10 Royal Residences And Estates That Have Reported Supernatural Activity

Claimed to be the oldest occupied castle in the world, Windsor Castle’s history stretches back 1,000 years. It’s set on 13 acres of rolling gardens and parkland just by the town of Windsor, about 20 miles west of London. And with that much history, it comes as no surprise to learn that the castle allegedly has more than 25 ghosts and apparitions wandering its bounds. 

This magnificent building has been a home away from home for English and then British royalty throughout its existence, right back to the time of William the Conqueror. This is actually where the late Queen spent her weekends when she wasn't on official duties. Though how often Elizabeth bumped into the resident ghost population is not something she ever divulged. 

Perhaps the most notable of the troubled souls who haunt the castle’s grand halls and towers is Henry VIII. Since the royal went through six wives — two of whom he had beheaded — it’s little wonder his troubled spirit wanders Windsor. And the king has not entirely escaped his wives. Anne Boleyn is another said to haunt the castle. Unfortunately, that’s one of the exes whose execution Henry ordered. 

In fact, Windsor boasts a thoroughly impressive royal ghost guest list. Henry and Anne Boleyn’s daughter Elizabeth I is one. Charles I — undoubtedly peeved by his public beheading in 1649 — also roams the castle and is reunited with his head. George III — who was locked up in Windsor when his madness was at its most florid — also occasionally appears. And even Queen Victoria is said to have made a ghostly appearance! 

Buckingham Palace in London is the Queen’s principal residence, but that doesn’t make it immune from the haunting ways of ghosts. The 775-room mansion — which includes 78 bathrooms — sits on a site where the home of the Duke of Buckingham John Sheffield once stood. And that is why it has the name we know it by today. 

Buckingham built his mansion in 1703 and it passed into royal hands 59 years later when George III bought it as a home for his queen, Charlotte. After extensive rebuilding and additions to the structure, the palace became the monarch’s official London home in 1837. Though the first of the property’s most notorious ghosts dates from much earlier than that.

Before the time of the Duke of Buckingham, a monastery once occupied the palace site. And, so the story goes, a certain monk got into trouble for some unknown misdemeanor. His terrible punishment was to be thrown into a cell, where he was chained to the wall and left to die. Apparently, the man is seen occasionally wandering the grounds in tattered brown robes and still in his chains.

There’s also a much more contemporary ghost. It’s the tormented spirit of Major John Gwynne, who was private secretary to Edward VII — king from 1901 to 1910. The former was involved in a scandalous divorce at a time when this was considered an outrage to society. Apparently unbalanced by this, the major took his own life in one of the palace chambers. It’s said that on occasion, royal staff can hear the sound of a single gunshot echoing around the palace. 

In 1501, James IV built himself a palace in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, and it’s been a royal residence ever since. The Palace of Holyroodhouse lies at the bottom of the Royal Mile, a street that runs downhill from a great, black plug of volcanic rock. That’s the site of Edinburgh Castle, which glowers down on the city below.

Today, Holyrood is the official royal residence in Scotland. But it was once home to one of history’s most tragic figures: Mary, Queen of Scots. And it was a violent incident in her turbulent life that led to the palace’s best-known ghost, the spirit of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. This man — who held the titles of Earl of Ross and Duke of Albany — married his cousin Mary in 1565.

Though Darnley turned out to be far from the ideal spouse. Encyclopedia Britannica damns him with its assessment that while he had “superficial charm,” his other qualities were “indolence, arrogance, [and] drunkenness.” In 1566 — prompted by jealousy — Darnley even went so far as to murder Mary’s personal secretary: David Riccio. The brutal killing was actually in Mary’s presence at Holyrood Place.

But Darnley met his own fate when he was killed in an explosion at his Edinburgh house of Kirk o’ Field. The 4th Earl of Bothwell, James Hepworth, was rumored to be behind the murder. Not long after Darnley’s death, Mary married James amid much scandal among the good folk of Scotland and elsewhere. So, it’s little wonder that Darnley’s ghost wanders Holyrood Palace where Mary once lived. And as you might expect, Riccio also haunts the place. 

Henry VIII built St. James’ Palace back in the 1530s, and it was used as a royal residence up until the time of Victoria’s reign. It has seen many key events in British royal history, too. For one thing, it was where Charles I spent his last night before being beheaded in 1649. Perhaps surprisingly, his ghost does not walk the chambers and passages of St. James’. But someone else’s spirit does.

