Castles in Scotland
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle in Ayrshire is haunted by seven ghosts. Built in 1777, the original building dates back to 1165 and was a stronghold for the Clan Kennedy Family. The Earl's bedroom is said to be the most haunted room in the house
Culzean Castle was the former home of the Marquis of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle lies with the Culzean Castle Country Park and is opened to the public. The castle is also famous for appearing on the back of five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. It was constructed on the orders of David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassilis. He instructed the architect Robert Adam to rebuild a previous, but more basic, stately house into a fine castle to be the seat of his earldom.
The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792. It incorporated a large drum tower with a circular saloon inside (which overlooks the sea), a grand oval staircase and a suite of well-appointed apartments. Dwight Eisenhower stayed briefly at the castle during World War II. After the war ended, the Kennedy family gave the castle and its grounds to the nation. In doing so, they stipulated that the apartment at the top of the castle be given to General Eisenhower as a thank-you for his part in winning the war. The General stayed at Culzean Castle several times including once while President of the United States.
An Eisenhower exhibition takes up one of the rooms of the castle, with mementos of his lifetime. The castle was used as the ancestral home of Lord Summerisle (played by Christopher Lee) in the 1973 film The Wicker Man.
Phenomena
Legend has it the castle is haunted by a knight, said to be the spirit of Sir John Cathcart who abducted May Kennedy and planned to kill her but luckily for May, she managed to push him off the cliff tops near Carelton Castle. Another ghostly visitor is the piper who used to play in celebration of clan weddings. He can be heard playing on stormy nights. A mystery woman dressed in a ball gown has also been spotted in the castle grounds.
Several sightings have been reported of a 'peculiar misty shape' moving up the famous oval staircase. Apparently the staff at the castle are briefed about 'a wee ghost near the dungeon'.
There had been a castle here on the cliffs overlooking the Firth of Clyde long before Robert Adam designed his masterpiece for the Earl of Cassillis in the 18th century - incorporating some of the earlier castle which had been built by Sir Thomas Kennedy (who was murdered on the sands at Ayr in 1602). Whenever one of the Kennedy family is about to get married a ghostly piper is said to play in the grounds. He is also supposed to play on stormy nights - mixed in with the howling wind and crashing waves. There is also a ghost of a young woman in a ballgown (reported as recently as 1972) but no-one seems to know who she is.
In 1976, two tourists visiting the castle witnessed a "peculiar misty shape" moving up the oval staircase. Apparently this is not an uncommon sight, several people have seen it. It is thought to be the ghost of a Kennedy. It is also reported that "younger members of the staff are warned about 'a wee ghost near the dungeons, but according to one of the castles guides, "I think that's a bit of a tall story!." The castle's legend tells of a supernatural knight who abducted a young heiress and held her captive in the castle. "The knight tells her how he plans to kill her, but she manages to lull him to sleep and stabs him to death with his own dirk." Later this legend comes to life, when May Kennedy from Culzean was abducted from the castle by Sir John Cathcart. Cathcart is supposed to have murdered his wife and apparently was planning on murdering May Kennedy. Luckily May discovered his murderous plans and managed to push Cathcart to his death from cliffs near Carelton Castle, where he lived and still to this day haunts it's ruins.