Luxury and Legends: Haunted Castle Hotels

ECHOES FROM THE GLENS
By Lynne Sturtevant
Luxury and Legends: Haunted Castle Hotels

Even though it's only late afternoon, the sky is almost dark and the damp, cold air is seeping into your bones. You button your coat and turn up your collar as you watch the mist swirl through the ruins of an ancient abbey. What was that? It sounded exactly like the eerie wail of phantom pipes. The wind. It was just the wind. This place isn't haunted. The ghosts of Scotland are nothing more than romantic legends. You're absolutely sure of that, but the back of your neck begins to prickle. You glance nervously over your shoulder and decide it's time to find a place with bright lights, a warm fire and plenty of other people.

Our Celtic ancestors believed in ghosts. So do many modern Scots. Do you believe? The following castle hotels are neither for the feint of heart nor the feint of wallet. Each is haunted and all are in the deluxe price range.

Borders Region

Comlongon Castle, Clarencefield DG1 4NA Telephone: (01387) 870283 Fax: (01387) 870266

Comlongon Castle is only a few miles from the English border. Its 14th century keep has survived generations of border raids and stood witness to countless violent disputes between the powerful clans of the region. It was also the site of at least one tragic death. According to official records, on September 25, 1570 Marion Carruthers "did willfully take her own life by leaping from the lookout tower of Comlongon Castle " and "did break her head and bones."

Marion and her sister were Sir Simon Carruthers only children. Near the end of his life, Sir Simon drew up a will and divided his huge estate, which included Comlongon Castle, between his two daughters. When word of the arrangement leaked out, the powerful Douglases of Drumlarig hatched a plan to get their hands on a portion of the Carruthers' holdings. Sir James Douglas obtained Sir Simon's permission to marry Marion. However, after her father's death, Marion refused to comply with the marriage contract. The dispute went to court and the Privy Council ordered Marion to surrender herself to James Douglas. Rather than comply with the order, she threw herself from Comlongon's tower.

Although her death was ruled a suicide, rumors of foul play began to circulate when James Douglas asserted his claim to Marion's half of the Carruthers estate. Many believed Douglas's men gained access to Comlongon Castle and threw Marion from the battlements. Perhaps this was just malicious gossip, but no grass grows on the spot where she died and the apparition of a weeping young woman wanders through the castle and its grounds. Is Marion Carruthers searching for a proper resting place or is she seeking revenge for her untimely demise?

In addition to the 120 acres of grounds, which include ornamental ponds, sweeping lawns and woodlands, Comlongon Castle's guests can explore forbidding dungeons, spiral stone staircases and the refurbished Great Hall with its leaded windows, painted ceilings and private collection of historical regalia. All eleven guest bedrooms have private baths, color TVs, radios, tea and coffee making facilities and hairdryers. The staff of Comlongon pride themselves on their excellent traditional Scottish cuisine. And for the truly brave of heart, every night before dinner, the castle offers a candlelight tour of the haunted 14th century keep, vaulted basement and gruesome dungeon pits.

Edinburgh Area

Dalhousie Castle Hotel, Bonnyrigg EH19 3JB Telephone: (01875) 820153 Fax: (01875) 821936

Dalhousie is an 800-year-old castle 25 miles from Edinburgh's city center. Dalhousie Castle was the site of another woman's death, but this was a case of premeditated murder. When the wife of Dalhousie's master, who was a Ramsay, discovered her husband's infidelity, she imprisoned his mistress in a turret with no exits. Ramsay's lover starved to death in the tower, but the woman's spirit has found an escape route that was unavailable to her in life. She passes through the walls. Her ghost, known as The Grey Lady, has been seen floating down various staircases in the castle and many believe she is responsible for the terrifying noises and sudden blasts of cold air that seem to come from nowhere.

