Exploring a Haunted Castle, Finavon in Scotland!

Photo. Jeffrey Murrah and his wife stand in the front of the Finavon Castle. © Jeffrey Murrah.

The remains of Finavon Castle lie a short walk to the east of the main lodgings. We stayed at the property from 31 July to 6 August 2006. The morning after we arrived, we set off down the path to the remains. The pathway itself is surrounded by a mixture of ancient and young trees. As we approached the main keep, we passed a particularly large oak with considerable girth that shaded most of the area leading to ruins. On reaching them, we explored the castle and the surrounding grounds. At 86 feet tall, the remains of the stone tower keep maintain a formidable appearance.

The grey stone walls were covered with various shades of green moss. Decisions were made as to where the dungeon would have been located. One side of the tower was difficult to access due to the field of nettles in front of it. The skeletal remains of birds were noticeable on the castle grounds. Since we had seen some dead black birds near the lodging, we thought little of it. Our sons climbed up the structure as far as was feasible, taking photographs of all the interesting features they came across. The site seemed like any other ruin that we had previously explored.

Photo. Is the Finavon Castle haunted? © Jeffrey Murrah. It was exciting exploring the castle and the surrounding ground.

On the second day, the boys visited the site in the morning, taking more photos. After sightseeing I visited the site with one of my sons late that afternoon. He and I set out to map the grounds. On our way down the path, a large black bird suddenly screeched and flew out of the large oak tree, startling us. As we continued on, several other solitary dark birds, let out squawks and then flew off. On reaching the grounds, we began walking off distances. We measured the height of the walls, distance between sections, taking note of the various sections of wall.

Photo. The top of the Finavon Castle. © Jeffrey Murrah.

We recognized that the castle site occupied a larger space than first imagined. As we walked about the area, I also paid attention to where I felt the strongest amount of energy, making a mental note of it. The grounds did not seem so friendly in the late afternoon as in the morning.

During our stay, my wife woke up between 4:15 and 4:30 several mornings since the light of dawn comes earlier in the northern latitudes. The first night that occurred, she went downstairs, and reported feeling discomfort in the form of an oppressive feeling. The numerous rabbits hopping around the lodgings took her mind off her discomfort. She thought nothing of it at first.

After our days of sightseeing, I often found myself up late in the evenings, uploading the days' photos into electronic storage devices in the downstairs den. Several nights I felt uneasy about sitting near any of the windows. Since I was aware of the stories, I wrote my experiences off to being tired and my mind playing tricks on me. When I had taken the garbage out earlier that evening to a bin located on the grounds some distance northwest of the lodging, I sensed nothing unusual, so I dismissed my discomfort.

Late one afternoon, our two oldest sons came back to the lodging after some further exploring of the grounds around the castle. This time, they explored the castle and a nearby stream. They reported that the castle area felt "creepy" to them. I asked each of them separately about their experiences, and where the creepiness was strongest. Each son reported the feeling strongest at the same location I suspected. That spot was just above a lower chamber.

Later that night, my wife again woke early and went downstairs while it was still dark. She reported that she again felt that 'oppressive' feeling. This time, her experience was more intense, accompanied by images that flashed through her mind of people being trapped and captured from movies she had seen. She said there was nothing gross, just the sense of being trapped. She was not aware of the details of the stories about Finavon, yet I was and knew the significance of her experience. Legend had it that one of the female residents of the castle had been imprisoned in the dungeon area by her sister, where she starved to death. The area where our sons had their experiences was at the entrance of the dungeon area. Stories claim that she continues trying to lure people to the dungeon area of the castle.

After leaving the area around Finavon, we attempted making sense of our experiences there. In sorting through the photos taken at the site, there were some unexplained phenomena which added to the mystery. Two photos of my wife and I also contained large energy orbs and white smoky artefacts. There were other photos taken that day, around the castle that did not have such phenomena. The two in question were taken in the same area. Another oddity was that some of the photos of the tower look as though a light is shining in one of the upper windows. The light may be a reflection of the sun, although it looks out of place.

Photo. Jeffrey Murrah`s family enjoyed exploring the Finavon Castle. © Jeffrey Murrah.

The stories of Finavon are many. Finavon has been at various times been called Finehaven, Finhaven and even Oathlaw. The name derives from a Gaelic term for a place under the hill. The tower is located in an area that has been the site of fortified buildings going back to Norman occupants in the 1000's. The present castle remains were reportedly begun in the 15th century. The drama begins in 13th century, with the Scottish Soothsayer, Thomas the Rhymer making the prophecy,

"When Finehaven Castle rins to sand,
The warld's end is near at hand"

Jeffrey Murrah, 31 September 2006

Additional information
The ruins of the 14th century Finavon Castle is located central in the Angus County. Finavon lies 4 miles (6.5 km) northeast of Forfar in Scotland.

Are you interesting in more ghost busting? This country has many castles dating from ancient history to the Victorian period. Some of them have a very dramatic history. There are an estimated 3,000 castles in Scotland, ranging in size from royal residences and large military outposts with hundreds of rooms to simple fortified farmhouses. Could some of them be haunted too? Many of these castles are now ruins, and some are known only through historical records.

Presentation of the author:
Jeffrey Murrah wears many hats. He is a counsellor with a practice specializing in dealing with relationship issues and substance abuse (www.RestoreTheFamily.com).
 

Photo. The author of this article, Jeffrey Murrah. © Jeffrey Murrah. Murrah`s first book, None But Texians: A History of Terry's Texas Rangers received the 2002 Summerfield G. Roberts award for the best book on Texas and Texans during the Civil War.

He recent ventures include, using teleseminars to deal with relationships, and writing two e-books, and publishing several travel articles published about his experiences. He is a sixth-generation Texan who lives there with his wife and three sons. His travels often combine history, archaeology and psychology. Among his travels are treks locating the Texas Embassies in Europe, hunting Pictish stones, exploring Scottish castles and visiting Neolithic sites in Orkney. He can be reached through his website and e-mail Jeff@RestoretheFamily.com.