They say that St. James’ Palace is haunted by the ghost of one Joseph Sellis. This valet to the Duke of Cumberland was involved in a murky and gruesome incident at the palace in 1810. The Duke was the fifth son of George III, and two of his brothers reigned as king: George IV and William IV.  

It was the dead of night when Joseph is said to have launched a vicious attack on his master while he slept. The Duke cried out for help and one of his pages called Cornelius Neale came running. To his horror, he found the Duke with serious head wounds apparently inflicted by his own sword. And there was no one else in the room. 

The Duke asked for his butler Joseph, but when Cornelius went to fetch him, he found the man dead in his room with a cut throat. It was deduced that Joseph had attacked the Duke and then taken his own life in a fit of remorse. Though rumors swept around the royal court about what might really have happened, no truly convincing explanation ever came to light. But Joseph haunted the palace from then on — sporting a ghastly wound in his neck. 

The current Sandringham House is a splendid Victorian pile sitting amid some 20,000 acres of countryside in the English county of Norfolk. In fact, there’s been a house at the site since the late 13th century. Though after Victoria bought the property for her son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1862 as a 21st birthday present, he tore the existing mansion down and built anew. 

As far as ghosts go, Sandringham has not been witness to actual apparitions wandering the house. But it has seen strange happenings which appear to be the work of poltergeists. There have reportedly been instances of items flying off shelves, lights flickering on and off, and bedclothes being torn aside. All this must be disturbing for the current royal family, who habitually spend Christmas at Sandringham.

Royal reporter Kenneth Rose recorded a strange story in his diaries, which was only published after his death in 2014. He wrote that one summer, staff at Sandringham had increasingly complained that one of the estate's rooms was haunted. The Queen Mother revealed that the room was where her husband — George VI — had been confined up to his death in 1936. Perhaps his spirit was the cause of the staff’s discomfort?

A vicar was called in to hold a service which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, and her lady-in-waiting. Rose described it not as an exorcism but “special prayers… for the repose of the king’s soul in the room in which he died.” The vicar, however, believed that Princess Diana’s tragic end may also have played a part in the episode. She certainly spent time at Sandringham before her death in 1997. So, perhaps her spirit also had a supernatural presence there. 

Stately Balmoral Castle is set in the rugged countryside of the Scottish Highlands, and the property has been in the hands of the royal family since 1852. That was when Prince Albert bought it as a gift for his wife Queen Victoria. How lovely to have the means to buy a house as a present for your spouse!

However, the castle that Albert had bought wasn’t quite what he wanted — it was a bit on the small side. The royal therefore had it demolished and built a new one just 100 yards away. Before her passing, the house was regularly used by Queen Elizabeth II as a summer home. King Charles often stayed at another house on the Balmoral Estate called Birkhall.

And the ghost of Balmoral? To learn about the man whose spirit is said to haunt the romantic castle, we have to go back to Victoria’s time. After her beloved husband Albert had died, the Queen went into pretty much permanent mourning. But one man brightened her life, and he was called John Brown.

The frequently kilted Scot was actually one of Victoria’s many servants. Despite that, some have claimed that the monarch and the commoner had an intimate relationship, although conclusive proof of this has never been uncovered. Whatever Brown’s relationship with Victoria was, his ghost is said to walk the castle grounds dressed in a kilt. 

Today, various dukes and duchesses live at Kensington Palace in London, though the 20 rooms over four floors of what’s known as Apartment 1A is reserved for two senior royals: heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Kate. And there are some other residents, but they’re all long dead.

Let’s start with Apartment 1A. That’s said to be where the ghost of Princess Sophia — aunt to Queen Victoria — hangs out. This unfortunate royal lost her sight but lived on for 11 years until an illness took her in 1848 at Kensington Palace. She’s said to have been a keen seamstress, and the woman’s spirit sometimes manifests itself by the sound of her spinning wheel. 

Then there’s Queen Mary II, who was married to William III. She died of smallpox in 1694 aged just 32, a bereavement that’s said to have sent her husband into an agony of deep grief. Mary’s ghost, it’s reported, can be heard crying bitter tears. The woman is said to be lamenting the fact that she died so young and without ever bearing children.

Finally, the most senior royal ghost wandering Kensington Palace belongs to King George II. He died at the palace in 1760 as he was waiting for a messenger from Europe with news about the progress of the Seven Years War, which was being fought at the time. As the man lay dying, he continually asked, “Why don’t they come?” And that’s the phrase his ghost allegedly repeats when it appears. 

