Ghost Picture - Tantallon Castle
In May 2008, Christopher Aitchison toured Tantallon Castle in Scotland and took several photographs of the castle. One has recently gained some attention. He captured a figure staring down from the Scottish ruins wearing what appears to be greenish ruffs. But is it a ghost?
Tantallon Castle was built in the 1350s by the Earls of Fife. It later passed to William, the 1st Earl of Douglas. For 300 years, the Douglas earls of Angus was one of the most powerful families in Scotland. In 1639, Tantallon was seized by the convenanters. Almost twenty years later, it was attacked by General Monck on behalf of Cromwell, and surrendered after 12 days of bombardment by Monck's cannons. It was left to ruin after this, and eventually sold to the Dalrymples in 1699. Dalrymples descendant left the castle to the UK Government's Office of Works in 1924 and is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Tantallon Castle has a bloody past. That doesn't mean it's haunted. The photo in question was released to the public after Aitchison sent it to Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He solicited "photographic evidence of ghosts" for the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Some believe the castle's stonework may be the cause of the "figure". Or an actual person wearing a period costume though the staff claims no one was in the castle on that day. Some have suggested the figure is the ghost of King James V of Scotland.
If you have any theories about the photo or have some of your own, contact Richard Wiseman.
Tantallon Castle was built in the 1350s by the Earls of Fife. It later passed to William, the 1st Earl of Douglas. For 300 years, the Douglas earls of Angus was one of the most powerful families in Scotland. In 1639, Tantallon was seized by the convenanters. Almost twenty years later, it was attacked by General Monck on behalf of Cromwell, and surrendered after 12 days of bombardment by Monck's cannons. It was left to ruin after this, and eventually sold to the Dalrymples in 1699. Dalrymples descendant left the castle to the UK Government's Office of Works in 1924 and is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Tantallon Castle has a bloody past. That doesn't mean it's haunted. The photo in question was released to the public after Aitchison sent it to Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He solicited "photographic evidence of ghosts" for the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Some believe the castle's stonework may be the cause of the "figure". Or an actual person wearing a period costume though the staff claims no one was in the castle on that day. Some have suggested the figure is the ghost of King James V of Scotland.
If you have any theories about the photo or have some of your own, contact Richard Wiseman.
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