8 Haunted places in Scotland

With its spiralling turrets and 16th century painted ceilings, Crathes Castle looks every inch the setting for a ghost story. Built in the 16th century, the castle is said to be haunted by a mysterious effigy called the ‘Green Lady’. Queen Victoria famously claimed to have witnessed her before a fireplace, scooping up a child-like form before vanishing into the hearth. The tale took on a sinister new dimension when skeletal remains were reportedly unearthed beneath a flagstone in the 18th century. Step inside the room and see if she decides to reveal herself or whether the temperature of this otherwise cosy chamber suddenly drops to an inexplicable icy chill. 

Visit Crathes Castle 

Feel the atmosphere of this legendary Highland glen turn foreboding as the weather closes in and mist descends over the steep mountain slopes, and recall the night of 13 February 1692, when Glencoe became the setting for one of the most notorious episodes in Scottish history – the Glencoe Massacre. It was here that government troops granted hospitality by members of Clan MacDonald turned on their hosts. Around 30 members of the clan were killed in the attack, while others fled, perishing in the freezing mountains. Even now, tales abound of ghostly screams echoing around the glen and the apparitions of clansmen cowering among the crags.   

Explore Glencoe 

Visit the windswept moor where the last pitched battle fought on British soil ended in disastrous defeat for the Jacobites. In under an hour, around 1,250 clansmen and Stuart loyalists lay dead or mortally wounded across the battlefield. On the anniversary, stand still and you might here the distant ring of clashing swords and plaintive cries of fallen soldiers, said to rise from the ground where they were felled, including a tall, forlorn Highlander, wandering the moor, murmuring the word ‘defeated’ over and over like an incantation before vanishing. Nearby, you’ll find the Clootie Well or St Mary’s Well where, according to folklore, maimed soldiers staggered to bathe their wounds in the magical properties of its waters.   

Visit the atmospheric Culloden Battlefield 

Scotland’s most photographed castle is beguilingly beautiful. Nevertheless, it has a macabre past of clan feuds, rebellion and violence. During the Jacobite rising of 1719, Spanish soldiers occupied the castle before it was bombarded and destroyed by government warships. Legend has it that one of those soldiers never left. Keep an eye out for the headless figure of ‘Carlos’ wandering the castle. If you catch the sound of disembodied footsteps or sense the temperature dropping, that might be him. There’s also ‘Lady Mary’, said to haunt a bedroom. Sense the faint trace of perfume lingering in the air as you exit a chamber room? Perhaps you weren’t alone after all. 

Explore Eilean Donan Castle 

Not all of Scotland’s ghosts are harbingers of doom. Climb the stair of St Rule’s tower and you might meet a ghostly monk. Suspected to have been pushed from the top of the tower, the spectre monk is reported by witnesses to be in surprisingly good humour, even offering a helping hand to visitors struggling their way up the stairs. More enigmatic is the White Lady, seen drifting among the crumbling ruins and faded gravestones wearing white gloves before vanishing. According to local legend, stonemasons once broke into a sealed chamber and discovered several coffins – including one containing the miraculously preserved body of a young woman wearing distinctive white gloves.  

Visit St Andrews Cathedral 

With its romantic spires and turrets overlooking the Moray Firth, Dunrobin Castle looks straight out of a fairytale. But climb the grand staircase to the Seamstress’s Room – also called the ‘Haunted Room’ – and you’ll encounter a darker tale. According to legend, it is here that a young woman from a rival clan was held captive by the dastardly Earl of Sutherland in the 15th century, determined to make her his wife. Attempting to break free out the window using a rope made from sheets, the fair maiden tragically plummeted to her death. Her plaintive cries are said to emanate from the room, while in the chamber below, the sound of pacing footsteps can reportedly be heard through the ceiling above. 

Discover Dunrobin Castle

Feel a tug at the hem of your coat? Or maybe a disembodied voice or door creaking shut by itself? Descend beneath the busy streets of Edinburgh’s Old Town and discover what lurks in the dark chambers and shadowy passages of the Edinburgh Vaults. Built in the 18th century, they were originally used as workshops and storage by the tradespeople above before being absorbed into the city’s dark underbelly. Here the poorest and most downtrodden eked out an existence beside illicit drinking and gambling dens, and other places of ill repute. Some even say the notorious body snatchers Burke and Hare stalked the vaults for victims. Take a guided tour to hear tales of strange goings-on and see what paranormal experiences lie in wait.  

Visit the Edinburgh Vaults 

Look to the Tay Rail Bridge and you can still see remnants of the brick pillars of the original Tay Rail Bridge – poignant reminders of Scotland’s most notorious engineering disaster. Travel back to the stormy night of 28 December 1879 when, battered by high winds, the bridge splintered, plunging the passenger train travelling across it into the dark waters of the River Tay, killing everyone onboard. It is said on the anniversary of the tragedy, the train returns. Sparks flash from its wheels – screeching metal and screams of passengers piercing the air, just before the phantom train vanishes at the point where it met its watery grave. To this day, it remains Dundee’s most enduring ghostly tale.  

Learn about the Tay Bridge disaster 

This list was created by VisitScotland to showcase a range of experiences. It isn’t ranked in any specific order.