Glamis Castle, Strathmore, Scotland

The castle has been known since XV century, but it wasn't actually a castle at that time, but only a hunting lodge. The castle itself was built only in XVII century. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother was born and grew up here. The Glamis castle is a very beautiful place with gorgeous Dutch and Italian gardens, antique furniture and rare works of art. The dining room is furnished in XIX century style, the library contain very rare and precious books.

Despite all this luxury the castle is quite scary in the evening. Like any other castle in the United Kingdom the Glamis castle has its ghosts too. The natives say that one can find many different ghosts here. It all started in 1372 when King Malcolm II of Scotland was killed by his rebellious vassals. The parquet was steep by his blood, and the blood blot can still be seen. Now the King's ghost often appears here. Another spectrum inhabited the castle in 1466. The legend says that in XV century there were two warring clans - Ogilvy and Lindsay. Once the English attacked the Ogilvy mansion, and the women of the clan looked for a shelter in the Glamis castle that belonged to the Lindsays. However the owner of the castle Kevin Lindsay was a wicked and subtle person, who made use of the ladies' defenselessness, locked them in the attic and made them starve to death. The unconfessed souls of those miserables still wander around the castle. In XVII century the castle passed to the Strathmore count, which was known for his love for drunken debauches and card games. Once he started playing cards on Saturday evening. Sometime in the middle of the card game servants reminded him that Sunday was approaching and it didn't befit a Christian to play cards on such a day, but he said that he wouldn't leave the table even if the Devil himself appeared there. At the midnight lightning struck and the Satan appeared and said that they have lost their souls to him and are obliged to play cards till the Second Advent. The voices of the Strathmore count and his friends are often heard in the playing room from then on.

The aura of the castle is so ominous that it inspired Shakespeare to describe the scene of King Duncan's murder in one of the rooms.

By Sona Gasparian, www.building.am