The Green Lady of Crathes Castle
Crathes Castle is located in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire, near the town of Banchory. It lies within the historic county of Kincardineshire.
This impressive building was constructed during the sixteenth century and is a classic Scottish harled tower house. Harling is a roughcast wall finish, traditionally created using lime and aggregate, which is applied to the outer walls of a building to help protect it from the harsh, wet Scottish weather.
It is one of those wonderful Scottish buildings that seems filled with a sense of the macabre, brimming with tales guaranteed to freeze the blood of even the heartiest whisky-soaked soul. The Burnett family lived in the castle for more than 350 years, but they are not the only residents of Crathes Castle. For the building has other… unseen residents.
The castle's principal and most famous phantom is that of a woman dressed in green. She is said to haunt the aptly named Green Lady's Room. Here, witnesses have reportedly seen her ghostly figure standing beside the fireplace, a small baby cradled lovingly in her arms. She is said to drift slowly across the room before vanishing.
Some weight was added to this spooky tale when the bones of a child were reportedly discovered beneath the hearthstone during renovations in the nineteenth century. The National Trust for Scotland records the discovery, stating that the child was presumed to have been murdered.
The story goes that the Green Lady was a young woman who fell in love with a handsome servant. The two lovers attempted to keep their relationship secret, but eventually she became pregnant and the truth was revealed. According to the legend, the family were ashamed of their daughter's behaviour, and the young woman was confined to the Green Lady's Room.
The fate of the child was never known.
Whether this tragic tale explains the appearance of the Green Lady is impossible to say. Indeed, the National Trust for Scotland states that the true identity of the apparition remains shrouded in mystery.
There are other spectral residents said to haunt Crathes Castle's ancient halls, including a White Lady. She is traditionally identified as Bertha, the young lover of Alexander Burnett.
According to the legend, Bertha was poisoned by Lady Agnes, who considered the young woman unworthy of her son's hand in marriage. It is said that Bertha returns as a pale spectral figure, gliding through the darkness on the anniversary of her murder.
It seems that loving someone from the lower classes could be a fatal act in days of yore, particularly for those on the wrong side of the social divide.
Thankfully, modern attitudes are rather more understanding when it comes to romance between people of different social backgrounds. Although, if the ghosts of Crathes Castle are anything to go by, perhaps the old stories have not quite finished reminding us of the consequences of forbidden love.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you enjoy tales of the strange and the unknown, please consider delving into my horror trilogy, The Wendlelow Mysteries. It tells the story of a haunted town and the people—and things—that call it home, unfolding across twenty-seven interconnected stories that reveal both the town's origins and its ultimate fate.
Links to the books can be found in the Shop section of this website.
Until next time, stay spooky.
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