Built in the 16th century, the imposing Glamis Castle has figured in the history of Scottish monarchy, both in fact and in fiction. Shakespeare, for instance, styled his character Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis. In the drama — aided and abetted by Lady Macbeth — he murdered the king of Scotland, Malcolm, to take his throne. In reality, King Malcolm II did indeed die at Glamis Castle at the hands of murderers in 1034. 

In more recent times, Queen Elizabeth’s mother — wife to George VI — spent much of her childhood at Glamis, which is in the Scottish region of Angus. Some say that Glamis is haunted by more ghosts and apparitions than any other Scottish castle. So, it’s entirely possible that the Queen Mother’s childhood may have been disrupted by supernatural happenings. 

One of the Glamis Ghosts is chillingly known as “The Tongueless Woman.” Her restless spirit roams the grounds of the castle, displaying horrible wounds she suffered during her life. The tale has it that she was a servant who accidentally discovered a dark secret about the Earl of Glamis. To ensure her silence, then, the ruthless aristocrat had her tongue cut out. 

Another Glamis haunting comes courtesy of a character known as “The Grey Lady.” Apparently, her stomping grounds are the castle’s chapel and its clock tower. The Grey Lady is believed to be the ghost of Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis. She was burnt at the stake at Edinburgh in 1537 after being accused and found guilty of witchcraft. 

In the 16th century, prominent cleric Cardinal Thomas Wolsey owned Hampton Court Place. It’s some 11 miles southwest of London, and the cardinal spent a decade turning it into a magnificent retreat from the capital. But Henry VIII took a fancy to the palace and forced Wolseley to hand it over to his monarch — lock, stock, and barrel.

Henry is said to have visited Hampton Court separately with all six of his wives. And it’s a couple of those spouses whose ghosts are said to inhabit the palace. First, there’s Jane Seymour, who was third on Henry’s marital roster. Jane was a particular favorite of the king’s, partly because she provided what he craved: a male heir, in the form of Prince Edward.

But the birth was a horribly difficult one and stretched over three nights. As happened all too often in the Tudor era, the young mother died from subsequent complications less than two weeks after the delivery. Her ghostly apparition appears on the Silverstick Stairs which lead to the room where she breathed her last. Though if Jane’s story is tragic, then Catherine Howard’s is horrifying

Henry married Catherine in 1540, when she was just a teenager. For reference, the king was almost 50! At first, the marriage — Henry’s fifth — seems to have gone well. But then he learned that she’d had pre-marital affairs. In 1542, Catherine was arrested, charged with treason, and beheaded — still only 19 years old. Her ghost reportedly runs screaming for mercy through a chamber, which is now known as the Haunted Gallery. It’s a reenactment of the moment she was arrested and realized her fate. 

The Castle of Mey is perched on the far northern coast of Scotland and was the Highland home of the late Queen Mother. It was built by George Sinclair — the 4th Earl of Caithness — in the 16th century. The Sinclairs were a fractious lot and much blighted by murder. George’s son John killed his own brother, William, and John then met the same fate. 

But it’s not the Sinclair sons who haunt the windswept Castle of Mey, although you might think they had every right to do so given their violent ends. No, the apparition that regularly appears at the castle is known as “The Green Lady.” And she is from one generation later than the homicidal brothers. 

Apparently, the Green Lady is identified as Lady Elizabeth Sinclair. She was the daughter of the fifth Earl of Caithness — another George. He earned the title of “The Cruel.” It’s said that Elizabeth was smitten by a young lad from near the castle. But he was not of noble blood, only a mere farmhand. So, as far as the Earl was concerned, he was no proper match for Elizabeth. 

The Earl’s answer to his daughter’s ill-advised affections was to lock her up in a chamber high in the forbidding castle tower. He vowed to keep her there until she foreswore her lowly peasant lover. But one day, Elizabeth craned out of the tower window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy. Leaning too far over the window sill, she tumbled to her untimely death — and her unsettled afterlife.

It should come as no surprise that a country as rich in history as the UK is home to all kinds of restless spirits from the past, though royal residences aren't the only abodes that find themselves plagued by unwelcome ghostly guests. Believe it or not, some say the Scottish capital of Edinburgh has more ghosts per square foot than anywhere else on Earth — and the stories of how they got there are positively bone-chilling.

The imposing Borthwick Castle’s stood 10 miles south of Edinburgh for the past six centuries or so. It’s still in use today and available for hire to host weddings, conferences and parties. But it has a rather more sinister past. And one of the people who passed through the castle over the years was Mary Queen of Scots.

