Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Grampian

Fairies / Folklore / Folktales / Scottish Fairies / Scottish Folktales

The Kelpy of Morphie

In ‘Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs’ (1893), James Mackinlay tells the following tale of a captured water horse. ‘A pool in the North Esk, in Forfarshire, called the Ponage or Pontage Pool, was at one time the home of a water-horse. This creature was captured by means of a magical bridle, and kept in captivity for some time.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Glen Spey Distillery

There are 5 distilleries in the town of Rothes but only one has the reputation for being haunted, and that is the Glen Spey distillery, which is owned by Diageo and has only recently produced its own malt – a 12 year old from the flora and fauna series.

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Articles / Folklore / Folktales / Scottish Folktales

Earth Dogs

A mythical creature that may be confined to one area of Banffshire in Scotland, according to Walter Grigor in his ‘Notes on the folklore of NE Scotland’ published in 1881, the Yird Swine were a “dreaded ..animal” that lived in graveyards and burrowed through the earth feeding on the dead bodies.

Hauntings

Castle Fraser

Castle Fraser is now a grand castle and stately home owned by the National Trust, developed and improved on from its beginnings as a fortified towerhouse by generations of the Fraser family. The castle was known as Muchall in Mar until 1695.

Festivals / January

Burning the Clavie

11th January -The Burning the Clavie is a celebration of the Old New Year from the Julian calendar. A large wooden fire brand made from a barrel called the Clavie, is set on fire and then smashed by the Clavie King. Pieces of the Clavie are kept for luck. The festival probably has very ancient origins.

Apparitions / Featured Sites / Hauntings

The Grey Man of Ben Macdhui

Ben Macdhui is the second highest peak in Scotland, a huge mountain with deep corries, situated in the Cairngorms: one of Scotland’s finest mountain ranges, and a magnet for walkers, climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Ben Machdhui is also reputed to be haunted by ‘something’ that is popularly known as the Grey Man or Fear Liath Mhor in Gaelic.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Glen Derry, Cairngorms

A strange tall figure in black was seen in the glen in 1914, it was identified as the Devil or a similar phantom. Glen Derry is very close to Ben Macdui and a more extensive article covers a similar figure that haunts there.