Dumfries and Galloway Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Healing Water
Location: Drumlanrig - Dhu Loch (aka Black Loch)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century belief
Further Comments: The water here could be taken and used for healing if a ritual were followed. An article of clothing from the sick person had to be thrown into the loch over the left shoulder before water scooped up into a vessel which was not allowed to touch the ground. Turning from the loch 'sun-ways', the person holding the water would not be able to speak or lock back at anyone until at the home of the diseased.
Healing Wells
Location: Drummore - Chapel Wells, sea water wells
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: Children were once bathed in the waters of the wells to cure ills.
Robert Bruce
Location: Dumfries - Minorite Friary
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: The ghosts of Bruce and Roger de Kirkpatrick have been seen drifting around this ruined building.
Victorian Lady
Location: Dumfries - King's Arms Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Strangely out of place, this woman in Victorian clothing was seen watching the television in the lounge.
Coach
Location: Dumfries - Dumfries House
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 8 October 1900
Further Comments: A coach is reportedly heard when a member of the Hastings family is due to die - here it was perceived by Lady Margaret MacRae the night before her father's death.
Groans
Location: Dumfries - Crichton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2019-2020
Further Comments: A caretaker who spent a year alone in the alleged haunted building claimed that he had experienced groans, strange creaks, and lights which turned themselves on.
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Location: Dumfries - County Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1936
Further Comments: Looking concerned, this ghost seen near Prince Charlie's room has been named as the man himself, though others say it is more likely to be another Jacobite.
Horseman
Location: Dumfries - Castle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: This figure rides the area in search of his head that was removed as he hit a low branch while galloping at fantastic speed, escaping from his girlfriend's overprotective brothers. Two more ghosts have been reported in the same area, both running away from a murder site.
Anna Park
Location: Dumfries - Globe Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Reportedly seen by several people, this ghostly serving girl (named as Anna) is seen during a change in management or during celebrations. Mild poltergeist effects are attributed to her.
Whip on Window
Location: Durisdeer - Unnamed property
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890
Further Comments: The sound of whipping on a window would be heard by one family prior to a death.
Farmer
Location: Galdenoch - Galdenoch Tower
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A poltergeist focused all its energy into performing malicious tricks at this farmhouse, throwing burning coal out of the fire, and pushing an old woman into a nearby stream. The spirit, named as that of a murdered farmer, was exorcised by a minister accompanied by a choir.
Hidden Hoard
Location: Gatehouse of Fleet - Cairnholy Cairns
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: These two rows of standing stones are thought to contain hidden treasures.
Figure in White
Location: Glencairn - Between Gap's Mill and Pentoot
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890
Further Comments: The ghostly figure in white which would drift between these two spots was thought to be connected to the murder of a child in the area.
Mrs G's Friend
Location: Glencairn - Moor
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: Pre-1890s
Further Comments: Only identified as 'Mrs G', this witness spotted her friend walking across the moor, heading towards Mrs G's home. The following day, Mrs G visited the friend, only to be told that that the woman had been at home all day. A week later, the friend died; her body was carried to the churchyard along the route Mrs G had seen her walk.
Metal
Location: Glencarirn - Former precentor's home
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890
Further Comments: A precentor said that he had heard a cart being tipped up and the metal contents emptied in his garden as he stood there one evening. The precentor believed that a murdered child was buried somewhere close by.
Lady Ashburton
Location: Glenlee - Glenlee House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lady Ashburton murdered her husband, though she in turn was killed by a servant as he robbed the house. She has been seen in the building, as has another figure that could be her husband.
Fire Starter
Location: Glenluce - Exact location unknown - house belonging to a weaver named Campbell
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1640s
Further Comments: This presence centred itself around the oldest son in the house - while he was at home, stones would be thrown, crockery smashed, and several little fires started.
Middle Aged Couple
Location: Gretna - Sark Bridge road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1957
Further Comments: A truck driver narrowly missed hitting a middle aged couple who stepped out in the road ahead of him. He stopped and jumped out of his cab to shout at their stupidity, only to find they had vanished without trace. It is unknown whether they are connected to the ghostly car that has also been seen in the vicinity.
Footsteps
Location: Kirkbean - Unnamed farm to the south of village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890s
Further Comments: The farm was haunted by a series of footsteps which started after a former owner committed suicide.
Dunn
Location: Kirkbean - Three crossroads, near Arbigland
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1894
Further Comments: The body of a young stableman by the name of Dunn was found here - the law believed he had committed suicide, but others thought he had been murdered by the brother of a woman he was romantically involved with. Dunn's ghost was said to have returned to the spot, and occasionally the area was also haunted by a white lady.
Woman in White
Location: Kirkbean - Road coming in from the north
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1894
Further Comments: This phantom woman's past is unknown, although her quiet form was said to startle passersby. One local story says that a local farmer's daughter exploited the story; dressing in a white sheet to meet her lover by the roadside ensured no one came to speak to her.
Pale Woman
Location: Kirkbean - Road between village and Prestonmill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890
Further Comments: A woman in white was said to haunt this stretch of road, walking along the treetops and occasionally on the road with (mortal) travellers.
Forgotten Wraith
Location: Kirkbean - Castle of Wreaths (ruined, only a couple of parts of wall remain)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The castle's name is said to be taken from an apparition, although no records exist to indicate what or who it was.
Peering Face
Location: Kirkconnel - Unnamed house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1890
Further Comments: At night weird laughter would be heard and a strange face would look in through the windows. A bridge close to the property was home to a red figure who manifested at dusk, although would vanish if anyone approached.
Headless Woman
Location: Kirkcudbright - Bridge in the Buckland Valley
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Although frightening, the headless woman on the bridge had a reputation for helping the underdog and was credited for foiling a robbery by scaring the (potential) victim away. It was thought that she had been robbed and murdered close by and was determined to prevent others from suffering the same fate.
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