Edinburg Castle: A Castle with a Glorious History and a Haunted Mystery
The history of Scotland is closely tied to one of its most grand Castle of all time, The Edinburgh Castle. It is very closely intertwined with the history of Edinburgh itself. The Scottish have always prided themselves to be the strongest soldiers, and the Edinburgh Castle certainly shows their might. It is the pride of the Scottish.
History:
Edinburgh is one of the oldest fortified places in Europe. With a rich history as a royal residence, military garrison, prison, and fortress, it is certainly alive with many exciting tales. The castle sits proudly upon a castle rock, a 700-million-year-old extinct volcano.
In the 12th century, the Castle was constructed by David I, the prince of Cumbrians and later, the king of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The Castle has witnessed many bloody encounters, the first major battle being fought in 1296, following King Edward I invasion of Scotland which sparked the first war of Scottish Independence.
However, England’s hold over this strategic fortress was anything but consistent. In the succeeding years, the Edinburgh castle witnessed further attempts by both England and Scotland to wrest control of the castle, which ultimately led to irrecoverable damages of the castle’s structure.
The Edinburgh Castle, in all its majestic glory, dominates the skyline of Scotland. However, what captivates the visitors is not its glorious structure but rather its haunted mystery. Though the Castle stands magnificently between the sea and the hills, parts of the Castle are more than 900 years old, they have witnessed many horror and deaths.
The cells of the Ancient dungeon are doomed to be forever the eternal resting place of many vengeful ghosts. It is the site of many uncounted deaths. Numerous areas of the Edinburgh Castle are haunted by the unfortunate victims of the Black Plague.
They were sealed and locked in the Subterranean Vaults of the Castle and were left to spend the rest of their lives suffering, in that closed space.
Frequent visitors of the castle have reported various sightings of a phantom piper, a headless drummer, and even a ghost of a dog wandering the ground’s dog cemetery. The Castle is known as the most haunted and spookiest castle of Scotland.
It is not a surprise since Edinburgh itself is well-known as the haunted city in all of Europe. It is said that the spirits of French prisoners, the victims of the Seven Year War and the colonial Prisoners of the American Revolutionary War, live to haunt all its visitors.
Paranormal Investigations:
Many paranormal investigations were conducted by experts from April 1 to April 16, 2001. They were left horrified by their findings in the above places. They found that upon entering into Castle, they would be a sudden drop in the temperature and ghostly shadows.
Often, unseen forces would touch their faces and tug at their clothes. One of them even reported a burning sensation on their arms. Though the group wandered the Castle alone, they always felt an eerie sensation of being watched.
Similar investigations were conducted by Dr Richard Wiseman, as a part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. He chose around 240 volunteers to investigate the various haunted areas of the castle. He specifically handpicked those volunteers who had no knowledge of the Castle’s haunted reputation.
He wanted to keep the investigation as scientific as possible. The volunteers, who belonged to various countries, were led in a group of ten through many spooky sites such as the creepy dungeons and chambers. While other volunteers were led to the least haunted areas of the Castle.
Despite having no prior knowledge of the Castle’s haunted souls, all the volunteers reported sights of a ghostly presence. They came prepared with various Ghostbuster equipment and temperature probes, to capture the presence of the Castle’s ghostly residents. Each of the volunteers were left scared out of their wits by their findings.
There were reports of a ghost in a leather apron who is known to haunt those very same locations. One of the volunteers, a young woman was even locked in one of the chambers to determine the presence of ghosts.
Cameras were placed to observe her experience. The cameras managed to capture a few anomalies such as dark spots and strange fogging. Unfortunately, the girl was left traumatized and even burst into tears upon exiting the chamber.
All these experiments were conducted to prove that the existence of ghosts in the Castle was a myth. Dr. Wiseman, though apprehensive of the results, reported that the volunteers only experienced the paranormal feelings only in those areas which were known to be haunted.
Despite their lack of knowledge of the ghosts, they were left spooked by their experience. Various Scientists are also looking into the abnormal occurrences that seem to scare everyone who enters its gate.
Out of all its places, the Ancient Dungeon is the most haunted place where a high level of paranormal activity is found. It is plagued with souls of all the prisoners who were mistreated and left malnourished. No wonder, the dungeon has a horrific past.
Many of the prisoners were tortured to death. It is said that one of the prisoners managed to escape. He escaped by burying himself in a dung barrow, however, his plan failed when the workers dumped the contents of the dung barrow down a steep hill.
Till date, his ghost makes himself known by pushing unsuspecting victims down the very same hill. His presence is marked by a very strong smell of dung.
Conclusion:
The paranormal tales of the Edinburgh Castle are endless. The deeper one wanders down its walls, the more ghosts they are bound to meet. No one has ever left the Castle without encountering at least one ghostly presence.
Yet, despite its ghostly nature, its majestic structure is more than enough to compensate for its ghostly inhabitants. It is indeed a castle of dreams.
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