Every Haunted Location That Featured In 'Spooked Scotland'

July 31, 2022 1:00 AM ‐ TelevisionParanormal

This article is more than two years old and was last updated in February 2024.

Spooked Scotland Team
Photo: © Discovery+
'Spooked Scotland' saw Gail Porter and Chris Fleming lead a series of paranormal investigations at twenty of the most haunted Scottish paranormal hotspots. They started off on the Isle of Arran, where the sinister Brodick Castle threw up some interesting evidence suggesting links to fairies.

Gail and Chris were joined on their journey by tech expert Ryan O'Neill and parapsychologist Evelyn Hollow. Together they encountered malevolent imps at Bannockburn House, attempted to hunt down the Stirling Poltergeist at the city's Old Jail, and uncovered a haunting linked to the satanic Hellfire Club at Tron Theatre.

Gail and the team also tackled the tortured souls of those wrongfully accused of witchcraft in the town of Culross, investigated the site of the notorious Glencoe Massacre, and were pushed to their limits with a particularly aggressive haunting at Castle Menzies.

Of course, no trip to haunted Scotland would be complete without visiting the infamous Edinburgh Vaults. Buried beneath the cobbled streets of the historic city, some say it is the most haunted location in Europe. Here, the team struggled to handled so many spirits at once and Gail had to deal with frightening child apparitions. While in Edinburgh, the team also visited the legendary Banshee Labyrinth, a pub which sits above the vaults.

1. Brodick Castle

Situated on the Isle of Arran, Brodick Castle has a history dating back to 1510. With so much history, including stories of suicide and murder, comes claims of the supernatural. Almost every room in Brodick Castle is said to be home to paranormal activity, which includes dark shadow figures, unexplained whispers and trapped sprits that are forced to play out moments from their lives over and over again.

Several parts of the castle, including the kitchen, the battlements and the east tower, are said to be haunted by a Grey Lady. She's thought to be a former servant of the castle who had an affair with the captain of the guards. After falling pregnant, she was forced to leave the castle and with nowhere else to go, drowned herself near the castle.

The castle's library is said to be haunted by an unidentified ghost of an old man, while a female spirit has been reported who is believed to have died of starvation after being locked in the dungeon while infected with the plague. There's also been sighting of a phantom white stag in the grounds that appears to warn of imminent deaths.

2. Machrie Moor

Machrie Moor is an ancient moor on the Scottish Isle of Arran which is home to six stone circles, which according to local folklore were created when fairies flicked pebbles down on to the moor from the nearby mountain. Today it is said to have a sinister atmosphere as well as being the most active fairy site on the island.

3. Bannockburn House

Bannockburn House

The 400-year-old Bannockburn House stands close to the killing battlefield where Scotland's king Robert the Bruce slaughter the English invaders. There are said to be reports of paranormal activity in every room, including disembodied screams on the upper floors, doors slamming in the dead of night, and the apparition of of a young woman has been witnessed throughout the house.

There's also stories of angry spirits who preys on women in the royal bedroom, the ghosts of long-dead soldiers have been spotted marching through the grounds, and even the spirit of Bonnie Prince Charlie is said to roam the rooms and corridors.

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4. Torwood Castle

Torwood Castle
Photo: © lairig4

The 500-year-old ruins of Torwood in central Scotland. Volunteers working to restore the neglected three-storey castle have reported paranormal activity in the form of disembodied voices heard throughout the vaulted ground floor, and the sound of phantom footsteps coming from the upper floors.

5. Stirling Old Town Jail

Stirling Old Town Jail
Photo: © RayFyfe

Stirling's 400 year old old jail was a grim, overcrowded place of incarceration, misery, suffering and death. It was later used as a military prison from 1888 until 1935. The jail's dark history seems to have left is mark on the location, which is now said to be haunted by shadow figures, the disembodied cries of children, and countless reports of poltergeist activity.