Her brief stay at Borthwick Castle came in 1567. Mary was on the run at the time, suspected of complicity in the death of her murdered husband, Lord Darnley. Desperate to escape her pursuers, she fled from the castle dressed as a page boy. Her ghost, it’s said, is still to be seen wandering the castle in that same costume.

Founded in 1456, Rosslyn Chapel’s an extraordinary building bedecked with elaborate stone carvings inside and out. It’s set a few miles south of Edinburgh’s outskirts in the village of Roslin. The chapel was catapulted to fame by author Dan Brown, who used it as a setting in his novel The Da Vinci Code. But it had its own eerie stories to tell long before Brown’s best-seller was published.

A gaggle of ghostly monks are said to the haunt Rosslyn Chapel. There’ve been reports of hooded apparitions praying at the altar. In one case a monk was surrounded by four ghostly knights. The monks are also said to patrol the grounds around the chapel. And when a storm breaks, a phantom dog apparently wanders the estate, barking insistently.

Most Scots get a patriotic tingle up the spine when they hear the notes of a bagpipe. But there’s one Edinburgh bagpiper who’s more likely to strike fear into the hearts of listeners. He’s a young lad who, so the tale goes, came to an unfortunate end in the labyrinthine tunnels that run beneath Edinburgh Castle. These subterranean passages extend all along the Royal Mile.

Apparently some folks were curious about the extent of the mysterious tunnels. An entrance had been uncovered at the castle. It was only large enough for a child, though, so a young piper was sent down. He was to play his pipes as he progressed so those above could trace his route. But the pipes fell silent outside the Tron Kirk, about half-a-mile down the Royal Mile. The lad was never seen again. And ever since, many have reported hearing strains of ghostly piping coming from beneath that very street.

The tale of Greyfriars Bobby is a touching story of man and faithful hound. Let's first set the scene. The Greyfriars in question is a church – or kirk as we should call it in Scotland – surrounded by a graveyard. Dating back to 1620, the kirk is set in Edinburgh’s Old Town, not far from the Royal Mile. Our story begins after one John Gray, a nightwatchman, was buried in the kirk’s graveyard in 1858.

During his life Gray’d owned a Skye Terrier, Bobby, a dog that was truly devoted to him. And after Gray’s death the faithful hound would turn up at the kirkyard every day to sit and grieve by his master’s grave. Bobby became famous in the city and continued his daily visits until he too passed away in 1872. Today you can visit Greyfriars and admire a handsome statue of the loyal hound. Best do so in daylight, though, since the graveyard’s said to be haunted by fearsome spirits of the night.

George Street’s a broad, handsome avenue in Edinburgh’s magnificent New Town, built in neo-classical style in the late 18th century. Today it’s a swish shopping street with upmarket hotels and cocktail bars. But few of the people spending time there now will know the sorry and haunting tale of one Jane Vernelt.

Vernelt ran a dress shop on George Street. Some accounts say financial problems forced her to sell up in 1892, others that she’d lost her wits. Whatever the truth, it seems that losing the store was a tragedy for her. It’s believed that she ended her days confined to an asylum, dying early in the 20th century. Since then her ghost’s said to appear regularly on George Street. The apparition makes its way towards the site of her old shop, which is actually long gone.

In the 17th century Sir George Mackenzie held the position of Lord Advocate, Scotland’s chief prosecutor. He gained a thoroughly unsavory reputation as a ruthless lawman because of his persecution of the Covenanters. They were religious rebels, determined that Scotland should be a Presbyterian country. Many were imprisoned in appalling conditions in Greyfriars Kirkyard, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

The Lord Advocate’s part in this cruel affair earned him the nickname of “Bloody Mackenzie.” After his death in 1691, Mackenzie was buried in a mausoleum in Greyfriars’ graveyard. But his grave was accidentally damaged by a homeless man seeking shelter in 1999. Ever since then, the kirkyard’s been plagued by a poltergeist, believed to be the ghost of Bloody Mackenzie himself.

It was in 1670 that Major Thomas Weir, known as the Wizard of West Bow, did something very strange. At a religious meeting of the Presbyterian splinter group he worshipped with, he stood up and made an extraordinary confession. By his own account he was guilty of a variety of hideous sins. What’s more, he claimed to be a servant of the devil himself. The most extraordinary thing was that Weir had always been regarded as an exceptionally devout man.

