One castle in Scotland is said to be haunted by numerous ghosts, including the real Macbeth and a sleeping vampire
Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, is said to be the most haunted castle in Scotland, with at least nine ghosts rumoured to haunt its walls.
While much of what stands today was built in the 14th century, the castle’s history goes much further back. In 1034, King Malcolm II was murdered at Glamis and was succeeded to the throne of Scotland (then Alba) by King Duncan I; although his relationship to Malcolm remains unclear, it has been speculated that he may have been his grandson.
Duncan was then killed in battle while fighting the claim of Macbeth, who subsequently took the throne. These events served as inspiration for the famous Shakespeare play Macbeth, with the play’s Macbeth residing at Glamis Castle.
While it’s unclear if the real Macbeth had any links to Glamis Castle, some have claimed that he is among the ghosts haunting the castle, while others suggest that King Malcolm and King Duncan’s spirits also reside on the grounds.
Another supernatural tale associated with Glamis is that of the castle’s ‘sleeping vampire. The story claims that a servant woman was caught attacking a male guest and drinking his blood.
Horrified at this, other guests at the castle chased her off, and she was eventually captured. The legend then takes an even darker turn as it’s claimed she was then bricked up in a room where she still sleeps to this day.
In a similar vein, another story of hidden rooms and secret hiding places is the legend of the Monster of Glamis, which claimed a hideously deformed child was born to the Lyon family in the 1800s.
The story goes that this child was kept hidden in the castle his entire life, and despite being the firstborn son never inherited the castle, or the Earldom that came with it. Following his death, with some claiming he lived a rather long life, the room he resided in his said to have been bricked up and hidden from guests.
Some stories claim that the devil once visited Glamis Castle. The legend tells of a 15th-century “Earl Beardie”, possibly either Alexander Lyon, 2nd Lord Glamis, or Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, who asked his guests to play cards, which they refused as it was the Sabbath.
The Earl is said to then have angrily remarked that he would play cards until doomsday or with the devil himself. A stranger then agrees to play cards, later revealing that he was, in fact, the devil. He then took the Earl’s soul, condemning him to play cards until doomsday.
Other ghosts of Glamis include a tongueless woman, whose said to have discovered a secret about the Lyon family so great that she had her tongue cut out so she could not tell anyone. Some visitors claim to have seen this ghostly apparition running through the castle grounds with blood dripping from her face as she points at her missing tongue.
A ‘Grey Lady’ is also thought to haunt Glamis’s chapel, with some suggesting that this is the spirit of Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, who in 1537 was accused of attempting to poison King James V of Scotland, and was subsequently executed by burning at Edinburgh Castle.
For information on entrance and guided tours, visit their website https://www.glamis-castle.co.uk/
