Pretty much every castle that is at least two hundred years old has a ghost. The older the castle, the more spirits there may be roaming the building or grounds or both. Both of the castles in this post and both in the next post were reportedly haunted with very interesting stories associated with them.
The majority of the ghosts in haunted castles seem to be of females who were victims of domestic violence. Either they didn’t want to marry the man to whom their father was trying to unite them or they wanted to marry a man of whom daddy didn’t approve. Or they were someone entirely inappropriate who turned up at the castle with child by one of the males in the castle. Or they were an inconvenient wife of whom their husband wanted to dispose so he could marry someone else.
Built in 1575 by the 6th Laird, Michael Fraser, Castle Fraser was originally a two-story square keep. Over the centuries the castle was added to and evolved into what is considered to be the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland. A Z-plan castle has a strong, rectangular center tower with smaller towers attached at diagonally opposite corners.
Castle Fraser is now six floors with turnpike stairs at each end and a normal staircase covering some of the lower floors in the center of the main tower. Two additional wings form a courtyard in the rear of the castle. The photo I have included is from the rear as I think that is the most interesting façade.
The rooms were a more human scale than in many castles and more cozy and livable too. The Great Hall was in the oldest part of the castle and very simple in layout and décor. One of the early lairds (Scottish Lords of the Manor are called Lairds) apparently was not too trusting. He had both a spy hole into the Great Hall and a Lairds Lug, which was a tiny secret room above the Great Hall where the Laird could sit and listen to everything that was said below.
In the Great Hall was a chest with a complicated locking mechanism that reminded me of the trunk in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. After exploring some of the other rooms on the ground floor, we headed up a set of turnpike stairs all the way up to the top of the castle, stopping off on various floors to see various rooms on the way up and then again on the way down.
One of the rooms we visited on the way up was the Green Room (a bedroom). While visiting the castle, a woman was murdered when sleeping in the Green Bedroom. Afterwards her body was dragged down the turnpike stairs for disposal. The blood stains could not be removed, so they placed wooden steps over the offending stone steps. The ghost of the murdered lady has been seen throughout the house.
Once we reached the top of the castle, we went out on the roof where we had gorgeous views of the grounds. I included a photo of the view down at the back of the castle from the roof.
On the way down, one of the interesting rooms we visited was the library. One of the Lairds, Charles Mackenzie Fraser (1792 – 1871) lost his leg in the 1812 Peninsular War. His wooden leg was on display in the library. You can see it in the far right of the photo included here of the library. It is peeking out from behind a green baize gaming table.
Apparently the leg’s owner doesn’t need it anymore as he doesn’t seem to be hanging around looking for it. However, children laughing and other unearthly sounds have been heard in the kitchens; piano music has been heard drifting through the castle when nobody has been playing; and disembodied voices are frequently heard in various parts of the castle.
Then there is Lady Blanche Drummond who died from a fever in the 1870s, just a couple years after her marriage. She has been seen wandering the grounds in a long, black gown.
We stopped off in the village of Ballater to have lunch. Once again, Michelle, Searan and I ate together at a pub where we had some good food and a pint of the local ale.
After lunch we paid a visit to the village of Crathie. This is the village just outside of Balmoral Castle where the Royal Family goes to church and where some of the people who work at the castle live.
This was my fourth time in Crathie. The prior three times, we were supposedly going to visit Balmoral Castle, but some member of the Royal Family ended up being there so we could only visit the church.
This time there had been no discussion of any possibility of seeing Balmoral Castle. Since I had seen the tiny little church three times already, I decided to cross the bridge over the River Dee and walk to the gates of the castle. Included here is my photo of the gates – most likely the closest I will ever get to Balmoral Castle.
I did get a great photo of the phone box back across the road from the bridge to the castle. It’s very colorful with yellow daffodils around the bright red phone box.
Our final visit for the day was Crathes Castle. Like Castle Fraser, Crathes Castle was also in Aberdeenshire, near the town of Banchory. The land upon which Crathes was built was given to the Burnetts of Leys by King Robert the Bruce back in 1323. Originally the family built a Crannog (a kind of fortification made with timber on a manmade island in a lake or bog), but by 1553 they started building the castle. It was mainly a tower house with a wing added in the 18th century.
The first thing I noticed in the Great Hall was what looked like some chainmail armor high up on the wall in a niche. Not far below is an ivory horn that Robert the Bruce also gave to the family. It was called the Horn of Leys.
Again like Castle Fraser, Crathes had six floors. The only stairs were of the turnpike variety. The stairs we were led up, however, did not have any kind of railings or even ropes. So I was holding onto the steps themselves and the walls on the way up.
One of the problems with traveling in the spring is that I have allergies. Beginning in 2016, a certain amount of dizziness accompanies the allergies. So holding onto something as I go up and down twisting, uneven stairs is somewhat of a necessity. Not too interested in falling and possibly ending up as another ghost in the castle.
My favorite bedroom had a 16th century bed with a bedspread covered in crewel embroidery from the 17th century. At the top of the castle was a long gallery with a wooden barrel vaulted ceiling. There was a bedroom up there too. I didn’t think I would want to have to haul myself up all of those stairs every night. However, I had once lived in a fifth floor walkup in NYC and had to go up and down those stairs constantly. I was in my early twenties at the time and quickly became used to it.
The turnpike stairs on which we came back down had railings. I was so relieved.
This castle had several rooms with very colorful painted ceilings. One of the rooms was where the ghost of this particular castle comes in. It is called the Green Lady’s room. This is where several people have seen a woman carrying a baby walk through the room and disappear at the fireplace. Skeletons of a woman and a baby were found behind the hearthstone of the fireplace when some changes were being made to the fireplace a few years back. They received a decent burial but continue to haunt.
The photo I include here of the Green Lady’s Room doesn’t show the fireplace. Unfortunately I learned of the story after having returned home from this trip, or I would have taken a photo of the fireplace.
There was a tiny little room inside of a tiny little turret. It seemed like it might be a fun place to hang out, read a book, and drink some hot chocolate, or ale or mead or mulled wine.
Once back downstairs and outside of the castle, I visited the walled garden. It was very nice. Parts were somewhat wild looking and parts were fairly formal. It had a lovely pond in it with a bench nearby. So I took a seat for a bit. I like to be able to have some time to sit and absorb it all.
During the English Civil War, the Burnetts had friends on both sides and so had letters from both sides stating that they should not be “molested”. The castle hasn’t ever been sacked or taken from the family. What can been seen is pretty much as the family left it.
We returned to Thainstone House Hotel for another night. After all that climbing up and down six floors each in two castles, I felt a relaxing bubble bath followed by a stiff glass of Scotch was the ticket.
Next time – Fyvie Castle
Castle Fraser 
The Great Hall 
Trunk in the Great Hall 
Dining Room 
The Green Room 
View from the roof 
The Library (with wooden leg) 
The River Dee under the bridge to Balmoral Castle 
Gate to Balmoral Castle 
Crathie phone box 
Crathes Castle 
The Great Hall 
The Horn of Leys 
Another view of the Great Hall 
Bedroom 
Long Gallery 
Turnpike stairs with railing 
Cozy little turret room 
Gardens 
Castle as seen from gardens