6. Cowane's Hospital

Standing on St John Street between the medieval Church of the Holy Rude and the Old Town Jail, the 17th-century Cowane's Hospital is said to be plagued with reports of paranormal activity including apparitions of figures dressed in dark clothing and countless incidents of poltergeist activity such as furniture moving of its own accord.

7. Tron Theatre

The city centre theatre has a long and dark history, including its former uses as a place of execution, a police station and a meeting place for the infamous Hellfire Club. The paranormal activity in the building ranges from reports from staff of the uneasy feeling that they're being watched or even touched and doors open on their own, through to visitors witnessing full apparitions.

The most active parts of The Tron is said to be the Victorian Bar and the back two rows of the auditorium. The ghostly sightings included reports of phantom children and the apparition of a man seen roaming the building dressed in riding gear. There's also said to be a menacing spirit which lurks in the boiler room, which sits on the former site of St Mary's Crypt.

8. Glasgow Necropolis

Glasgow is a city which is well known for its haunted locations, so it's no surprise that one of the city's cemetery on this list. Officially opened in 1840, there are around 250,000 people buried in the Necropolis, very few have gravestones, even fewer have names.

In the 1950s the cemetery made the news when a police man found a group of local children who had been roaming the cemetery for several nights armed with sharpened sticks and knives. The kids were hunting a vampire. He was said to be seven foot tall with metal teeth and had been blamed for the disappearance of two local children.

9. Culross Palace

Culross Palace stands in Fife in what is said to be the most haunted town in Scotland with connections to witchcraft. It is the former home Sir George Bruce, who supported the local witch trials. Some have blamed the spirit of this powerful Scottish merchant for the strange paranormal activity that occurs in the historic building to this day, which includes dark shadow, unexplained noises and even Bruce's ghostly apparition. A dark presence is said to prey upon women.

10. Culross Tolbooth

The old Tolbooth sits beside Culross Palace. The town house is now a visitor centre and is said to be haunted by disembodied screams on the site where innocent people were hung as witches.

11. Edinburgh Vaults

Edinburgh Vaults

The Edinburgh Vaults are a network of eerie chambers which are formed in the arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh. Due to the city's growing population, the 120 rooms or 'vaults' beneath the bridge were put to use to house taverns, workshops for cobblers and other tradesmen in 1788.

The vaults were damp with poor air quality and condition were grim, which resulted in businesses leaving. This meant that the dank caverns were overtaken by Edinburgh's poorest citizens, the homeless and criminals, who carried out activities such as illegal gambling, whisky distillery and even bodysnatching.

Eventually the vaults were filled in and forgotten about, until they were rediscovered in the 1980s and eventually opened as a tourist attraction. Thanks to its depressing past, the vaults are now said to be one of the most haunted places in the UK.

Visitors report hearing disembodied voices, including the sound of children crying. The mysterious sound of feet shuffling can also be heard coming from dark corners of the vaults, and people have reported being touched. During 'Most Haunted's' investigation of the location in 2008, one of their team was scratched by an unseen force, to this day it is still one of the team's most violent investigations.

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12. Banshee Labyrinth

Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

The Banshee Labyrinth is said to be Scotland's most haunted pub and it sits right above, and in parts opens up into, one of the country's most famous paranormal hotspots, Edinburgh Vaults. The Labyrinth is said to be haunted by the banshee, from whom the venue takes its name. A banshee is a supernatural entity, said to be female, who appears and cries or shrieks to foretell the death of a loved one.

She's sometimes been seen as a pale-faced woman in a grey dress sobbing into her hands. She was most famously reported by a group of workmen refurbishing the venue. They all heard her scream and a few hours later one of them received a phone call informing him that a family member had passed away.

Other spooks spotted by drinkers include the ghost of a little girl known as Molly. She's said to have haunted the pub since a child's shoe with the name written on it was discovered in a bricked-up chimney, there's also the ghost of Ole Jock who lurks in the ladies' toilets, and an apparition in a long black coat known as "The Watcher".

