In 1896 the house was leased to a family for a period of twelve months, the successor to John Stuart being an Army captain and having no real interest in the estate. The family were to live there for a mere 11 weeks before being driven out, willingly forfeiting over nine months paid rent, having heard the knockings, thumping and quarrelling. Various members of the family were to experience the sight of a ghost, dressed in a silk dress, and hear the sounds of a silky dress proceeding down the corridors. Bedclothes were pulled off beds and the whole family were awakened several times by loud banging noises. One of the daughters of the family was terrified one night when she heard the sound of limping footsteps walking round her bed. Her screams brought several other members of the family to her room and they too were able to verify that there was "something" there in the room. The girl was occupying the room in which the young housekeeper had died so mysteriously in 1873. It is interesting to note that Major Stuart had returned from India with a permanent leg injury as a result of wounds sustained during his active service.
In 1896 the Marquis of Bute, a keen student of psychic phenomena, rented Ballechin House and asked two psychic investigators, Colonel Lemesurier Taylor and Miss Goodrich-Speer, to carry out the investigation. The couple moved into Ballechin on 3rd February, 1897, with a total group of 35 people. On the first morning after their arrival they reported "a loud clanging noise" which had been heard throughout the house at frequent intervals over a period of two hours. The muffled sound of voices had been heard and also the sound of somebody walking in locked and empty rooms. Also reported were the sounds of something being dragged along the floor and of a gun being fired. The next morning several of the group were to report that they had also heard the sound of a priest conducting a service.
During the period of investigation two nuns were seen by a frozen stream near the house. One nun was kneeling and appeared to be crying whilst the other appeared to be comforting her. The crying nun is thought to have been Isabella, sister of Robert Stuart, who had died in 1880.
Several of the group were active Spiritualists and they brought a Ouija board into the investigation. During the course of a seance a person giving the name of "Ishbel" came through and asked the investigators to go to the frozen stream where the two nuns had been seen. On reaching the spot the investigators saw the figure of a nun, quite clearly visible, wearing a black habit against a white snowy background, slowly walking up a glen until she suddenly vanished under a tree. The same nun was to be seen many times by the group before they finished their investigations.
Finally, in 1932 the house was totally uninhabitable and remained empty until 1963 when it was finally demolished.

Glamis Castle, Glamis, nr Forfar, Tayside
Situated just west of Forfar, this splendid seat of the Strathmores is referred to by Shakespeare in Macbeth, Macbeth having killed Duncan there in 1040, and it is also there that King Malcolm II was murdered by assassins in 1034. It is the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and is also the birthplace of Princess Margaret.
High up in the uninhabited West Tower is the room where the ghost of "Earl Beardie" perpetually gambles with the "devil". "Earl Beardie" was Alexander, Fourth Earl of Crawford during the days of James II of Scotland, who had a quarrel with the Lord Glamis of the day whilst they were gambling with two other Scottish chieftains. During the argument "Beardie", who was a giant of a man, was thrown down the stone staircase but returned, stamping his feet with rage and bellowing that if no man would play with him he would play with the very "devil" himself. Instantly a tall dark man, wearing a long cloak, walked into the room and play began between himself and "Beardie". It is not known what happened after that but the tall dark man was never seen again and "Beardie" died five years afterwards. Legend says that the tall dark man was the "devil" and that "Beardie" has indeed "sold his soul" as a result of the gambling.
Following his death the ghost of "Beardie" was often heard, stamping has feet and swearing at "something" in rage in the room and even today castle servants are adamant that they often hear the rattle of dice at night, heavy stamping noises and the sound of men swearing at each other from the direction of the locked and empty room.
The ghost of "Beardie" has been seen many times, including several modern appearances. Lord Halifax certainly saw him when he spent a night there. "Beardie" has also been seen on the roof on stormy nights at a spot known as "Mad Earl's Walk", swearing and raging. He has been seen by residents and guests alike, adults and children, leaning over their beds and peering at them. The sightings and sounds always happen at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Although it is not known who the tall dark man in the cloak was there is a distinct possibility that he was yet another of the many ghosts of Glamis.
The Provost of Perth was to see this same figure enter his room one night dressed in a long dark cloak, walking across the room and disappearing through the far wall. The same figure was seen by Dr. Nicholson, Dean of Brechin, when he awoke to find the figure standing at the side of his bed looking down at him. The figure later disappeared through a wall. Dr. Forbes, Bishop of Brechin, was to see the same figure the following night.

