The Paranormal Database

Holyrood House Palace, Edinburgh.

Mary & Family

Location: Edinburgh - Holyrood House Palace
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Darnley and David Rizzio (Mary's private secretary) all haunt this building. Rizzio's death was most gruesome - he was stabbed 56 times by Lord Darnley and a group of Scottish lords. The outer door of the Queen's apartments is said to be still stained with Rizzio's blood which will not wash away. Meanwhile, in the garden, a naked ghost named Bald Agnes appears. Agnes was stripped and tortured on the belief that she was a witch in 1592.

Coachman

Location: Edinburgh - Hopetoun House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A few phantoms are said to have made their home at Hopetoun, including a former coachman seen in the restaurant (the former stables) and another figure spotted in the staff toilet.

Pale Woman

Location: Edinburgh - Hunter's Tryst Inn, Oxgangs Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1985
Further Comments: This white, spectral woman lurks around the one time coaching inn. One guest felt invisible lips kiss his cheek as he lay in bed.

Jamaica Street, Edinburgh.

Red Hat

Location: Edinburgh - Jamaica Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late eighteenth / early nineteenth century
Further Comments: This area was haunted by a copper-coloured man in a red hat - a landlord took his tenant to court as it was believed the 'haunting' was created to control low rent prices.

Kirkyard, Coventanter's Prison, Edinburgh.

Bluidy MacKenzie

Location: Edinburgh - Kirkyard, Coventanter's Prison
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: While George MacKenzie has been blamed for the phantom attacks on sightseers at this locale, other people say it is the spirits of the prisoners. Either way, many visitors on the local 'ghost walks' have been pinched, pushed, pulled, and even cut while at this spooky site.

Elizabeth Elphinstone

Location: Edinburgh - Large house to the north of Balcarres Street, Morringside cross
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1720s
Further Comments: Elizabeth was stabbed through the heart by her husband after he found her in the arms of his son from a former marriage. The husband killed himself soon after the incident. Elizabeth's ghost took to haunting the house until the death of her stepson, when all spiritual activity ceased.

Headless Black Shape

Location: Edinburgh - Lasswade Road, Liberton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1897
Further Comments: Described as a strange black creature without a head, at least four witnesses watched the entity silently cross the road at night before it vanished.

Last Drop Tavern, Edinburgh.

Maria

Location: Edinburgh - Last Drop Tavern, Grassmarket
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: Identified by visiting psychics, Maria is believed to have been murdered in the eighteenth century. The phantom girl now makes her presence known by poltergeist-like antics; cups move and items fall from shelves, though nothing is ever broken.

Running

Location: Edinburgh - Lauriston Castle (aka Lauriston House), 2a Cramond Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1926 onwards
Further Comments: This entity creates the sound of footsteps moving quickly around the building. The sound is thought to be made by a former butler.

Old Fireman

Location: Edinburgh - Lauriston Place (old fire station)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Normally appearing at night, staff have reported seeing a ghostly dark figure wearing an old style fire uniform. Footsteps have been heard in various parts of the building when it is known there is no one else on duty.

Whistler

Location: Edinburgh - Learmouth Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Door opening and closing are the trademarks of this spirit, though it is also known to whistle down the corridors.

Portrait Photograph

Location: Edinburgh - Liberton House
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A photograph taken in the building is reputed to show a huge phantom face, though it is said that you must use your imagination to see it properly!

Riders

Location: Edinburgh - Lochend Loch, Restalrig
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Sixteenth century
Further Comments: As Bessie Dunlop tied her horse to the edge of the loch, she heard dozens of people on horseback dash past her into the water, although nothing could be seen.

Making a pact with the Devil.

Hobgoblin Builders

Location: Gifford - Yester Castle (ruins)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present, although only subterranean 'Goblin Hall remains'
Further Comments: Warlock Sir Hugo de Giffard is said to have made a pact with the Devil, and in return had an army of Hobgoblins build this castle for him. A staircase in the hall was filled with earth as it was believed it led straight to hell.

The Farmer's Wife

Location: Gladhouse Reservoir - Area before it was flooded
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that the area was haunted by a couple murdered by an enraged farmer, the victims being the farmer's wife, and the young servant with whom she had been having an affair

Sir James Stanfield

Location: Haddington - Amisfield House (now ruins within Amisfield Park)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sir James is said to have been murdered by his son, and the body thrown into the well. The area around the well is said to be haunted by the white spectral figure of Stanfield.

Lady Kitty

Location: Haddington - Area around Nungate bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lady Catherine Charteris, known as Kitty, has been named as the female form spotted in old fashioned clothing by the bridge.

Tall Gentleman

Location: Haddington - Garleton House (no longer standing, though foundations may remain)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late eighteenth century
Further Comments: This ghostly figure was said to be desperate to find a volunteer who will listen to his story - no one has ever been found.

White Lady

Location: Haddington - Mailandfield Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom white lady reportedly haunted the staircase.

The Duke of Lauderdale

Location: Haddington - St Mary's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This former duke is seen in the church and has been blamed for disturbing his own coffin in the crypt.

Storm Forecaster

Location: Inveresk - Routing Well (current status not known)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that the well would wail before a storm, although even in the nineteenth century, it was acknowledged that the sound was caused by the wind during a storm, rather than prior to one.

Lantern Man

Location: Lasswade - River Esk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure reportedly walks alongside the river, his storm lamp swinging in the wind. One author named the figure as Thomas de Quincey.

Excuse Me

Location: Linlithgow - Alan Steel Asset Management
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2006
Further Comments: An elderly gentleman has been spotted by several of the workforce, and the company PA heard someone say 'Excuse me' while alone. The building was formally a dynamite factory where several people died in an explosion during the First World War.

Mount Badon

Location: Linlithgow - Boudon Hill, also known as Buden Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This is one of the locations named as the legendary battlefield of Mount Badon, where Arthur fought one of his most important battles.

General Dalyell

Location: Linlithgow - House of the Binns
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A one-time owner of the building, General Dalyell has been seen on horseback on the estate. The seventeenth century commander may return to gloat over his constant poker victories, in which he even beat the Devil himself! A phantom monk has also been reported on site.