The plot thickened when Weir’s sister Grizel, also of previously unblemished character, confessed that she too had been involved in her brother’s dark excesses. The siblings were tried on charges of deviancy. Guilty was the verdict and both were brutally put to death. Weir proceeded to haunt West Bow and the surrounding district – and continues to do so, according to some. You can still stroll along West Bow, a cobbled street in Edinburgh’s Old Town. You might even see Weir’s ghost.

Up until the 17th century, Mary King’s Close was part of a web of dank alleyways running off the Royal Mile, the road that goes all the way from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. These houses were at the bottom of high buildings that lined the street. Living conditions inside them were abysmal, so they were reserved for the poorest of the poor.

One tale has it that during an outbreak of plague the residents were locked into their Mary King’s Close slums and left to perish. And it’s the ghosts of these former residents that are said to haunt this section of the Royal Mile. Today, some of this underground labyrinth has been preserved, and you can take a tour of these eerie, abandoned streets.

Built in 1591, the Canongate Tolbooth on the Royal Mile’s instantly recognizable from its turrets and large clock. Originally, it was the local jail, courthouse, and venue for council meetings. Today, it’s home to the Tolbooth Tavern and a museum dedicated to the history of Edinburgh’s people. But it’s the Tolbooth’s haunting that interests us here.

One regularly sighted apparition is said to be the ghost of a man who climbs the stairs up to the clock tower. This unfortunate was apparently imprisoned at the Tolbooth on a charge of witchcraft. Some visitors to the building also claim to have heard the eerie voices of children. And there have been incidents in the tavern as well – glasses inexplicably flying off tables and sinister noises echoing from nowhere.

Sat atop a huge lump of volcanic rock, Edinburgh Castle’s served as a prison as well as being a defensive stronghold. One particular internee’s been given the unfortunate title of the “Dung Prisoner.” So just how did he earn that unsavory nickname? It’s hardly how anyone would choose to be remembered, after all. Well, this prisoner’s overwhelming urge to escape earned him his unflattering name.

So he hid himself in the contents of a hand cart. Unfortunately, the barrow was laden with dung. Not a great start – but things got much worse. Because the handlers of the cart dumped its foul-smelling load over the high castle walls, prisoner and all. The would-be escapee then met his demise on the rocks below. Castle visitors have reported unseen hands trying to push them off the battlements – and also an overpowering reek of dung.

Janet Douglas, Lady of Glamis was the victim of an angry king, James V. The king’s mother had married the Earl of Douglas, Janet’s brother, when James was an infant though already officially the ruler of Scotland. His stepfather then effectively ruled the kingdom until James came of age. But once the king took the reins of power in 1528, he turned against the Douglas clan.

The Earl of Douglas then fled Scotland, so James turned his attention to his sister. He seized Janet Douglas and imprisoned her at Edinburgh Castle. She was soon tried as a witch and condemned to death, a sentence that was carried out with distressing cruelty. Now the Lady of Glamis haunts the castle as the Grey Lady. Reportedly, when she appears, hammering noises echo around the ramparts. They’re said to be the sound of her gallows being erected.

The Edinburgh Playhouse opened as a cinema in 1929 with a capacity of more than 3,000. Set to the east of the city’s main shopping drag, Princes Street, it still operates as a theater today. But the Playhouse’s no ordinary venue, because it has its own resident ghost. And for some reason, the folks who work there call him Arthur.

The origins of the ghostly Arthur aren’t entirely clear. Some say that he may be haunting the theater because he’s the spirit of a stagehand who died after a fatal mishap. Others claim Arthur was a night watchmen who took his own life. Whatever the truth, this apparition appears as a man dressed in grey, and he brings with him a chilling burst of cold air.

Regent Terrace is a quaint cobbled street with a terrace of fine Georgian houses built in the early 19th century. Not far from Holyrood Palace – that’s where royalty stay when they visit Edinburgh – it’s a highly desirable place to call home. An estate agent dubbed it the most expensive street in Scotland in 2020. But not so long ago, it was rather down-at-heel and neglected.

Back in 1979, many of the imposing houses had been split into apartments. One was a basement that was home to four students. And they were subjected to some terrifying supernatural happenings. A baby cried through the night, yet no infant was to be found. Other strange noises disturbed the peace. Eventually, the four friends were so frightened that they all slept in one bedroom.

Opened in 1788, Edinburgh’s South Bridge runs from the east end of Princes Street north to the Old Town, spanning the city’s railroad station. There are also a series of vaults beneath the bridge, which extends for around 1,000 feet across its 19 arches. And those vaults had become slum housing of the worst kind by the early 19th century. Up to 15 people crammed into each vault in the damp darkness under the bridge.

