With the spooky season upon us and the witching hour drawing near, what could be more fitting than ghost stories? In my first year at university, I joined a tour around the ‘spookiest’ sites in Aberdeen, many of which were on campus! They still haunt me to this day and when better to share them than on the lead up to Halloween?
Ma Cameron’s
Ma Cameron’s is believed to be the oldest pub in Aberdeen, dating back to at least 300 years. It is no surprise then that it is also home to a few spirits, and I don’t mean the ones behind the bar! In the snug— the oldest part of the pub— employees claim to see the beer tap turn on when nobody is around, paired with the sense of being watched. A painter and decorator once described hearing knocking from the ceiling, yet the room above was empty and locked. He knocked on the ceiling three times, and received three sinister knocks in return- understandably causing him to flee in fear!
The Caretaker’s Ghost
I’m aware of the many different versions of this story as inevitable overtime through storytelling, however I will recite the one I was told on my first tour of campus. A man, known as ‘Downie’, was a caretaker for the University of Aberdeen. He was a mean man, grumpy and rude, and always berating the students. One night, the students had had enough. Dressed in black cloaks, they kidnapped Downie, pretending to execute him simply because of his nasty ways. The students scared Downie to the point of a heart attack and he died on the spot. It is said that Downie still haunts the corridors and classrooms of the university, looking for students to enact his revenge upon what happened to him that fateful night.
Castle Fraser
Castle Fraser is one of the grandest tower houses in Scotland, and one with lots of spooky history. Tales of whispers and laughter from empty rooms and dark hallways run amok in this place. It is said to be haunted by the spirit of a princess, who was murdered during her sleep in the Green Room. As the killers dragged her bloodied body away, it stained the floors to such an extent that the staircase was covered over with wooden panels, a sight that can still be seen today along with her ghost that roams the grounds. Undoubtedly, not the happily ever after she would have wanted!
Twice Buried Mary
James and Mary Elphinstone were newlyweds, sweethearts since childhood. Upon their marriage, Mary received the biggest diamond ring the citizens of Inverurie had ever reported seeing. Unfortunately, a week after their honeymoon, Mary was pronounced dead by the local doctor after a period of sickness. She was buried in her wedding dress and diamond ring, but when rumours spread of local graverobbers intending to sell Mary’s corpse to the anatomy schools at Kings and Marischal Colleges–as well as pawning the ring– James and his friend dug up her coffin, opened the lid and cut off her finger containing the ring. Shockingly, blood began to flow from the severed stump and Mary sat upright screaming. The men fled with terror, leaving poor Mary to make her own way home. Upon reaching her home, Mary pounded on the door, shouting the name of her love. Though at first he couldn’t believe his eyes, Mary and James Elphinstone lived the rest of their lives happily together. Visitors to the cemetery in Inverurie are warned that they may hear knocking coming from underground, the ghost of Twice Buried Mary trying to escape her coffin. Though this story is most likely fictional, it represents the real fears people had of grave robbers during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Are you brave enough to visit any of these sites at night?
