Hauntings at the Penkaet Castle in Scotland

The Penkaet Castle in Scotland has its fair share of hauntings and is the home of not only one ghost, but several with its story of witchcraft, murder and royalty.

Whether it’s a creaking door in an old castle or a cold chill down your spine in an abandoned building, many Scots have experienced paranormal activity during this festive season. As we explore Scotland’s age-old legends and curious customs this Christmas, let us not forget to look out for its ghosts too.

Penkaet Castle is a historic castle located in the Scottish Borders that is also known as Fountainhall near Haddington in Lothian, Scotland. The castle dates back to the 16th century and was originally built as a tower house by the Ker family. Over the years, the castle has been expanded and renovated, and today it stands inside in a walled garden as a magnificent example of Scottish architecture.

It also stands as a haunted castle and many have claimed to have heard screams and moans from voices in the corners and things being moved without any living having been there.

History of Penkaet Castle

The Ker family were a prominent Scottish family who owned Penkaet Castle for many years. The castle was built in the 16th century as a tower house, and was expanded over the years to include additional wings and a courtyard. The castle was used as a residence for the Kers until the 18th century, when it was sold to the Pringles.

Penkaet Castle, also known as Fountainhall, is a fine old tower and mansion, long held by the Lauder family, located in a pretty spot near Pencaitland in East Lothian in southeast Scotland. — **Penkaet Castle:** The castle pictured from 1898 in Pencaitland in East Lothian in Scotland. It has several ghost stories attached to it.

The Pringles were another prominent Scottish family, and they continued to use the castle as a residence until the 20th century. During this time, the castle was renovated and updated to include modern amenities, such as electricity and running water. The castle was eventually sold to a private owner in the 1960s, and today it is a private residence.

Ghost of the Beggar that Cursed the Castle

One of the ghosts said to haunt the halls is the spirit of Alexander Hamilton. He was a beggar that was accused of witchcraft after the lady of the house, Lady Ormison and her eldest daughter died of a mysterious illness.

It was believed that Alexander Hamilton had cursed them both after he was thrown off their property when he came to beg and had to go back empty handed.

Because of how they had cruelly turned him away, it is said he returned and bound the gates with blue thread, which was some form of witchcraft he had used to kill the two women.

Two days later the woman who turned him away died together with her daughter. An arrest order was put on Hamilton and he was caught and convicted. For this he was executed in Edinburgh on Castle Hill.

Read Also: He is not the only convicted and executed on Castle. Read more about this is: Edinburgh Castle Ghosts and Legends and our stories about Witches

After his death, the ghost of Alexander Hamilton has been reported being seen close to the castle, perhaps vengeful of the family that sent him to his death and returned to the place of the crime. Question is, whose crime? His, or those who accused him for something like that?

The Murdered John Cockburn

A ghostly banging on the doors, moving of the furniture and strange footsteps are also thought to be the ghost of John Cockburn that once belonged in the house that har haunted by his bad conscience and then in turn, haunting the Penkaet Castle.

According to the legend, he killed his relative, John Deton and because of his bad conscience over what he did, he is still haunting the castle today. And people who have lived in the castle were often disturbed by a strange sound of something being dragged along over the floor.

He has also been seen as the ghost of a man coming out from one of the cupboards and walking across the room before vanishing through the wall.

When this was supposed to have happened is unsure, but it is said that a Sir George Cockburn of Ormiston sold the castle and the rest of the land to the Pringill family in 1635, so it must have been before this probably.

The Ghost in the Fireplace

Sir Andrew Lauder’s family owned the estate from the end of the 1600s up to 1922. He claimed to have seen something that looked like a ghost upstairs by the fireplace when he was a child.

He remembered the incident all the way through adulthood and thought the ghosts might have been one of his ancestors of the Lauder family.

The Christmas Hauntings at Penkaet Castle

The legends about the castle being haunted really started getting attention when Professor Holbourn and his wife bought the Penkaet Castle in 1923.

Many of the ghost stories from the room they called King Charles Bedroom comes from them, their family and the guests that had to stay the night at Penkaet Castle.

It was said to have been haunted all year around, but there is in particular one Christmas in 1923, the Holbourn family remembered when a piece of wood carved with the family crest. They all saw it move on its own leaning away from the wall. It paused for a little moment before it returned to were it would be. Whatever happened that christmas is uncertain, but it led them to believe that the place was most definitely haunted.

The Haunted Bed of King Charles I

One of the rooms said to have an extra touch of hauntings is the room that has a bed King Charles I used. The bed is decorated with a copy of his death mask that was given to the owners in 1923 by his students.

The Penkaet Castle in Scotland has its fair share of hauntings and is the home of not only one ghost, but several with its story of witchcraft, murder and royalty. — **The King Haunting the Bed:** One of the bed in Penkaet Castle *they think is haunted with the death mask of King Charles I on one of the bed posts.*

The story goes that the maid of the house would notice that the bedclothes of the bed would be found like if someone had slept in the bed, even though she knew very well no one hadn’t. The bed itself would move around in the room and sometimes people even claimed to have heard noises coming from the bed as if someone was actually sleeping there.

In 1924 there was a guest coming to the castle that was put up in the room with the bed. When they entered it, the bed was already a mess, even though the housekeeper knew she had tidied the bed just moments before showing the guest in.