Eventually, the vaults were filled with rubble and their former inhabitants forgotten. But they were rediscovered in the 1980s and now you can visit them. There’ve since been many reports of strange happenings and ghost sightings – sometimes even during guided tours. These are presumably the restless spirits of those who lived there centuries ago and died in the dreadful, disease-ridden conditions.

Arthur’s Seat is the whimsical name given to an 800-foot tall volcanic outcropping that looms over Holyrood Palace. Its name may be derived from Gaelic. Or, some say, the hill has a connection with the mythical King Arthur of Camelot. In any case, perhaps the oddest incident ever to happen there came in the summer of 1836. Some lads were out on its slopes, hunting for rabbits.

But the youngsters soon forgot hunting when they stumbled across something truly weird. Hidden behind some stone slabs was a small cave. Inside it were 17 tiny coffins, each containing a little wooden figure. Who’d put them there? What was their purpose? Those and other questions remain unanswered to this day. But if you’re in Edinburgh, some of the coffins are on display at the National Museum of Scotland. So go and take a look – maybe you can come up with a theory!

Learmonth Gardens is a solid middle-class street to the south of Edinburgh’s New Town. If you walked along the road, ghosts and ghouls would hardly spring to mind. But this salubrious street does have its own sinister tale. To get the gist of it, we need to travel back in time to the 1930s. During that period one of the houses on Learmonth Gardens was the family home of a baronet called Sir Alexander Seton.

The Setons took a vacation to Egypt, visiting the Temple of Luxor while they were there. Unwisely, though, Lady Seton took a piece of bone from the ancient site and brought it back to Edinburgh. The bone fragment was then mounted in a glass case. But strange things began to happen in the house. China ornaments were smashed, there were loud, unexplained noises, furniture was overturned. An apparition in robes made several appearances. And the disturbances only ceased after the bone had been burnt.

Orwell Place is in the west of central Edinburgh and one of the buildings there was known as Dalry House. This building was said to be home to one of the capital city’s most notorious ghosts: Johnny One Arm. His real name was John Chiesly and he lived during the 17th century. It seems that he had marital problems. We know that because he’d been ordered to pay his former wife a large annual sum by way of alimony.

But Chiesly wasn’t happy with this order, so he tracked down the magistrate who’d made it and murdered him. The forces of law and order soon caught up with Chiesly and the killer lost an arm in the process. To add insult to injury, he was then hanged. Next, though, his body disappeared. And soon after, his ghost, easily identifiable by the missing limb, began to terrify the good folk of Edinburgh.

North Berwick, a seaside town about 30 miles east of Edinburgh, became notorious in the 1590s for the many witch trials conducted there. Innocent women were accused and convicted of witchcraft in the town’s court. Once found guilty, the prisoners were taken to Edinburgh Castle and imprisoned until their sentences could be carried out.

Gruesomely, the standard punishment for a convicted witch was to be burned at the stake. As many as 200 women were convicted at trial in North Berwick at a time when a fevered hunt for witches gripped all of Scotland. As many as 4,000 witches were put to death across the country during this period. So of the many spirits that haunt Edinburgh, it’s a fair bet that some of them are the ghosts of executed witches.

Edinburgh Castle’s been at the center of many bitter conflicts that’ve divided Scotland over the centuries. But it’s said that whenever attackers were about to assault the Castle Rock, there was someone – or something – that warned of trouble on the way. And that information came in a very sinister form indeed.

The castle garrison knew that an assault was imminent whenever they saw the ghostly figure of a drummer boy playing his instrument on the battlements. But this drummer boy had a very distinctive characteristic: he lacked a head. Who he was or how he lost his head remains a mystery. But he hasn’t been seen for many years. Then again, though, the Castle hasn’t come under attack since 1745.

Scotland’s internal politics in the 15th century could be ferocious in their violence. In 1440 James II was on the Scottish throne, an infant ruler. Scotland’s leading families were in bitter competition as to who should control the young king and by extension the nation. One particularly bitter struggle came between a faction led by Alexander Livingston and William Crichton on one side and the powerful Douglas clan on the other.

Crichton and Alexander invited William, the Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother to Edinburgh Castle for dinner with the ten-year-old James II. William was 16 at the time. The two Douglas boys were then dragged from the banqueting hall and slaughtered. The incident came to be known as the Black Dinner. And it’s said to have inspired the extravagant bloodshed in the Red Wedding scene in Game of Thrones.