Hermitage Castle

Hermitage Castle rises stark and forbidding from the windswept moorlands of the Scottish Borders, its massive walls and oppressive architecture earning it a reputation as the most sinister-looking castle in Scotland. Built in the 13th century to guard a key route between Scotland and England, the castle witnessed endless border warfare, brutal sieges, torture, and murder during the centuries of conflict between the two kingdoms. Its dark history is dominated by the de Soulis family, particularly the notorious Lord William de Soulis, whose cruelty and alleged practice of dark magic made him one of medieval Scotland’s most feared and hated figures.

According to legend and contemporary accounts, Lord Soulis terrorized the local population in the early 14th century, kidnapping children for dark rituals, torturing prisoners, and practicing sorcery with the help of his demon familiar, Robin Redcap. His crimes became so intolerable that local people finally appealed to King Robert the Bruce for permission to deal with Soulis themselves. The king allegedly responded, “Boil him if you must, but let me hear no more of him.” The enraged mob seized Soulis, wrapped him in lead, and boiled him alive in a cauldron on the nearby Nine Stane Rig stone circle. His dying screams were said to echo across the moors, and his malevolent spirit has haunted Hermitage Castle ever since.

Lord Soulis’s ghost manifests as a dark, oppressive presence throughout the castle, particularly in the dungeons and tower rooms where he conducted his torture and rituals. Visitors report overwhelming feelings of dread, sudden terror that drives them from certain chambers, and the sensation of being watched by something malevolent. Some have reported seeing a dark figure in medieval dress moving through the castle or standing at windows. The phantom sound of screaming has been heard both inside the castle and on the surrounding moorland. Additional haunting activity includes the ghost of Sir Alexander Ramsay, who was starved to death in the dungeon in 1342, and the spirit of Mary, Queen of Scots, who rode through driving rain to visit the wounded Earl of Bothwell here in 1566. Hermitage Castle’s combination of brutal architecture, violent history, and active paranormal phenomena makes it one of Britain’s most genuinely frightening haunted locations.