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Duntrune Castle

Duntrune Castle is situated in an area of outstanding historic interest, north of a line between Lochgilphead and Crinan. Any visitors to the area are rewarded by numerous historical sites and prehistoric mounds and dwelling places going back to the Stone Age - all set in one of the most scenic parts of Scotland.

At the time of this story, Duntrune Castle was occupied by one of the many branches of the Campbell family. Both the Campbell and the MacDonald families had long periods of hegemony in Argyll and the west of Scotland. The MacDonalds are the oldest of the Scottish clans and Somhairle (Somerled) became Thane of Argyle in the 12th century. Duncan Campbell of Lochow, who became Lord Campbell in 1445, was the ancestor of the Dukes of Argyll. When neither family had predominance they were usually fighting each other in order to gain it. So, it is against this background of bitter friction between the two families, going back centuries, that this story is told.

In 1615, the MacDonalds decided to attack the Campbells at their seat in Duntrune Castle but before their venture they decided to reconnoitre the situation. In those times pipers had a special place in society and they were welcomed without question into any substantial household and given free board and hospitality in return for a little music. The MacDonalds attempted to use this custom to their advantage no doubt in defiance of the accepted code of conduct then current. They sent their best and most loyal piper to Duntrune Castle to survey its defences. All went well with this plan for a while, until the piper raised the suspicions of his hosts with too many detailed questions about clan numbers staying at the castle and the fortifications.

The Campbells at last realised that the piper was not all that he seemed and imprisoned him in one of the towers. The MacDonalds watched for the piper's return, but eventually became impatient with waiting and decided to go ahead and attack. From his cell window, overlooking the sea loch, the piper could see his there had been many previous sightings of him in that room. He might have told her before! Although it is not recorded whether Winston Churchill ever saw the ghost in one of his many stays at the White House, it is known that he did not like to sleep in Lincoln's room and often moved across the hall during the night to another chamber.

There is also an interesting, if rather suspect story, surrounding the transportation of Lincoln's body from Washington to his resting place in Illinois. The body was loaded onto a train in such a way that it could be displayed to the many mourners that lined the track at various suitable vantage points along the way. It stopped for eight minutes at each station. The story goes that a ghost of the train passes the same way each year. The original story, if true, has suffered from apparent over-embellishment in that it was reported that the train was manned by skeletal musicians and blue-coated men with coffins on their backs, and the clocks stopped for eight minutes. Female Ghost | Green Lady | Lauder | Aberdeenshire | Angus | Barcaldine | Barcaldine | Birmingham | Bishop Cameron | Bladnoch | Braemar | Carlow | Doncaster | Dublin | Dumfriesshire | Dundee | Essex | Female Ghost | Ghost | Goatfell mountain | Green Lady | Green Lady | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Kent | Leap | Loch Fyne | Nairn | Pontefract castle | River Tyne | Scotland | Scotland | Scotland | Shropshire | Southeastern Ireland | Sussex | The female ghost | Witchcraft |