13. Barcaldine Castle

Barcaldine Castle is a 17th-century tower house that was attacked during the massacre of Glencoe in 1692. The castle fell into disrepair in the later 19th century, but has since been restored and survives today as a hotel. Barcaldine is the perfect location for a ghost hunt, with a bottle dungeon and two hidden passageways.

It is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sir Duncan Campbell, who roams that castle searching for the man who murdered him. The hallways are also said to be haunted by a female spirit, she's also been spotted in the dining room. Figures have been see walking past doors, and guests have reported feeling as if they're pinned to their beds at night.

14. Glencoe Massacre Site

Glencoe, Scotland

During her investigation of Barcaldine Castle, Gail took guest medium, Ryan "RG" Griffiths, to some nearby woods which are said to echo with the spirits of the dead. We're told in the episode that the woods are said to be the location of the Glencoe Massacre, but since there are several areas related to the massacre it's hard to know exactly where the team were.

However, the whole glen is said to be haunted and on the anniversary of the massacre in February the event is re-enacted. Locals have seen phantom clansmen hiding around the valley, and the agonising screams of men and women have been heard.

15. Comlongon Castle

Comlongon Castle is a tower house near Dumfries that dates back to the 15th century. It was extended with an adjoining mansion house in around 1990 and was a family home until 1984. It has since been restored and run as a hotel, but closed down in 2019.

The castle's most famous spook is the ghost of a crying woman believed to be the spirit of a former resident named Lady Marion Carruthers, she's been seen in the tower house. There's also reports of disembodied voices and a dark shadow figure has been seen roaming the mansion house.

16. The Globe Inn

The Globe Inn is a Scottish pub in Dumfries that was established in 1610 and is one of the oldest working taverns in Scotland. Generations of locals claim to have witnessed the apparition of a woman, believed to be a former barmaid named Anna Park. She said to have had an affair with famous poet Robert Burns and died in childbirth. Her ghost has been blamed for objects being thrown, disembodied voices, and even staff and customers being touched.

17. Castle Menzies

Situated near the small Scottish village of Aberfeldy, the sixteenth-century castle was the historic seat of the chief of Clan Menzies. The castle opened to the public in the 1980s and since then there have been reports of paranormal activity leading to the in an influx of paranormal teams.

The castle's most famous ghost story is that of a Grey Lady who has been seen wandering the castle. Is she one of the three female spirits that are said to haunt here? They're thought to be witches and are most often sighted in the meat cellar.

According to reports, guests are said to have been physically attacked and there are claims of an evil entity following a visitor home. Other's have reported hearing disembodied voices coming from the chief's former bedroom, the cries of a phantom cat, unexplained smells, and mysterious sounds including the sound of footsteps.

18. Garth Castle

Garth Castle is a 14th century tower house and keep. The castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of the daughter of the chief of a local clan. Her husband threw a boulder at her from the roof of the tower as she washed in the stream below. He only intended to create a playful splash in the water, but the rock accidentally struck and killed her. Her spirit has been blamed for furniture moving on its own. Disembodied voices have also been heard in the castle.

19. Verdant Works

Verdant Works, also known as Scotland's Jute Museum, is a former mill in Dundee. Nearly 200 years ago, the works were one of the city's deadliest factories. Its owners were amongst the wealthiest in Europe, but their fortune was built on the exploitation of women and children as young as six in the name of profit.

Staff and visitors claim that the mill is a very active supernatural hotspot, with reports of paranormal activity that includes the sound of phantom footsteps, sightings of a lady in grey clothing, apparitions of young children, child's handprints appear on surfaces around the building, and the unexplained sound of machinery powering away is heard in an otherwise empty factory.

20. Mains Castle

Mains Castle in Dundee is believed to have been built in 1562 and consists of a large, six-storey tower house. The building is said to be haunted by the spirits of children, witnesses have reported hearing their disembodied laughter echoing around the building. There are also reports of the sound of unexplained footsteps following guests around the castle, and the ghosts of children have been seen playing in the parkland around the castle.

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