I've always loved to read or listen to stories about the supernatural and the unexplained in Scotland, from the tales of mischief carried out by the 'wee folk' to eerie and sinister accounts of lost souls and evil spirits.
Of all the fables I've come across, I think it's the stories about
Selkies, sea people who wear seal skins when in the water, which have made the biggest impression on me - every time I still a seal bobbing near the shoreline with big, doleful eyes, I can't help but think they've experienced a sad, but romantic, past.

What's your favourite Scottish ghost story, myth or legend? We all know about
Nessie, but there are many others just as mysterious and peculiar that you might not know about - take a look at this new
eBook which covers spectres, witches, faeries and more!
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Back in the late 16th & early 17th century, the local Laird Alexander Skene was also known as the 'Wizard of Skene'. He had travelled to a University in Italy to practice a dark and dangerous form of magic that involved summoning the spirit of the deceased to gain insight and knowledge of the future. When he returned to Skene, locals were fearful of the Laird it was said that he had no shadow and was always followed by ravens and magpies - the birds of ill omen. Local people were superstitious and believed that he could reest them - gluing their feet flat to the floor or make them do evil things that they did not want to do. Legend states that during his time in Italy, the Laird had summoned Auld Nick (the Devil) to form an evil partnership, with the Laird becoming Auld Nick's new apprentice.
Then one night the temperature dropped and the Loch of Skene froze over. The Laird instructed his coachman, Kilgour, to meet him at dark by the edge of the Loch with his horse and carriage. He was instructed that there would be another passenger and that under no circumstance should Kilgour look at the passengers face. The Laird appeared at dark with a person dressed in an Auld Cloven Hoodie. They climbed into the carriage and the Laird instructed Kilgour to cross over the frozen Loch of Skene. With the crack of the whip, the horses set off onto the frozen water through the frosty mist, but Kilgour could hear the voices of the Laird and the mysterious cloaked figure in the back. His curiosity got the better of him and for one split second he turned around and saw the face of the passenger. It was the Devil! The sight of Auld Nick in the back of the coach chilled Kilgour to the bone and he let go of the reins. The carriage crashed through the frozen Loch killing Kilgour, although the Devil and the Laird mysteriously survived.
The Laird died in the 1700s and his gravestone can be found in the graveyard of Skene Church, although it is said that if you circle the gravestone 100 times, the Laird may rise from the dead! Eek! Also when the Lochof Skene freezes over, a strange pattern can be seen on the surface of the ice? Could this be the tracks of the carriage? Double Eek!!
The Loch of Skene is beautiful and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is one of the best places in Scotland to spot geese and wildfowl in the Autumn, and is also great for course fishing. I don't know if I would ever be brave enough to visit on a frosty night though, and I would never ever look back........
"…When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord
An' float the jinglin' icy boord
Then, water-kelpies haunt the foord
By your direction
And 'nighted trav'llers are allur'd
To their destruction..."