The peat-fire flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands

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GHOST TALES AND HAUNTED PLACES
Argyll to have been largely responsible for many of the
evictions from this neighbourhood, more especially from the
lands about Coir' a' Mhuilinn and Tor na Monadh, on the
slopes of Ben Hiant, about the beginning of the nineteenth
century. An old woman, whom he evicted, cursed him with
a dreadful curse—that his soul should go down to everlasting
perdition, and that proof of its having done so should be that
nothing but dockens and nettles could grow upon his grave.
it is smothered by nettles and
And this is so ! To-day
dockens.
In the course of time MacColl's family emigrated from
Ardnamurchan, some members going to Canada, others to
Australia ; and at varying intervals certain members of it
returned to the grave at Kilchoan to sow grass seeds on it,
hoping thus to give the lie to the curse. But never a seed
sprouted.
At the eastern end of Loch Pityoulish, in Rothiemurchus,
there is an eerie hollow in which no plant will grow except
the blaeberry. At this spot, centuries ago, a contingent of
Comyns was wiped out by the Shaws, who in very ancient
times were overlords of Rothiemurchus. The slain Comyns
were interred in this eerie hollow ; and on their graves
nothing will grow but tlie plant that is the emblem of their
clan—the blaeberry.
While writing of Rothiemurchus, it may be mentioned
here that the Doune of Rothiemurchus, like so many old
Highland homes, has a ghost and a haunted room, though
to me it is one of the least ghosty places I know. Visitors
arriving at the Doune, which recently has been converted
into an excellent hotel, often enquire for the ghost ; and they
express the greatest disappointment when they are assured
by the management that no member of the staff has ever
seen it
Room 14 is said to be the haunted chamber of the Doune.
Many of the natives of Rothiemurchus swear that a ghost
occupies that apartment; and, in consequence, several of
them won't venture near, after dark. By way of illustrating
how prevalent to this day in the Highlands is belief in the
existence of ghosts, it may be noted that the management
sometimes experiences difficultv in obtaining servants. So,
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