Dalhousie Castle has received a Five Crowns-Highly Recommended rating from the Scottish Tourist Board. There are 29 guest bedrooms in the castle and 5 more in the nearby 100-year-old Lodge. All bedrooms have color TVs, direct dial phones, radios, trouser presses, tea and coffee making facilities and private baths with heated towel rails. Eight of the bedrooms are historical theme rooms. The most spectacular is the Sir William Wallace Room on the castle's top floor. It is decorated with the Wallace tartan and gothic fittings and its doors open onto the castle's battlements. Dalhousie's Dungeon Restaurant offers traditional Scottish and classical French cuisine and the cozy Library Bar provides panoramic views of the surrounding woods and parkland. Dalhousie also has a private helicopter landing pad for guests who find it too inconvenient to take a taxi from the airport, which is less than half an hour away by car.

Highlands

Castle Stuart, Petty Parish, Inverness IV1 2JH Telephone: (01463) 790745 Fax: (01463) 792604

Only a few miles from Culloden Battlefield stands Castle Stuart, the ancient home of the Earls of Moray. The castle was abandoned and fell into ruins after 500 members of the MacIntosh Clan attacked it in the early 1600s. For the next three centuries Castle Stuart stood empty-except for the ghosts. Although people have heard blood curdling screams and felt icy fingers grabbing them in almost every part of the castle, the paranormal activity is most intense in The Haunted Room, a three turreted bedroom at the top of the East Tower.

Many years ago, the Earl of Moray offered a reward to any man who could spend the night alone in The Haunted Room. The local Presbyterian Minister, a Kirk Elder, a Shoemaker and a brave Highlander accepted the challenge. They agreed to take turns spending the night and not to reveal what happened in The Haunted Room until each man had completed his stay. There was one other small requirement. As soon as each man entered the room, the door would be locked from the outside. It would not be opened again until morning.

The Minister went first. He dreamed that a huge, blood-splattered Highland Chief entered the room and sat next to his bed. He awoke with a start, but the room was empty. The Kirk Elder went next. He decided to stay awake through the night and read his Bible. After midnight, the blood-splattered Chief entered the room, drew his dagger and asked the Elder what he was doing there. The poor man was so terrified, he was unable to respond. Right before the Elder fainted from fright, he saw the reflection of a grinning skull in the mirror over the fireplace. According to local residents, the Elder was never the same again.

On the third night, it was the Shoemaker's turn. Like the Elder, he decided not to risk sleeping. He sat in a chair by the fire and began to pray. A few moments after the clock struck twelve, the locked door slowly opened and a tall, dark figure entered the room. The terrified Shoemaker saw a skeleton's reflection in the mirror then fainted when the dark stranger pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

The last man was Rob Angus, the brave Highlander. No one knows what he experienced in The Haunted Room because when a servant unlocked the door in the morning, Rob Angus was gone. The furniture had been demolished and sharp fragments of the broken mirror covered the floor. The servant ran to the tower window and saw Rob Angus's shattered body on the ground below.

A few days later, a witness came forward. A shepherd had been walking near the castle the night Rob Angus died. Around half past midnight he heard the sounds of a fierce struggle coming from the tower. He looked up and saw a huge man crash through the window and plummet to his death. After he examined the Highlander's corpse, he looked at the tower window again and saw the grinning face of the Devil.

Castle Stuart has been lovingly restored and the interior is furnished as it would have been during Jacobean times. The castle is full of hidden doors and stairways, secret passages, alcoves and priest-holes. According to the castle's owners, guests can avoid "walking the long way to get a dram of whisky from the bar" by using the revolving door that connects the Billiard Room to the Drawing Room.

There are eight well-appointed bedrooms with private baths. Each is named after one of the clans that fought at Culloden and is carpeted with that family's tartan. The MacLachlan, Cameron, Stewart of Appin and MacDonnell Rooms are in the West Tower. Chisholm, MacIntosh and Mackenzie are located in the East Tower along with The Haunted Room, also known as the Murray Room. Are you brave enough to spend the night? The staff swears they hardly ever lock anyone in.

If you would like more information on Castle Stuart, Dalhousie or Comlongon, visit www.celticcastles.com. You can see interior and exterior photographs of various parts of each castle, including the guestrooms. The site also provides room rates, descriptions of amenities, details about each castle's location, sightseeing opporuntities and an email connection for those bold enough to make reservations.