Scotland’s Most Haunted Castles: The Real Ghost Stories Behind the Legends

Scottish castles collect stories the way their walls collect moss. Behind the turrets, generations of Scots kept ghost stories alive by word of mouth, often as a way of remembering a tragedy or an injustice. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, these tales are part of Scotland’s story.

This guide covers six castles, from Aberdeenshire granite country to the Borders and Edinburgh’s Old Town. For each one we tell the legend as it is told, and the history as the castle’s own keepers record it, so you know which part is which.

Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire: The Green Lady of the Fireplace

Crathes Castle stands in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire. The National Trust for Scotland, which cares for it, describes a 16th-century castle of turrets, oak panels and painted ceilings, with yew hedges in the walled garden planted as early as 1702. Look out for the Horn of Leys, given to the Burnett family by Robert the Bruce in the 14th century.

The Green Lady is the ghost everyone asks about. The story goes that a young woman in a green dress is seen by the fireplace in the room now named after her, the Green Lady’s Room, cradling an infant before she fades away. According to the Trust, when the castle was renovated in the 1800s the bones of a child were found under the hearthstone of that fireplace. Nobody knows who she was.

Trust staff say the question they hear most at Crathes is “Have you seen the Green Lady?” Leave time for the walled garden too. If you are exploring the northeast, pair Crathes with our Aberdeenshire ancestry trail, and check the Crathes Castle page for opening times before you go.

Glamis Castle, Angus: The Grey Lady and the Secret Room

Glamis Castle (say “Glahms”) is the ancestral seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. It was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret was born here on a stormy August night in 1930, the first royal baby born in Scotland since 1600. The ghost stories are far older than that.

The best known is the Grey Lady. The story goes that she is Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, seen kneeling in prayer in the castle chapel. Her history is real and grim: the castle’s own timeline records that she was burnt at the stake on Castle Hill in Edinburgh on 17 July 1537, after false accusations of treason and of plotting to poison King James V.

Other legends crowd in behind her: a woman without a tongue said to run across the grounds, and the tale of a hidden room where a family secret was locked away. No one has ever shown where such a room might be, which has only kept the story going. Read our Glamis Castle guide for more, and check the Glamis Castle website for tours and events.

Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire: The Name Scratched in the Wall

Fyvie Castle has an 800-year history. The National Trust for Scotland, which cares for it, notes that William the Lion was at Fyvie around 1214, and that Robert the Bruce and Charles I were later among its royal guests. Inside you will find portraits by Raeburn, Gainsborough and Romney.

Its best-known ghost is Lilias Drummond, sometimes called the Green Lady. Legend tells that her husband, Alexander Seton, starved her to death because she had not given him a son and heir. On the night of his second marriage, the story goes, her laments were heard outside the bridal chamber, and in the morning her name was found freshly scratched into the castle walls. The Trust says the name is still visible today. Some say the air in her rooms turns cold and smells of roses.

Fyvie has a curse legend too, about stones taken from the old building. Our full account of Fyvie Castle and its weeping stones tells it, and the Fyvie Castle page has opening times.

Edinburgh Castle: The Phantom Piper

Edinburgh Castle was home to Scottish kings and queens for centuries. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI in its Royal Palace in 1566, and between 1757 and 1814 the vaults below Crown Square held prisoners of war. Its most enduring ghost story involves a young piper and a tunnel.

The story goes that a tunnel was found running from the castle down beneath the Royal Mile, and a piper was sent in to follow it, playing as he walked so people above could track him from the street. Partway down, the music stopped. He never came back, and no trace of him was found.

Some say you can still hear faint piping under the Old Town on a quiet night, and other tales tell of a headless drummer heard before the castle comes under attack. Our story of the phantom piper of Edinburgh Castle goes further, and the official Edinburgh Castle site has tickets and times.

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Stirling Castle: The Green Lady and the Pink Lady

Stirling Castle sits on a volcanic outcrop that guarded the lowest crossing of the River Forth. Historic Environment Scotland records it from around 1110, and the Royal Palace built for James V around 1540 was the childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots. Until 1603, almost every Scottish monarch lived here, was crowned here or died here.

Two ghosts are linked with the castle. The Green Lady is tied to Mary Queen of Scots: the story goes that she was one of Mary’s attendants, who woke to find fire in the queen’s chamber and raised the alarm in time. The Pink Lady is said to be a noblewoman dressed in pink, searching for her husband near the castle and the Church of the Holy Rude below it.

Ghosts or not, the Great Hall and the palace rooms are worth a slow afternoon. Read our guide to Stirling Castle’s history, and check the Stirling Castle page for tickets before you go.

Hermitage Castle, Scottish Borders: Where the Ground Feels Cursed

Hermitage Castle stands in deepest Liddesdale, near Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders. Historic Environment Scotland calls it a lonely spot, and quotes the writer George Macdonald Fraser, who called it “the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britain”. The de Soules family had a residence here in the 1240s, and the castle you see today was begun around 1360.

Local legend has the darkest tale of all for a de Soules lord, William, said to have practised black magic. The story goes that the people of the valley turned on him and boiled him alive in a cauldron at a nearby stone circle. History does not back it up; the legend has simply never gone away.

The real history is dramatic enough. In October 1566 James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, was wounded in a skirmish with reivers, and Mary Queen of Scots rode 25 miles from Jedburgh across rough country to see him. On the way back her horse threw her into a bog, she caught a fever, and she lay ill in Jedburgh for a week. Our guide to visiting Hermitage Castle covers more, and the Hermitage Castle page has visiting details.

Planning Your Visit to Scotland’s Haunted Castles

Historic Environment Scotland looks after Edinburgh, Stirling and Hermitage castles, and the National Trust for Scotland cares for Crathes and Fyvie. Members of each get free entry to their sites, which adds up fast on a castle trip. Glamis is a family home with its own tickets.

Opening seasons and times vary from castle to castle, so check each official page before you travel, and book Edinburgh Castle ahead in summer.

For visitors with Scottish roots, Aberdeenshire pairs well with family history: if your name connects you to the northeast, see our Aberdeenshire ancestry trail. Heading further north? Our Inverness guide covers the Highland capital, a good base for the north.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most haunted castle in Scotland?

There is no official answer, but Glamis Castle in Angus is the name we hear most often. The Grey Lady, the tongueless woman and the legend of the secret room all belong to Glamis.

Can you visit Crathes Castle and see where the Green Lady appears?

Yes. The National Trust for Scotland cares for Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire, and the Green Lady’s Room is part of the castle. Check the Crathes Castle page for opening times before you go.

Do Scottish castles offer ghost tours?

Some do, usually as special events around Halloween; Glamis, for example, has run “Ghosts of Glamis” evenings. Edinburgh’s Old Town also has plenty of evening ghost walks. Check each castle’s events page before you plan around one.

What does “Green Lady” mean in Scottish castle history?

It is the name given to a female ghost seen in green. Crathes, Fyvie and Stirling each have one, and in most of the stories she died young and unjustly. Nobody can say for certain why so many Scottish ghosts wear green.