Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Fairies, castles and curses might sound like elements from a fantasy novel, but are actually elements of the mysterious happenings of Fyvie Castle in Scotland.
One part of the legends surrounding centuries-old Fyvie Castle begins in 1220, with the birth of a poet named Thomas Learmont of Ercledoune. As a young man, so the story goes, Thomas was out for a walk and stopped to rest and fell asleep for three years. During this time, his spirit was swept off to the land of Enchantment, where he became the lover of the Queen of the Fairies. She bestowed upon him the gift of prophecy and returned him to our world with the promis that when she beckoned, he would immediately return.
The gift of prophecy allowed him to "see" the future, and he went on to predict things such as the death of King Alexander in 1296 and the Union of Crowns in 1603, making him Scotland's version of Nostradamus.
During his journeys, he happened upon Fyvie Castle as one of towers were being built. Amongst the materials were three stones taken from a nearby church. His sight, which is now considered a curse upon the castle, told him that no eldest son would ever inherit the property, and would rather meet with death first, as long as those three stones stayed at Fyvie.
It would seem that Thomas the Rhymer, as history has come to know him, was correct in his vision, for in all the years since 1433, no eldest son has ever inherited Fyvie.
There's no record of Thomas' death. It would appear that the Queen beckoned for his return, since one day, he simply vanished.
The stones are still at the castle. One is laid in the same tower's foundation, remaining forever dry while the others around it are wet. The second, the weeping stone, is on display in a large basin to collect the large amounts of water that come from it. The third is rumored to rest at the bottom of a nearby river, but it's precise whereabouts are unknown.
It's the perfect setting for strange occurences and Fyvie Castle is no stranger to ghosts. The Green Lady continues to make appearances, coming from the Haunted Chamber, roaming the halls, and returning to the same room again.
Many believe she is Lady Lilias Drummond who died on May 8, 1601. She was the first wife of Lord Alexander Seton, who remarried just six short months after death, to a woman named Lady Grizel Leslie, whom he'd been having an affair with prior to his wife's death. Apparently, he longed for an heir, a son, and decided to double his chances, resulting in Lady Drummond dying in despair and grief.
On October 27, 1601, Lord Seton and his new bride went to bed, only to be plagued by strange noises all night. In the morning, upon looking out the window, Lord Seton found the name D Lilias Drummond etched deeply into the rock beneath the window. The name faced out, so it was upside down to him, looking out the window above it, which wouldn't be such a miraculous feat, except that they were on an upper floor. One on the outside would be several hundred feet in the air to make such an etching, which, by the way, is still visible today.
