Borthwick Castle

Borthwick Castle stands as one of Scotland’s finest and largest surviving medieval fortresses, its massive twin-towered keep rising 110 feet above the Midlothian countryside. Built in 1430 for Sir William Borthwick, the castle has survived virtually intact through nearly 600 years of Scottish history, weathering sieges, religious warfare, and political upheaval. Its most dramatic moment came in June 1567, when Mary, Queen of Scots and her new husband, the Earl of Bothwell, sought refuge here from rebel lords who opposed their controversial marriage. It was to be the last night the doomed couple would spend together, and Mary’s ghost has haunted the castle ever since, forever reliving those desperate hours.

Mary and Bothwell arrived at Borthwick Castle on June 7, 1567, just one month after their hasty Protestant wedding, which had scandalized Scotland and Europe. Bothwell was suspected of murdering Mary’s previous husband, Lord Darnley, and the queen’s decision to marry her husband’s alleged killer had turned most of Scotland’s nobility against her. Within days of their arrival, an army of rebel lords surrounded Borthwick Castle, demanding Bothwell surrender and calling Mary a harlot. The couple spent their final night together in the castle, planning their escape. In the early hours of June 12, Mary famously disguised herself as a man and escaped through the castle gate while Bothwell slipped away separately. They would meet briefly once more, but within weeks, Bothwell fled into exile and Mary was imprisoned—beginning the long imprisonment that would end with her execution twenty years later.

Mary’s ghost haunts the room where she spent that final night with Bothwell—a chamber on the upper floor of the keep, now known as the Queen’s Room. She appears as a young woman in 16th-century dress, sometimes in the male disguise she wore for her escape, sometimes in more elegant attire. Witnesses describe her as appearing distressed and agitated, moving about the room as if preparing to flee or leave quickly. Some have seen her standing at the window, gazing out toward the countryside as if watching for approaching enemies or the dawn that would force her final departure.

The ghost is most active around the anniversary of her June stay and on the anniversary of her execution in February. During these times, staff and guests at the castle (which now operates as a hotel) report increased paranormal activity: footsteps in empty corridors, doors opening and closing by themselves, and the sensation of a female presence in the Queen’s Room. Some guests have reported waking in the night to see a woman in period dress standing near the window or the door, watching them with an expression of profound sadness before fading from view.

Audio phenomena accompany the visual manifestations. The sound of urgent whispering in Scots—as if conspirators are making desperate plans—has been heard in the Queen’s Room and on the stone staircases. The rustle of heavy fabric, as if someone is moving quickly in long skirts or a cloak, echoes through the corridors when no one is there. Most poignantly, some witnesses have reported hearing a woman weeping softly in the chamber, the sound of a queen mourning the loss of her last chance at happiness and freedom.

Additional paranormal activity includes phantom sounds of horses in the courtyard (possibly connected to the arrival of the rebel lords’ forces), cold spots that move through the castle despite modern heating, and an overwhelming atmosphere of tension and sadness in certain areas. Objects in the Queen’s Room occasionally move overnight—pictures tilting, items shifting position on tables—as if an invisible presence is still occupying the space. Some guests have reported feeling touched on the shoulder or arm by invisible hands, gentle touches as if someone is trying to get their attention.

The castle’s great hall, where Mary and Bothwell would have dined during their brief stay, sometimes emanates the smell of period cooking and the faint sound of conversation, as if the castle is replaying that last troubled meal. The main staircase occasionally echoes with footsteps rushing downward, possibly Mary’s ghost re-enacting her desperate flight to freedom. Borthwick Castle’s haunting is notable for its specificity—this is not a generic castle ghost, but the spirit of one of history’s most famous and tragic queens, forever bound to the place where her last hope of happiness ended and her long journey to execution began.