'Most haunted' castle turns back on paranormal

'Most haunted' castle turns back on paranormal
September 28, 2009
STV.com

Glamis Castle, believed to be the most haunted in Scotland, is to turn away ghost-hunters in a bid to rebuild its "image", it emerged on Monday.

Marketing chiefs at the castle, which is the ancestral home of the Earls of Strathmore and the Queen Mother's childhood home, intend to rebrand the building as a family-friendly visitor attraction and promote its royal credentials instead of emphasising its spookiness.

The castle, near Forfar, Angus, is widely regarded among paranormal investigators as one of Britain's most haunted buildings. Spectres are said to include the Grey Lady, who prowls the chapel, a tongueless female phantom, and the ghost of Earl Beardie, condemned to play cards with the Devil until Doomsday for breaking the sanctity of the Sabbath.

Previously the castle has played on its supernatural reputation, hosting ITV's All Fright on the Night, a ghost-hunt presented by Uri Geller, the Israeli-born spoon-bender and paranormal showman.

But now castle bosses say they want "nothing to do" with the castle's paranormal reputation.

David Adams, the castle's general manager, said: "We don't encourage ghost-hunters, we don't encourage ghost-hunting TV programmes and we certainly don't encourage people who want to come in and do overnight stays to try to locate ghosts.

"We don't want anything to do with that. If you happen to believe that stuff, that's fine, but we don't. There are various myths and legends surrounding the castle but they are just that. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there are any supernatural beings in the castle."

Mark Turner of Ghost Finders Scotland, a paranormal research group, said he was astonished by the castle's new stance.

He added: "Glamis' reputation as the most haunted castle in Scotland is its unique selling point. Publicly announcing there are no ghosts at Glamis is like people in the Highlands saying there's no monster in Loch Ness."