Scotland's Most Haunted Castle Plays Down Ghost Stories

Glamis Castle near Forfar in Angus is Scotland's, and one of Britain's most haunted castles. However it is trying to distance itself from the paranormal stories that the place is famous for, and instead attempt to rebrand as a family-friendly visitor attraction.

Glamis, a gift from Robert II to Sir John Lyon, is the ancestral home of the Earls of Strathmore. It was also the childhood home of the Queen Mother, and birth place of Princess Margaret, and the home of Macbeth in the Shakespeare play of the same name. It are these royal connections that the marketing chiefs want the castle to be associated and attract people with, rather than focusing on the ghosts.

The castle's general manager David Adams said, "We don't encourage ghost-hunters, we don't encourage ghost-hunting TV programmes and we certainly don't encourage people who want to come in and do overnight stays to try and locate ghosts.

"We don't want anything to do with that. If you happen to believe that stuff, that's fine but we don't.

"There are various myths and legends surrounding the castle but they are just that.

There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there are any supernatural beings in the castle."

However professional paranormal investigator Mark Turner of Ghost Finders Scotland was surprised by this stance.

"Glamis' reputation as the most haunted castle in Scotland is its unique selling point. Publicly announcing that there are no ghosts at Glamis is like people in the Highlands saying there is no monster in Loch Ness."

There are many fascinating tales about the ghosts that supposedly haunt Glamis Castle. Legend has it that the spirit of Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, also known as the Grey Lady, walks around the castle's chapel, whilst the soul of the Earl Beardie is destined to spend eternity in a walled up chamber in the castle gambling the nights away with the devil but always losing.