Moon Mausoleum
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
Up in the wild Scottish Highlands, inside the dark Rothiemurchus Forest it is said that the ghost of the Great Shaw warrior, Seath Mor is ready to challenge everyone passing […]
Up in the wild Scottish Highlands, inside the dark Rothiemurchus Forest it is said that the ghost of the Great Shaw warrior, Seath Mor is ready to challenge everyone passing for a final duel to show your bravery.
In the Scottish Highlands close to Aviemore in Inverness-shire, the dark Forest of Rothiemurchus stands as a silent witness to centuries of history and folklore and is a remnant of the ancient Caledonian Forest in Scotland.
Sir David Attenborough once called the Rothiemurchus Forest, One of the glories of wild Scotland. Beyond its verdant canopy and ancient trees lie tales of spectral encounters and haunted legends of the highlands.
The most well known ghost story from the depths of Rothiemurchus Forest is about the 14th-century tribal chief of the Clan Shaw, Seath Mor Sgorfhiaclach, meaning Bucktooth.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Forests around the world.
He was known as a good warrior, with a twisted smile that would scare everyone. He was also called The Great Shaw by his contemporaries, was also 6 feet tall and even his own people feared him according to the legends.
It is said that he is still haunting the Rothiemurchus Forest. As legend has it, those who venture into the woods may chance upon his ghostly apparition, still ready for battle it seems. Seath Mor, adorned in the vestiges of a bygone era, allegedly challenges unsuspecting walkers to a spectral duel of bravery.
According to local lore, those who stand their ground and accept the spectral challenge are granted safe passage through the forest’s depths. But those who succumb to fear and attempt to flee are condemned to an eternal wandering within the shadowy embrace of Rothiemurchus and they are never heard from again.
Out of the woods of Rothiemurchus Forest you will find the Old Doune Church Burial ground in the kirkyard of St. Tuchaldus and Seath Mor’s grave who is rumored to be cursed for anyone who dares tamper with it.
At the grave it reads: “Victor at the battle of Perth in 1396”, a battle where only he was left alive and that helped carve his legacy as a fearsome warrior. Some people even leave the grave a couple of coins for protection.
Five stones rest upon Seath Mor’s tomb found close to the Doune of Rothiemurchus, possibly symbolic of the comrades who fell alongside him in battle. They are certainly put there to protect the grave and Seath Mor’s soul.
Tampering with these stones is deemed a reckless act, tempting fate itself and it is said that many have fallen ill or even died from touching them. They will feel the wrath of the Shaw Clan’s guardian spirit, an elf-like spirit or a familiar called Bodach of Gealic folklore. Bodach is a Duin, a goblin of the Doune. Although mostly acting like a boogeyman in folklore, the Bodach an Duin is its protector.
It is said that it happened once in the early 19th century, and a man that stole a center stone from the grave threw it into the River Spey. He was apparently a footman set to protect the graveyard from body snatchers. He wanted to prove to everyone that the curse was nonsense. Four days later the stone was back and the man was found dead, floating down the river four days later.
In the 1940s, it is said that a journalist lifted one of the stones over his head, only to die in a car crash a couple of hours after he did it.
In 1978 a Mr Leslie Walker and his two friends were working in the graveyard when Mr. Walker touched the stones to show it to his friends. He told the story to Aberdeen Evening Press where he fell ill with a mysterious disease right after and had a temperature of almost 40 degrees. He had to spend the next 6 weeks in hospital.
His friend did the same and joined Mr Walker with the same mysterious illness, suffering stomach pains after identifying the last friend who was even more unlucky.
The friend was not so fortunate though as he was found dead the following day in the graveyard after he rearranged the stones. He died after a cerebral hemorrhage.
In any case, the stones kept getting stolen, and curse or not, they decided to do something to the grave after the stones were missing for two weeks before returning.
To safeguard this ancient resting place, a wrought-iron cage was erected in the 1980s, standing as both a physical barrier and a metaphysical deterrent against the restless spirit that dwells within.
As sunlight filters through the towering trees of Rothiemurchus Forest, the legends of Seath Mor linger like shadows among the ancient roots, ready to challenge any wanderers for another battle.
The wrought-iron cage on his grave, though a symbol of protection, also hints at the delicate balance between preserving history and allowing the spirits of the past to weave their tales within the heart of Rothiemurchus.
The Cursed Grave of Seath Mor Sgorfhiaclach
Loch An Eilein (and Seath Mor’s cursed grave) – Tartan Trailblazers
Mysterious Grave of the “Great Shaw” – Bagtown Clans