The Haunted Chamber, or Secret Room, it's position is only known to a few, is thought to have got it's name from the feuding days when a number of the Ogilvy Clan, fleeing from the Lindsays after a terrible slaughter, sought shelter at Glamis. Although they were admitted the then owner of Glamis had no sympathy for them, and on the pretence of hiding them, secured the visitors in a remote spot of the Castle and literally left them there to starve to death. It is said that the Chamber contains the ghosts of the Ogilvys. Many years ago the then Lord Strathmore and some companions went to the Haunted Chamber following many disturbances said to have come from that part of the Castle. Strathmore is said to have collapsed when he encountered the contents of the unventilated chamber. Piles of skeletons lay twisted and contorted in the last agonies of starvation. Some are even thought to have died in the act of eating the flesh from their own arms. Even today the bare chamber is thought to have a sense of uneasiness.
In a room, thought to be adjacent to the Haunted Chamber, a woman, spending the night at Glamis, is said to have seen the tall figure of a man in armour passing through her room and enter the next room in which her son lay asleep. The poor boy awoke to find this figure staring at him, peering very closely.
Those who have come close to discovering the location of the Haunted Chamber have been paid large sums of money and forced to emigrate, after swearing on oath that they would never breath a word of what they had seen.
Some years ago a party of youngsters, spending a holiday at Glamis, made up their minds to discover whether or not the secret room had a window. Whilst Lord Strathmore and his family were out shooting for the day the youngsters visited every room in the castle and hung towels and sheets out to mark them. They were sure that they had visited every room but when they gathered outside they counted no less than seven windows with nothing hanging from them. It is said that Lord Strathmore was furious when he returned and put a stop to further exploration. The location of the Haunted Chamber still remains a mystery except for those few who are allowed to know.
"The White lady", who haunts the Clock Tower, and who has been seen gliding around the main avenue, is thought to be Janet Douglas, wife of the Sixth Earl of Glamis, who was put to the stake at Castle Hill, Edinburgh, in 1537 following her trial on a charge of witchcraft. It is thought that she may have been connected with an attempt to murder King James V. Her spectre, surrounded by a reddish glow, has been frequently seen in both locations.

The ghostly little Black Boy, who sits on a stone seat by the door leading into the Queen Mother's sitting room, is thought to be the ghost of a Negro servant who was unkindly treated at Glamis in the middle of the 18th century. A small dressing-room off the Queen Mother's main bedroom used to be haunted. People who have slept there have often felt their bedclothes being pulled off the bed but there have been no disturbances since the room was converted into a bathroom.
A former Lord Castleton's daughter woke during the night she was spending at the castle to see the figure of "a huge old man" seated in front of the fire in her bedroom. When he turned to face her she observed that his face was "that of a dead man".
The figure of a Grey Lady has been seen many times in the chapel dedicated to St Michael. On one occasion she was seen by a Mrs Hunter, who worked and lived at Glamis, whilst she was in the chapel intending to arrange some flowers. Normally seen kneeling in one of the pews, the Grey Lady has also been seen by Lady Granville, sister of the Queen Mother, who was able to describe the dress she was wearing and who was also able to observe the sunlight shining through the chapel window, shining through the outline of the figure and making a pattern on the floor. A recent Lord Strathmore saw her on one occasion when he went into the chapel to look at a picture on one of the walls. Not wishing to disturb her he quietly left the chapel. The Grey Lady has also been seen walking into the chapel. Nobody knows who she is or why she visits the chapel.
The Hangman's Chamber is never used these days. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a butler who hanged himself there.
The tongueless figure of a woman with large mournful eyes, pressing her pale face against a window as if appealing for help, and clutching her hands at the bars, has been seen on several occasions looking out of a latticed upper window before apparently being dragged away as if by someone who has leaped up behind her. The scene is always followed by violent screams. She has also been seen running across the park, pointing in anguish to her bloody mouth. Did this poor woman suffer having her tongue cut out because she learned one of the secrets of Glamis Castle?
There are persistent reports of a strange, elusive, thin figure, nicknamed "Jack the Runner", who has been seen many times racing across the park on moonlit nights towards the castle.
The legend of the Monster of Glamis relates to somewhere around the turn of the 18th/19th centuries, when a grotesque and bloated monster was born to be Heir of Glamis. Completely misshapen, he had no neck, very small arms and legs, and looked like "a flabby egg", half-human, half-monster. In spite of such deformities he is said to have been immensely strong and is reputed to have lived for nearly 150 years, some people thinking that he finally died in 1921. He lived in a special room at the castle, where he was kept from everybody's eye. His existence was known to only four men at one time, the Earl of Strathmore, his heir, the family lawyer and the factor of the estate. At the age of 21 each succeeding heir was told the secret and shown the rightful Earl. Succeeding family lawyers and factors were also told of the secret, but at any one time no more than four knew of the existence of the Monster. As no Countess of Strathmore was ever told the story, one Lady Strathmore, having heard rumours approach the then factor, Mr Ralston, who flatly refused to reveal the secret saying "it is fortunate you do not know the truth for if you did you would never be happy", a reference presumably to the unhappy state of several Earls of Strathmore during the suspected lifetime of the Monster. Even now it is suspected that the remains of the Monster are still retained in the secret room.
Mr Ralston, who was described as a shrewd, hard-headed Scot, would never sleep in the castle under any circumstances. One night, when he had worked late, a sudden snowstorm came on. Pressed to stay for the night he refused to do so and insisted that a path be dug in the snow to his house nearly a mile away.
Offering strength to the belief of a hideous monster being born into the family, is a portrait hung in the drawing-room. It depicts a previous Earl of Strathmore with his two sons and an indescribably ugly deformed dwarf.

