Ghosts & Hauntings

Scotland's Cawdor Castle said to be home to ghostly woman with no hands

By T.K. Randall
March 21, 2023 ·  1 comment

Does the ghost of Muriel Calder haunt the castle's halls ? Image Credit: CC BY 3.0 Luca Sironi Situated in the countryside near Nairn in the Scottish Highlands, Cawdor Castle was built around a 15th-Century tower house and is perhaps best known for its connection to Shakespeare's Macbeth, the titular character of which was made 'Thane of Cawdor' (although in real-life the castle was not built until many centuries after the life of the 11th-Century King Macbeth).

Today the castle remains a popular tourist attraction, but within its walls there is said to lurk a ghostly presence that many claim to have seen wandering its many rooms and corridors.

The story goes that Muriel Calder - daughter of the Earl of Calder - was kidnapped as a child and forced to marry Sir John Campbell of Argyll (though some say she was genuinely in love with him.)The tale has many variations, but the general gist is that Muriel had attempted to escape by climbing down from one of the castle's tower windows.

While hanging from the sill, a single sword swing severed both her hands and sent her plummeting to her demise.

It is said that her ghost sometimes appears in the castle as a forlorn spirit wearing a blue velvet dress.

Those who have seen her also claim that she is missing both her hands.

Source: Mirror | Comments (1)

Tags: Cawdor, Ghost