Ghosts of Castle Fraser
The original Castle Fraser began as a typical Scottish tower house sometime after 1454. In 1575, the castle was converted from a tower house castle into a Z-style castle with the addition of towers at the opposite corners of the central tower house by Michael Fraser, 6th Laird Fraser.
Castle Fraser was home to the Frasers until 1921, when the castle was sold to Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, following the death of Frederick Mackenzie Fraser in 1897, who died childless.
Apart from being attacked and sacked in 1644 by Royalist forces, the castle and its inhabitants have led a relatively peaceful existence. But the castle is still home to a few restless spirits.
As Richard tells the story ...
More Chateau-like than castle-like in appearance, Castle Fraser is an atmospheric building that was begun in 1575 by Michael Fraser, 6th Laird Fraser, and completed in 1636. Its towering grey walls are surrounded by 300 acres of woodland and farmland, and there is a good chance that you have seen it before, even if you never actually visited it – it was featured in some of the scenes in the award-winning film The Queen, starring Helen Mirren in the title role. It is perhaps rather apt, then, that the castle's best-known roaming revenant is reputedly that of a princess.
According to legend – and it should be pointed out that unconfirmed folklore, as opposed to recorded history, is how the story has been passed down through the generations – a princess sleeping in the Green Room of the castle was brutally murdered. The poor girl's body was then dragged unceremoniously down a flight of stone stairs, leaving behind a trail of blood as it bumped from stair to stair. Once the body had been disposed of, the perpetrators attempted to clean up the bloodstains, but, try as they might, they could not scrub them away. Eventually, all they could do was hide the indelible evidence of their infamous act by covering the stone stairs with wooden paneling, which remains in place to this day. However, this hasn't prevented the princess's phantom from roaming the castle's rooms and corridors, chilling the blood and sending shivers down the spines of those who encounter her.
Over the years, there have been reports of much paranormal activity at Castle Fraser. Piano music has been heard echoing from empty rooms, and ghostly whispering has been heard at sundry locations around the property. People working in the kitchen have reported the sound of children laughing and singing, only to be told that there were no children present in the castle at the time.
Castle Fraser is a true gem of a location, and to wander its corridors and rooms is to walk through history. The chance of an encounter with the phantom princess or the ghostly children, whose presences are as much a part of the castle's appeal as any of the exhibits on display, is reason enough to pay it a visit.
- Richard Jones
