The Green Ladies of Crathes Castle
Crathes Castle is known for not one, but two Green Lady ghosts. The story of the first is more famous than the second. The ghost of a young woman carrying a child has regularly been seen in the room now known as 'The Green Lady's Room’. And in the mid-1800s, skeletal remains were found under the hearth in that room.
There are many versions of the story; some stating the bones were a baby's skeleton and a few belonging to an adult female, some stating that the woman in question had been killed by the Laird or the Laird's family as the child was an illegitimate child of his, and one states that the father of the child was in-fact a gillie who worked on the Crathes estate.
There are many versions of the story; some stating the bones were a baby's skeleton and a few belonging to an adult female, some stating that the woman in question had been killed by the Laird or the Laird's family as the child was an illegitimate child of his, and one states that the father of the child was in-fact a gillie who worked on the Crathes estate.
There are some rumours that Queen Victoria herself saw the ghost upon visiting Crathes on her way to Balmoral, but those of us very familiar with the Castle and the ghost stories believe realistically it was in-fact Ishbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair (right) who witnessed the spectre.
The second Green Lady, sometimes known as the White Lady, is believed to be Bertha de Bernard. Bertha’s ghost has been seen walking towards the castle on the anniversary of her death. Her unfortunate passing is attributed to the mother of Alexander Burnett, a previous Laird of Crathes, and a man that Bertha had fallen in love with. Out of jealousy and disapproval, it is believed that Lady Agnes (the Laird’s mother) poisoned Bertha at a banquet she hosted to mark the safe return of her sons travels. Contributed by Kyla Hislop |