beams through the tunnel.  The trows burned away like matches and dissolved into the mist.

She was left there, alone in the dying light, sucked away by the sun.  She tried to free herself, but clattered onto the scorched ground.  Her brain screamed silently.  Was anyone there?  All was silent, save for the fizzing loch.  Then, she saw too late that, approaching her in the black, were pairs of flaming red eyes...

spoots

Hallowe'en's on the way!  So I thought about rebooting this thread.  This is based on the ghostly girl of Muchalls Castle:

Razorbills barked in the moonlight.  She turned and ran, ran away from the ghostly silence that pounded her ears, ran down the tunnel to the sea.  Her shoes slid on the slippery stones, and she sunk, down, down into the depths below.  The girl silently screamed, screamed for an eternity.

mustseescotland

The Crofters Who Weren't There 

I was once driving back to my home, then in a rural part of the north east of Scotland. 

It had been a long journey back and I was tired and keen to get home. I passed an farm-worker’s cottage by the side of the road. 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple standing in the little field at the gable end of the croft. He was broadcasting in the original sense of the word: throwing seed from a tray looped round his neck. She had a long skirt and bonnet. I thought it odd, as they both looked so old fashioned.

A few days later I passed by once again in the car, looked again, and was amazed to see the field was neglected, green with pasture and weeds and obviously uncultivated. I’m not even sure the croft was occupied.

So what had I seen? Like I said, I was tired - and the couple did look like the sort of illustrations you see in old books about crofting. Obviously(?) I imagined something that wasn't there.

Read more on Scottish ghosts and apparitions!