The Ghosts of Cardoness
THROUGHOUT Galloway's turbulent history, many famous figures have been slain through battle or tragedy and Cardoness Castle at Gatehouse of Fleet is the location for one such tragedy.
In the early 15th century, the laird of Cardoness and his wife lived in the castle, built prior to 1220. The laird is reported to have been a nasty, violent man who struck fear into the hearts of all who crossed him.
His long-suffering wife was unable to bear him a son until her 10th child was born - and here came the heir. But one fateful night while the family were celebrating in the winter mist by dancing on the nearby frozen Loch Skerrow, tragedy struck.
Out of nowhere, the ice snapped and the entire family drowned in the sub-zero water. All except one daughter who had been watching from the banks.
This daughter went on to marry a McCulloch - a family who brought the whole estate of Cardoness into disrepute. According to local records, one McCulloch was guillotined for murder, another fined for assaulting a married woman.
Due to the dislike of the family, their reign in the region didn't last and the family left to spread terror elsewehre in Scotland.
Passing into the hands of other families, Cardoness became the property of the state in 1927. This is when the sightings began...
Visitors to Historic Scotland's castle have witnessed various strange and inexplicable things in the castle's walls over the years.
In 2001, a woman rushed down the spiral staircase to tell staff she had seen someone sitting the the Great Hall, but had thought she was the only visitor at the time. Staff confirmed that no one else has entered the site.
The same woman later reported seeing an 18-year-old boy in the prison cells with a noose around his neck. It was later revealed that this boy had been hung for repeatedly trying to enter the castle uninvited in the 1500s.
The year before, a female visitor on her way out of the castle had warned staff to watch out for a young girl who had been waving from the window of the Great Hall.
"The Great Hall has no floor, that's impossible," said the assistant.
The visitor's young daughter piped up: "I saw her, she waved at me. So I waved back."
At least five others have witnessed a foreign lady in the Great Hall's space, one even held a conversation with her while a fellow visitor looked on in awe.
It has been suggested that a further sighting of a ghost, who often welcomes people into the castle, is that of a McCulloch.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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