69(A.N. I'm going to be telling more ghost stories than legends for a while. Anyway, here's Scotland for cutekittenlady. The last chapter was freakishly long, so don't set that as your standard from now on! :) Anyway, here's the stories of D. Lilias Drummond and Earl Beardy (his real name) in Fyvie and Glamis Castles. Most of the chapter will be in Scotland's point of view, I just don't really want to put in the quote marks)
That's nothing! They're good legends, yes, but we're here to tell ghost stories, dammit! Here's a real ghost story!
Fyvie Castle has been the home of five different Scottish clans. The Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon, and Leith families each added their own unique touches to the castle by erecting new towers, windows, and staircases. The interior features a great wheel stair, a collection of famous portraits and a display of authentic weapons and armament-
"Stop advertising your landmarks and get on with the story, you bleeding git!"
Yeah, yeah little brother... Anyway, when Lady Meldrum of Fyvie died in the 13th century, she requested for her body to be sealed in the wall of a secret room within Meldrum Tower, putting a curse of disaster on anyone who entered the room. During renovations in 1920, workmen reportedly discovered her remains. The ghost of Lady Meldrum, or The Gray Lady, has been seen since. From that day on, the castle has been plagued by strange noises and unexplained happenings.
The happenings could, of course, be credited to the "Green Lady" of Fyvie, D. Lilias Drummond. She is thought to be the wife of Sir Alexander Seton who starved her to death so he could marry her cousin, which he did. On the night of Sir Seton and his new bride's honeymoon, Lilias's ghost started moaning outside their window, and not in the sexy way. It freaked out the bride, but when Alexander went to see what was making the noise, nothing or no-one was there. After getting up twice to see what was the matter, Alexander simply rolled over and covered his head with a pillow. When the couple got up in the morning, the words 'D. Lilias Drummond' had been carved into the stone windowsill three inches high and from the outside. Her name can still be seen today, as if it had been carved yesterday.
Fyvie isn't the only haunted castle, though. There is a feeling of overwhelming sadness when one enters the chapel in Glamis Castle and the sounds of hollowing knocking is sometimes heard. The sadness intensifies around the Grey Lady. She can been seen kneeling in front of the altar praying. She is one of Scottish history's most tragic victims. Over 400 years ago the 6th Lord of Glamis married Janet Douglas. They had one son John. They lived a peaceful and happy life at Glamis until the of death her husband Lord Glamis, in 1528. Lady Janet was born into the Douglas Clan. Her brother was the stepfather of King James V. King James hated his stepfather, obsessed by a deep hatred for anyone who bore the Douglas name, King James would carry out a ruthless vendetta against them. Lady Janet became the center of King James' hatred. Lady Janet no longer had the protection of her marriage to Lord Glamis. King James confiscated Glamis Castle for the crown by accusing Lady Janet of witchcraft and of making deadly potions with which to kill him. No one ever doubted that these accusations were not true, but Lady Janet and her son were imprisoned in the dark dungeons of Edinburgh Castle. Occupying Glamis, King James held court there from 1537 to 1542. Still in existence are many charters and royal decrees from the castle dated from this period. Throwing Lady Janet into prison was easy for King James, but convicting her of his trumped up charge of witchcraft would be difficult. Her character was impeccable, without blemish, and she was very much respected by everyone who knew her. In order to get the testimony he needed to convict her, the King resorted to torture. Her clansmen and servants were put on the rack and stretched to the point of agony. They finally gave false evidence against her. John, her son, who was 16 at the time was forced to watch in horror, before being brutally tortured himself. Using these savage tactics the King got his confessions. Lady Janet was convicted of witchcraft, and she and her son were condemned to death. On July 17, 1537, almost blind from her long imprisonment in the dungeon, Lady Janet Glamis was burned alive at Edinburgh Castle. On lookers fell silent. Lady Janet was a beautiful young woman. An eyewitness of the execution described her suffering with great commiseration. Being in the prime of her years, of singular beauty, she endured her suffering, and although being a woman, with a man like courage. Her innocence was never doubted. It is believed that she was not executed for witchcraft, but for the hatred James V had for her brother. Her son John, the 7th Lord of Glamis was released after King James V died. Parliament restored Glamis back to him. Sadly upon his return to the castle he found that everything of value had been taken by James V. Before his death, it is said King James V had felt remorse for his actions. After Lady Janet's execution the Grey Lady began appearing at the castle. The hollow knocking sound heard is thought to be the hammering of the workmen building the scaffold on which Lady Janet was burned alive. Lady Janet's spirit wanders the castle and can not only be seen in the chapel but above the clock tower as well.
Later, in the 15th century the second Lord of Glamis (known as Earl Beardie for his long, red beard) was an avid card player. Earl Beardie and the Earl of Crawford were playing cards late on a Saturday night. A servant came to remind Earl Beardie that it was nearing midnight, urging them to stop playing. It was sacrilege to gamble on the Sabbath. Lord Glamis ordered the servant out. Five minutes later, the servant came back, once again warning the gambling pair of the time. Lord Glamis shouted for all to hear they would play until Doomsday if they wanted and ordered the servant out of the room. The game continued and at five minutes to midnight the servant again warned his Lord of the time. Earl Beardie said he would play with the Devil himself and ordered the servant out. At the stroke of midnight there was a knock on the door and a tall stranger dressed in black entered asking to join the game. The stranger sat down and placed a handful of rubies on the table. Earl Beardie and Earl Crawford did not object to his company, and there were no inquiries about his identity. Soon after, an argument was heard to erupt between the two Earls. When the servant peered into the room to see what was wrong, he saw the two men engulfed in flames. It is said that Earl Beardie had played cards with the Devil and for gambling on the Sabbath he was condemned to play until Doomsday. His ghost still roams the halls trapped for eternity doomed to return to the room to play cards with the Devil. Sounds of stamping, swearing and dice rattling are heard from the tower where Earl Beardie is said to have cursed God and played with the Devil. Guests staying in the Blue Room have been awakened by a hand brushing against their cheeks. The guests wake up to see the ghostly face of a man with a long beard hovering over them. Is this the restless spirit of Earl Beardie? Only those who have experienced him know the truth.
(A.N. I love ghost stories from the UK... there's so many castles, it'd be a shame if they weren't haunted. Anyway, that's Scotland and next up is Ukraine with Latvia after. I'm not sure if I'll find any ghost stories for Latvia, but if I can't I'll just put up a spooky legend for the Baltic area.)