Oh Geesh....Another Castle!
Posted by Leonard And Me , 7.19.2018 3:56 PM
Honestly, we were not looking forward to another castle tour today. It has been a long slog through Scotland so far. The west coast was quite scenic, but the misty weather and quite a few long bus rides have dampered our spirits. Fortunately, we begin hitting a few spots on the east coast today towards Edinburgh and hopefully the new scenery will cheer us up!
Welcome to ANOTHER castle....Glamis Castle!
I have yet to tour a castle that I would want to live in.....until today! The outside grounds and landscapes at this place were beautiful. The rooms throughout the castle were stylish and warm (as opposed to the cold, museum-type rooms at most castles). This place even has a MAN CAVE! The only thing preventing me from moving right in....is the fact that Glamis Castle is considered the most haunted castle in Scotland.
One of the more infamous ghosts of Glamis Castle is that of Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, also known as Earl Beardie. He was supposedly a cruel and twisted man who drank heavily.
Legend goes, he was visiting the castle one Sunday night and upon returning to his room, he was shouting in a drunken rage for someone to come and play cards with him. Nobody wanted to take him up on his offer on a Sabbath, so he finally raged he’d play the Devil himself. Shortly after...there was a knock at the door. It was a tall gentleman in a long dark coat, and he asked if Earl Beardie still needed someone to play cards with. The Earl agreed to play the man, and they retired to a room in the castle, slammed the door shut, and proceeded to play cards into the night.
There was lots of swearing and shouting coming from the room which could be heard throughout the castle. One of the servants apparently looked through the keyhole out of curiosity to see what all the commotion was about, only to be blinded in one eye by a bright beam of light shining through. The Earl heard the servant outside the door and scolded him for spying. When he headed back to the room, the man who was believed to be the Devil had gone, along with the Earl’s soul. He’s said to still be playing cards, apparently in a secret room in the castle. His shouts have been reported throughout the castle to this day.
There was lots of swearing and shouting coming from the room which could be heard throughout the castle. One of the servants apparently looked through the keyhole out of curiosity to see what all the commotion was about, only to be blinded in one eye by a bright beam of light shining through. The Earl heard the servant outside the door and scolded him for spying. When he headed back to the room, the man who was believed to be the Devil had gone, along with the Earl’s soul. He’s said to still be playing cards, apparently in a secret room in the castle. His shouts have been reported throughout the castle to this day.
Another haunted feature of the castle resides in the small 46-seat chapel. One seat in the chapel is always reserved for the "White Lady" (supposedly a ghost which inhabits the castle), thought to be Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis. According to the tour guides, the chapel is still used regularly for family functions, but no one is allowed to sit in that seat.
Two other interesting facts in regards to this castle, 1.) In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1603–06), the eponymous character resides at Glamis Castle, and 2.) Of the 95 paintings in the chapel, the most prized is a Jacob de Wet (dated 1688) depicting Jesus Christ wearing a hat in disguise as a gardener. The only other painting of Christ ever wearing a hat is on display at the Vatican.
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