Well then, would you like to come with me to Glamis Castle on a "inbred mutant freak hunting expedition?" We can bring a blanket

sarkypi Posted on Oct 6 2003, 05:54 AM

oh dear... looks like this topic has run its course

I've removed my initial post because it no longer applies.

I said things in anger. That's all it was, throw-away words spoken in anger.

I sincerely apologise to anyone who has suffered any real hurt from my comments.

The castles of Scotland, with their thick stone towers, deep dungeons and long history of war, murder and tribal feuds, are often tought to be haunted. The victims of Scotland's violent past may still wander their battlements and winding staircases, desperately searching for rest or revenge.

Yet one castle stands out, not only for its huge number of ghost stories, but for their grisliness and horror. It is the ancestral home of the Earls of Strathmore, set just outside the Tayside village of Glamis.

No one knows exactly how old Glamis Castle is. Large parts of it were built between the seventeenth and ninteenth centuries, making it look mre like a large hotel than a crumbling ruin. But at its heart is an ancient solid stone tower, more than a thousand years old, where most of the hauntings are said to take place.

Who bult this first tower, and exactly when, remains a mystery; but it soon became the scene of a brutal murder. King Malcolm II of Scotland was stabbed to death there in 1034 by a gang of rebels. His blood soaked into the flood, leaving a stain that some say can still be seen this day- even though the floorboards have been replaced.

Glamis Castle belonged to a Scottish royal family until 1372, when King Robert II gave it to his son in law, Sir John Lyon. Sir John's home had previously been at Forteviot, near Perth, where he kept a lucky chalice ~ a huge drinking cup which was said to guard the family's good fortune.

Tradition held that if the cup were ever removed from Forteviot, it would bring a curse on the family. But Sir John ignored the warning and took the chalice with him to Glamis.

Sir John settled into his new home, and for a while he lived there happily. But in 1383, eleven years after he had arrived, he was killed in a deadly duel ~ becoming the first of many of his descendants to meet a violent, sudden or gruseome end at Glamis.

Had the unlucky chalice somehow brought a curse, as primised, on the Lyon family? No one knows ~ but ever since Sir John's death, bad luck, mysterious murders and horrible hauntings have plagued the castle's inhabitants.

One of Glamis's most famous ghost stories dates from 1542, when James V, who was then the King of Scotland, died suddenly. Janet Douglas, wife of the Lord of Glamis, was suspected of mudering him. In those days, belief in wirchcraft was widespread, and people accused Janet Douglas of being a witch.

Janet was burned at the stake ~ a terrible and agonizing death ~ and the castle was handed back to the Crown. But a short time later, Janet was proved innocent. Glamis Castle was returned to her family, and ever since, her ghost has been seen regularly. The phanton reputedly haunts the castle chapel and corridors, and has been seen floating above the clock tower in an eerie red glow ~ perhaps to reming visitors of the cruel death she was forced to suffer all those years ago.

Glamis is also said to be haunted by an Early who once lived there. In 1957, a servant at the castle, Florence Foster, said she had been kept awake at night by an unusual noise. It was the sound of dice being rolled, followed by the shuffling of cards and the voices of two men, swearing and cursing in strange, old-fashioned words.

The noise frightened Florence ~ especially because she knew no one was plaing cards anywhere near her room. In fact, she resigned rather than spend another night listening to the ghostly gamblers.

Whose were the strange voices she heard? Were they connected to the old story told about the third Earl of Glamis, who lived in the castle in the late 17th century?

Patrick, the third Earl, was a notorious drunkard and a gambler whose wild lifestyle was known throughout the land.

Late one Saturday night, he was drinking and playing cards with his friend the Early of Crawford, in a secret room in the ancient tower. A servant remined them that the Sabbath was approaching ~ that is, SUnday, when gambling was forbidde.

Patrick rudely replied that he would play cards for as long as he wanted to, and he didn't card if the Devil himself joined in. According to the legend, when midnight strick, the Devil appeared. He told both men that they had paid for their card game with their souls. After their deaths, they would be doomed to play on in that same room for eternity.

The story is an old tradition and probably started off as a joke about the third Earl's wicked ways. But perhaps he, like so many of the Glamis's ancestors, has stayed behind in spirit to haunt the castle's modern inhabitants.

Another story also concerns a secret room. Legend has it that one of the heirs to the castle was born very deformed. His father was afraid people would disapprove and, not wantint ganyone to know, he kept the child locked away in a specially bult hidden chamber, hoping he would not survive for very long.

However, this rightful heir lived to a great age, and his existence was kept a secret by several generations of Earls. When he finally died, the secret room was bricked up with the body still inside.

It is said that no one has ever found the hidden chamber-except once. A workeman was said to have been overcome with horror after accidently stumbling upon a secret room carved deep into the castle's deep walls. No one knows what he saw there, for the terrified man was sworn to secrecy. The castle's owner paid for him and his family to move to Australia soon after.

Several guests at the castle have had sleepless nights. One woman woke to the sound of footsteps rushing up the old spiral staircase. They were followed by a clash of swords, a cry of pain and the gruesome sound of metal slicing into the bone. The guest then stared in horror as a pool of blood began to seep through the crack under the door.

The next night she was woken up again, this itme by a huge knight leaning over her bed. A few seconds later, he vanished.

A few years later, a couple stayed in the castle with their son. Late one night they saw a fully armed knight striding into their son's bedroom. The ghost dissapeared-but the bot said a giant had been bending over his bed.

Sarkypi,


I just saw this thread, here.... I just want to say, with a heavy dose of critisism, that you are hardly in the position to be telling anyone the proper places to post, and what to post about. You really wouldn't want to appear silly, would you?

Just remember to show respect to those that deserve it. Halo certainly tops that list.


So hopefully you will read what others' post before becoming so brash, and make sure that your anit-inbreeding self, doesn't step on the toes of those people that are on that list.




Cufflink, good for you, to retract the negative banter.




Reese

*

I agree that most topics get off topic. Maybe some of you could use the PM feature to talk or flirt. The original topic seems to be still going, other then a few posts here and there.

Anyway, everyone relax and take some prozak or something. geeze.

No problem........


Everyone just needs to sit back, and relax......... Everyone has 'off' days.


Reese