Hailes Castle

Hailes Castle occupies a romantic position on the banks of the River Tyne in East Lothian, its red sandstone ruins rising from riverside meadows surrounded by ancient trees. Originally built in the 13th century by the Hepburn family, who later became Earls of Bothwell, the castle served as both fortress and comfortable residence. Its most historically significant moment came in 1567 when James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, brought Mary, Queen of Scots here after abducting her, possibly with her consent, before their controversial marriage. The castle’s paranormal activity centers on two distinct hauntings: spectral monks connected to the castle’s chapel, and a mysterious lady in white whose identity remains unknown.

The castle originally included a chapel dedicated to St. Mary, and the substantial remains of this chapel still stand within the castle complex. Multiple witnesses over the decades have reported hearing the sound of monks chanting vespers and matins echoing from the chapel ruins, particularly at dawn and dusk. The chanting is described as beautiful but otherworldly, sung in Latin with a quality that seems to come from another time entirely. The phenomenon occurs most frequently during traditional Catholic feast days and holy days, suggesting the phantom monks are maintaining a liturgical calendar that ended centuries ago at the Reformation.

Some visitors have reported seeing robed figures moving through the chapel area, their forms semi-transparent, appearing to perform rituals at an altar that no longer exists. One witness described seeing a group of five or six monks processing from the chapel toward the castle’s great hall, walking in solemn silence with their heads bowed, before the entire procession faded from view near the entrance to the hall. The connection between these phantom monks and the castle’s history is uncertain—they may be connected to a religious house that once had ties to the Hepburns, or they may represent the castle’s own chaplains, forever performing their sacred duties.

The White Lady of Hailes appears in a different part of the castle, most frequently near the eastern tower and along the riverbank. She manifests as a woman in a flowing white gown or robe, her face often obscured or turned away from observers. Various theories attempt to identify her: some believe she is a Hepburn daughter who died young, others suggest she is connected to Mary, Queen of Scots’ brief and troubled stay at the castle, while another tradition identifies her as a servant girl who drowned in the River Tyne during a flood while trying to escape the castle during a raid.

The White Lady’s appearances are accompanied by an atmosphere of profound sadness. Witnesses describe feeling overwhelmed with melancholy when encountering her, and some have reported being moved to tears without understanding why. She has been seen walking along the riverbank as if searching for something lost in the water, standing at windows in the eastern tower gazing toward the hills, and once memorably, kneeling in what would have been the great hall, her hands clasped as if in prayer or supplication.

Additional paranormal phenomena at Hailes include the sound of horses’ hooves in the courtyard when no horses are present, phantom music played on medieval instruments, and sudden drops in temperature in the former great hall. The castle’s dungeon, a grim pit carved from bedrock, emanates an oppressive atmosphere that many visitors find unbearable. Lights have been seen moving through the ruins at night when the castle is closed and empty, and local residents occasionally report seeing figures in period dress walking the grounds near the castle before vanishing. The combination of monastic chanting, the mysterious White Lady, and the castle’s connection to one of Scottish history’s most dramatic royal romances makes Hailes one of East Lothian’s most atmospherically haunted ruins.