Edinburgh Castle's haunted past
Historic Scotland, an Executive agency, has arranged a
tour through some of the more sinister nooks and crannies
of Edinburgh Castle that are not normally open to the
public.
Designed to bring
history to life, the tour delves deep into the
dungeons where ghostly shadows can be glimpsed as they
flit over ancient stone walls.
Historic Scotland is the official guardian of the world
famous castle.
Tales on the tour include:
Duke of Albany
In 1479 the Duke, Alexander Stewat, was imprisoned in
the castle by his jealous elder brother James III.
Deep in the vaults he plotted his escape. He got the
guards drunk and stabbed them to death. Not content with
that, before fleeing to England, he tossed the bodies onto
a bonfire in the courtyard so that their flesh was roasted
inside their suits of armour.
Lady Glamis:
In the 16
th century the lovely Janet Doulgas, Lady of
Glamis, was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle after being
accused of witchcraft and conspiracy to murder King James
V.
Evidence was obtained against her by the torturing of
her servants. She was burned at the stake on July 17, 1537,
and her young son Gillespie was brought out and forced to
watch from the battlements.
Lady Janet's restless spirit is said to still haunt
parts of the castle. Hollow knocking sounds that are
sometimes heard are attributed to the workmen building the
platform on which she was burned.
The Ghostly Piper
A secret tunnel
was discovered under the castle a few hundred years
ago. It seemed to lead down the Royal Mile towards
Holyrood Palace. A piper was sent in to follow the
tunnel with people walking above on the cobbled road
to track his route by the sound of the music.
About halfway down the Royal Mile the pipes stopped
abruptly. The piper never returned. When rescuers tried to
follow the tunnel they discovered it ended in solid rock
not far from the entrance.
It is said the faint echo of the lost piper can still be
heard around the castle today.
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