There are many spooky places to visit in Scotland so for our honeymoon we have decided to do a tour around some of these places why not visit some yourself.

Paisley

In our own town of paisley there is some spooky history the last witch was burned here in Maxwellton St. In 1696 Christian Shaw ten year old daughter of the laird of bargarran near Erskine, fell ill there are stories of her floating around the room and to have thrown up feathers bones and ,fur and stones from her mouth and she would come down with fits and fever which left her screaming as if she was going to die. There were seven witches found guilty of doing this to the young girl, one die in prison while the other six were strangeld and burned alive, the last witch is rumoured to have cursed the town of paisley. There remains we’re buried at the crossroads between George street and maxwellton street and a horse shoe set in the road to suppress the curse and stop the spirits returning to trouble the living and the crossroads were chosen to confuse the spirits so they did not know which way to go in pursuit of there executioners. Later in life the same Christian Shaw brought the thread idustry to Paisley.There is also the Paisley Abbey where all the kings and queens of Scotland were crowned and are buried there are many tunnels under the abbey which some people thought were used to travel to other places in secret but they are to flooded for anyone to go down . It is also said that the ghosts of former monks still haunt the abbey and can be heard chanting at night.

Inverness

Inverness is one of Scotland’s spookiest places and was home to Alistair Crowley at Boleskine House. Alistair Crowley was an alchemist, occultist, prolific writer, mystic, astrologer, poet, painter, hedonist, and social provocateur, as well as an expert mountaineer and chess master. But is famous for his dealings in the occult and is believed to have raised demons and is also said to have done experiments in raising the dead with magic. You can still see the house but can no longer enter it. As it has been closed off I don’t know why for sure but it is rumoured that several people have ventured in and never returned.

Also in Inverness is the infamous Loch Ness monster. Many people have claimed to have caught a glimpse of the monster and there is also a famous photo of the monster although this was later uncovered as a fake.  Scientists have even gone down with submarines  to try and explore for the monster but as the loch is over 700ft deep can only go down so far so the loch has never been fully explored to uncover this mystery although apparently they found some  unexplained large sonogram readings.

Isle of Skye

Skye has a lot of history and a lot of association with the fairies folk. In Scottish legend fairies (fairies) are not the tiny little folk with wings; they are the same size as you or me and are fair of skin and extremely beautiful but very mysterious and tricky. The most famous legend is probably about the fairy flag that you can still go and see in Dunvegan castle which has been home to the clan McLeod for centuries the chief of the clan McLeod is said to have fell in love with the daughter of the king of the fairy folk and they wanted to marry her father did not like the idea as she would be heartbroken when he died as fairy folk live forever. But he could not bear to see her unhappy so he allowed he marriage but she would need to return to their land after one day and a year. So they were quickly married and she bore a son. Before she left she made the chief promise he would never allow her son to cry. But one night they had a party to cheer up the chief as he was heartbroken at losing the woman he loved and there was loud music and dancing the maid that was supposed to be looking after the baby sneaked away to watch the festivities and the baby started to cry so loud that the fairy princess could hear him and she came to calm him. She wrapped min in a shawl and whispered in something in his ear. When the son was older he told his father what had happened and that the shawl was in fact a fairy flag and that if flown in battle the faerie raid would aid them in battle and their enemies would fall. But they could only use it three times and only if they desperately needed to. The flag has been used twice and they were indeed successful in battle and the flag still hangs in the castle waiting to be used one last time.

It is also said on a misty night you can see a mysterious island appear known as Tir-na-nOg which is the land of the fairies said to be on another plane of existence if you go there you will stay young and time will pass quickly. It is said that a flute player was invited her to play his beautiful music for the fairy queen he stayed there happy for one month and he stated to miss his family and his sweetheart however on his return found that 100 years had passed and everyone he knew and loved had died.

Cruden Bay

Near Aberdeen in a place called Cruden bay is the hotel that Bram stoker used to frequent called Kilmarnock arms hotel. During a stay in 1896 he finished his most famous novel Dracula and was said to have written many of his books while on holiday here and got a lot of his ideas while walking around cruden bay. He is said to have gotten his inspiration for Draculas castle was the nearby slains castle which is now a ruin but well worth a visit

Braemar

60 miles west of Aberdeen is Braemar a place steeped in history and has many ghostly legends like the ghosts testimony it is said that an English redcoat soldier was murdered while carrying wages to the braemar castle and his body was hidden. Just over the hill to the north was the clachan of dubrach and shortly after the crime one of the villagers showed signs of wealth by buying a castle from drovers and extra food which raised suspicion. A jealous neighbour who favoured the military reported him and he was arrested and was to stand trial in Edinburgh. The neighbour claimed although he did not know where the body was hidden the ghost of the soldier had told him who his killer was. When asked by the judge what language the soldier spoke the neighbour claimed it was Gaelic the case was then dismissed as it was known the soldier did not speak that language.

Also at the braemar castle it is legend that over 200 years ago there was a newly married couple who spent their first night here. At this time in history many woman where chastised and where ignorant of what was expected of them when it came to sex as it wasn’t discussed. So when the woman woke the next morning to find her husband gone and could not find him in any surrounding apartments. She panicked and thought her husband had left because she was a poor bed mate and was so over come with shame that she leapt from the tower window to her death. Her husband had woken early and gone hunting and did not want to disturb her sleep. It is said that she appears in the room where she died whenever newlyweds stay.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is full of ghost stories most famous one probably being gray friars bobby, which is a story about a policeman named john gray and his dog Bobby a sky terrier who used to patrol the streets of Edinburgh. Sadly John gray died of tuberculosis in the 15th February 1858. And was buried in the grave yard of grayfriers kirk.The dog never left the grave of his master except at one o’clock when he would follow William Dow a local cabinet maker to the same café his master had gone and here the owners would give him a meal. The gardener tried to chase bobby out the grave yard on several occasions but eventually gave up and lay sacking beneath two table stones near john’s grave to provide shelter. In 1867 a new bylaw passed which required all dogs in the city to be licensed or they would be destroyed. Sir William chambers (the lord provest of Edinburgh) decided to pay for Bobby’s license and presented him with a collar with a brass inscription. The kind people of Edinburgh took care of bobby who stayed at his master’s grave for fourteen years until he died in 1872 and was buried near his master. It is said he still haunts the grave yard.

Also in the grayfriars cemetery  is the covenanters prison which is the burial ground for seventeenth century covenanter’s persecuted by ‘’bloody George Mackenzie who was in charge of the prison working for king Charles II who persecuted the Scots Presbyterians known as covenanters. This has been the site of many haunting some say it is the spirits of wrongly persecuted victims who are upset about the way they were treated in life now cause cuts and bruises on anyone who visits the graveyard near the prison.

George Mackenzie was also buried here and in 1998 a local desecrated his tomb and since the his ghost has is said to have been on the rampage since and there have been several reports of poltergeist activity including cold spots strange noises and even physical attacks which have left people with bruises scratches and even some people have claimed to have been knocked unconscious by the ghost.