Argyll and Bute Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Princess
Location: Lismore Island - Area around Castle Coeffin
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area was once haunted by a princess who had pined away after her Viking husband died in combat. The haunting stopped after her remains were taken to be buried with her husband's body.
Giggling
Location: Loch Awe - Just off A819, by edge of water
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 28 December 2014
Further Comments: A photographer setting up his equipment here heard voices and giggling, even though there were no other people around. He fled after something started skimming stones across the ice in front of him.
Huge Monster
Location: Loch Awe - Waters of the Loch
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Sixteenth century onwards
Further Comments: The loch is another large body of water in Scotland that is said to contain a large beastie, this time reputed to resemble a twelve legged eel. The creature is said to come ashore during winter. Another version of the story says the creature resembles a large bull.
Hooded Woman
Location: Loch Craignish - Area near Barbreck (or Barbeck) House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be a member of the Clan Campbell, whose family graveyard is nearby, this pale young woman sits on a rock overlooking the Loch. She vanishes if approached.
Blue Boy
Location: Loch Eck - Coylet Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2018?
Further Comments: This young lad froze to death outside of the inn, and now leaves wet footprints on the floor as he walks through the building. The story was reported in the press in January 2018 when a hen party photograph was published which (debatably) showed the face of a young boy peeping from behind a small pile of wood.
Strangler
Location: Loch Etive - Highland Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Two women sharing a room reported an entity that appeared and tried to strangle them.
Ancient Galley
Location: Loch Fyne - Waters near Inveraray
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Appears to mark the death of a senior Campbell clan member, last seen 1913
Further Comments: This large phantom ship appears in the Loch, though its route takes the vessel over land. Three crewmen are visible on the deck.
Tall Serpent
Location: Loch Fyne - Waters of the loch
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1570
Further Comments: This creature was reported to be the size of a ship's mast when it surfaced from the water. At a much later date, a carcass of an unidentified creature was found on the banks of the loch.
Angus
Location: Loch Lomond - Drovers Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Angus is the name of the phantom cattle drover who is said to occasionally unnerve people by screaming here. Another phantom is named as Anabel, a young girl who drowned in the loch.
Hipotam
Location: Loch Lomond - Waters of the loch, especially where it is joined with the River Enrick
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1653 onwards
Further Comments: An early description of the loch stated it had 'waves without wind, fish without fins and a floating island' - this is thought to be a reference to the water horses, or hipotam, that swam in the waters, although crannógs, small artificial islands, would be constructed in lochs by wealthy families. A Mr and Mrs Haggerty spotted a humped back crossing the loch on 22 September 1964, while in 1980 another couple watched a head and neck emerge from the water before submerging thirty seconds later.
Cursed Stairwell
Location: Loch Nell - Loch Nell Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The staircase was made from a tree considered holy, and a series of disasters befell all those who were involved in cutting it down and moving to the building. The castle is also home to phantom music.
Dog Killer
Location: Loch Tuath - Area between Loch Tuath and Loch Cuan
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A misty female form was once seen here, with long blonde hair. The entity picked up the witness's dog and ran off with it behind a nearby rock formation; the owner gave chase and, turning the rocky corner, found the dog with its windpipe crushed and large pieces of fur torn away. The strange woman had vanished.
Headless Horseman
Location: Lochbuie - Lochbuie House
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to tragedy in the Ewen family
Further Comments: This decapitated figure, Ewen of the Little Head who was killed in battle with a rogue laird, now appears in the area around the house to warn the Ewen family of impending doom. Another animal, a large black dog, is reported to patrol the grounds.
Night Strangler
Location: Lochgilphead - Unknown council house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1990
Further Comments: A house was blessed by the local priest after a woman living in the building woke and found herself being choked by an invisible entity.
Brooding Presence
Location: Lochgoilhead - Private house close to the loch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November and December, 1989
Further Comments: A couple who moved into this house left after a couple of months having endured a 'brooding presence' which they felt to be a bad tempered Edwardian woman who did not want them there. On the night they moved out, one observed a crooked turret which was not visible during the day, while the other occupant was pushed out the door which was slammed behind them. Talking to people who had visited them in the house later, almost all felt something 'wasn't right' with the house.
Black Cat
Location: Mull - Area around Loch na Keal
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1978 and continuing for rest of twentieth century
Further Comments: The first alien big cat was reported close to Loch na Keal, where it would remain (fleetingly spotted) over the next twenty years.
Doideag
Location: Mull - Exact location not known
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Circa 1588
Further Comments: Doideag, witch of Mull, is said to have summoned the storms which destroyed the Spanish Armada.
Terror of Mull
Location: Mull - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fearsome dragon terrorised the island until a hero appeared and killed the beast with the inventive use of barrels with big spikes attached to them. This story and the dragon tale told of Mull are strikingly similar.
Snakelike Beast
Location: Mull - Sea east of the island, and other nearby areas
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1808, and 1873
Further Comments: This creature, when first observed, possessed no fins, and was estimated to be twenty five metres in length. When seen again almost sixty years later, its speed was estimated to be around 15 kph, and was seen by several independent parties.
Lady
Location: Newton - Unnamed cottage on the shores of Loch Fyne
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: This phantom woman is reported to stand at the back door of the cottage, watching the road. Walkers briefly see her before she vanishes.
Road Crossing Serpent
Location: Oban - A85 between Oban and Perth
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 30 September 1965
Further Comments: Two independent motorists reported a six metre long legless creature alongside the road, grey in colour. One witness said it propelled itself along like a giant caterpillar.
Piper
Location: Oban - Dunollie Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1971
Further Comments: This ghostly, semi-transparent piper was seen by half a dozen witnesses visiting the castle grounds.
Glaistig
Location: Oban - Dunstaffgne (or Dunstaffnage) Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Prior to major news
Further Comments: The Glaistig is a fairy-like entity that follows a family, only becoming apparent when good or bad news is heard (that is when she bursts into song, cheers, or cries). Since the castle burnt down, the creature has not been heard.
Coiled Serpent
Location: Oban - Oban Bay
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 18 November 1873
Further Comments: A one hundred foot (thirty metre) long black creature was observed swimming in the bay for around fifteen minutes. A story which may be a hoax states that the same or similar creature was killed in 1877, and the locals dragged the carcass above the high water mark to use as fish bait.
Whisky Lover
Location: Port Ellen - Hotel (name not known)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This hotel was once a distillery; a burglar fell to his death from a second floor window after drinking too much during his raid. This drunken crook still lurks the corridors looking for more liquor to consume.
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