Meggernie Castle, Balgie, Glen Lyon, Tayside
Meggernie Castle is haunted by the ghost of a woman who appears sometimes from the shoulders up and sometimes from the chest down. She is thought to have been a woman who had once lived at Meggernie and was murdered by her husband. She is said to give off a burning pain on touch or kiss but there are no blistering effects resulting from the touch on the skin of the unwilling recipient.
The ghost has been seen by several visitors to the castle. On one occasion a visitor was awoken by a hot kiss on his cheek, so hot that it felt as if his face was being burnt. He saw the upper half of a woman drifting away from his bed to disappear through a blocked-up doorway. The following morning he learnt from a fellow guest that he too had had an identical experience during the same night.
One night, one of the same two guests was in his room writing a letter when the door was suddenly flung open and the temperature of the room plummeted to freezing. Looking up he could find no cause for the disturbance and was overwhelmed by a feeling of complete terror. He hurriedly left the room and walked down the corridor. As he was passing a window he was horrified to see the face of a beautiful woman looking at him through the window from the outside. It was the same face that he had seen a week before when his ghostly visitor had awoken him in his room with such a flaming kiss.
Meggernie Castle once belonged to the Menzies Clan and it was a former laird who is said to have been so jealous of his beautiful but unfaithful wife that he murdered her, cutting her body into two halves for easier disposal of the remains. He only had time to bury the bottom half before he himself died a mysterious death.
The figure has been seen many times in the castle's rooms and also drifting along the corridors. She has also been seen more rarely in the local graveyard sitting on one of the gravestones.

Pass of Killiecrankie, Tayside
A supernatural red glow is said to hang over the Pass of Killiecrankie on the anniversary of the battle which was fought there on 27th July, 1689. It was here that 3,400 of William of Orange's troops under the command of General Mackay, were defeated by 2,500 Highland Jacobites, under the command of Viscount John Graham of Claverhouse, better known as Bonnie Dundee.
On the night before the battle Bonnie Dundee was resting in his tent when he awoke to see the figure of a blood-stained man, who warned him that he should not descend from the high ground with his troops to attack the English.
On the day of the battle Bonnie Dundee was very reluctant to order his men from the high ground to attack King William's troops and it was only at dusk that he summoned up the courage to do so. Within a matter of minutes the numerically superior English troops had been defeated and were beginning to scatter. At that very moment Dundee, in the act of waving his troops to victory, descended from the high ground and was struck by a musket ball, dying shortly afterwards as a result of his wounds.

Certachy Castle, nr Kirriemuir, Tayside
The Ogilvy family, Earls of Airlie, have owned Certachy Castle since the early 17th Century. The castle is haunted by the ghost of a drummer who is said to have been caught in a compromising situation with the then Lady Airlie and as a punishment ordered to be sealed in one of his own drums and hurled from a tower. The Earl went to the foot of the wall to make sure that the young man was dead, but found him still alive but dying fast. With his last breath the drummer cursed the Earl and his descendants and promised that the sound of his drumming would foretell the death of members of the Ogilvy family.
In December, 1844, a Miss Dalrymple, who was staying at Certachy Castle at Christmas, when dressing for dinner one night, heard the sound of the drum that loudly that she thought it was being beaten right outside her bedroom window. When she told the Earl, on arriving in the dining room, he went pale for he knew the total significance. A short while later he was dead.
Five years later, on 19th. August 1849, the drum was heard by a guest whilst out in a shooting party. The then Lord Airlie who was at that time in London, was suddenly taken ill and died within the hour.
In 1881 the drum was heard by both Lady Dalkeith and Lady Skelmersdale and that same night the then Lord Airlie died in North America. The family were later to learn that the sound of the drum was heard exactly one hour before his death

Ethie Castle, nr Montrose, Tayside
Probably the most well known person to have lived at Ethie Castle was David Beaton, Abbott of Arbroath, who moved into the castle in 1524 and spent much time having it extended into the great house as it is today. He loved Ethie and he and his beautiful wife had seven children there. David Beaton was to be murdered at St. Andrews on 29th May, 1546.
Shortly after his death his ghost was seen at Ethie and even now, although on much rarer occasions, his ghost has been seen, mainly on a narrow staircase that leads to a secret doorway in his old bedroom. A dragging noise and unexplained footsteps have been heard on regular occasions.
A new governess arrived at Ethie and was given a room in the older part of the house, an area which had been unoccupied for some considerable time. After her first night there she complained of being awakened by the sound of a child running in a room above her bedroom, accompanied by the sound of what appeared to be a wheeled toy being pulled along the floor. What was more disturbing was the sound of a child sobbing. Finally, after the governess had complained several times, investigations were carried out and it was discovered that the door to the room immediately above the governess' bedroom had been bricked up and panelled over. When the wall was broken down the skeleton of a child was found lying on the floor close to the remains of a little wooden cart. After the bones had been buried, the sounds ceased completely.
Ethie Castle is also haunted by the ghost of a woman, sometimes seen in the high-walled garden. Her appearances are said to warn of a death in the family.