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Glasgow's Haunted Trails, 225 Scotland Street, Glasgow (2026)

09/03/2020

Scotland Street School, Kingston, Glasgow

06/03/2020

Scotland Street School is a museum of school education, located in the Kingston area of Glasgow. The school was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the beginning of the 20th century, it opened on 15 August 1906, and was a functioning school up until 1979. When the school first opened, it mainly educated the children of families working in shipbuilding and engineering on the south side of Glasgow. Scotland Street School is now a museum that tells the story of education in Scotland over a hundred years, from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. The school has three levels and visitors can find out what school days were like in the reign of Queen Victoria, during the World Wars 1 and 2, and also during the 1950’s and 1960’s by visiting reconstructed classrooms from those eras. The building is a beautiful example of Mackintosh’s architectural style and even has the original cookery room that he designed in 1903. However, Scotland Street School has a dark side as many people have seen and heard ghostly sightings within the building and also witnessed poltergeist activity. The museum staff have admitted that objects within the classrooms have been known to move on their own, and many visitors have reported seeing small dark shadow figures looming around the first and second floors of the building, as well as hearing disembodied laughter, voices and footsteps. It seems that the building is filled with the ghosts of bygone days

06/03/2020

The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall is one of the oldest surviving music halls in the world, and also one of the most haunted. The music hall was established in1857 and is perhaps best known for its association with Stan Laurel, from the duo Laurel and Hardy, as it was in this music hall that Stan Laurel made his first professional performance on stage in 1906. The Britannia Panopticon began as a regular music hall and then became home to freak shows and waxworks, and it even had a small zoo in the basement. The music hall occupied the first and second floors and could hold a capacity of 1,500-2,500 people. The Panopticon closed in 1938 but re-opened again in 2003 and is currently under restoration, however the building still acts as an entertainment venue showing black and white silent movies, ventriloquist acts, cabaret shows, and even haunted sleepovers in the theatre. The Britannia Panopticon is haunted by various spirits, and the list includes a phantom soldier who looms around on the upper balconies of the auditorium, the ghostly figure of a lady wearing a Victorian hat who has been seen in the basement, and the sound of children whistling and singing has been heard from the upper balconies. Perhaps the hall is still filled by the ghosts of theatres past….

06/03/2020

Glasgow's most haunted hotel.

04/03/2020

The Cathedral House Hotel was built in 1877, and is located within Glasgow City Centre. The hotel is overshadowed by Glasgow’s Necropolis graveyard, and it had a very interesting link to the nearby Duke Street Prison, a womens prison which was demolished in 1958. The Cathedral House Hotel functioned as a lodging house for the newly released inmates from the prison. Duke Street Prison was a very notorious place which had ghastly living conditions and housed some of Scotland’s worst criminals. Many ex*****ons were carried out at the prison, which included the ex*****on of Susan Newel, the last woman to be hanged in Scotland in 1923, after she was found guilty of murdering a paper boy. The only trace of Duke Street Prison that remains is part of its boundary wall that runs round the back of the hotel and which is an eerie reminder of the darkness that occurred during its existence.There have been many ghost sightings, light anomalies, poltergeist activity and disembodied voices reported throughout the hotel for many years. People who have experienced paranormal experiences at the hotel have suggested the spirits of the prisoners such as Susan Newel are still haunting the old prison lodging house. The building has seen many people enter through its doors throughout the years, however, not all of it’s guests have left alive, and some of the best known and tragic deaths to have occurred within the building have resulted in supposed hauntings. One of the most commonly reported ghosts at the hotel is that of the spirit of a little boy who loiters on the main staircase of the hotel, and who has been known to touch people as they walk up and down the stairs. In addition, the boy has also been sighted in the downstairs bar area, running towards and then disappearing through the wall.
There have also been many reports of the ghosts of two children who have been seen and heard, giggling and playing on the top floor of the hotel. It is thought that these two ghosts are connected to an incident that happened at the hotel in 1929, where an insane woman was released from the Duke Street Prison to be reunited with her two young children at the hotel, and where she subsequently drowned both of them in a bathtub on the upper floor of the building. Since their tragic deaths, many people have encountered the ghosts of these young children, particularly in one of the upstairs bedroom where their deaths occurred.
The remaining section of Duke Street Prison’s boundary wall, located at the back of the hotel, is also reported to be haunted, as the shadow of a woman has been seen to appear and then disappear into the wall.

04/03/2020

Greenbank Garden is located in the Clarkson area of Glasgow, and is owned and operated by the National Trust. Greenbank House and its surrounding 2.5 acre walled garden was built in the 1760s for Robert Allason, one of Glasgow’s to***co merchants and slave trader, when Glasgow was the second city of the British Empire. Allason made his fortune from the slave trade and to***co plantations in the Caribbean, enabling him to build a luxurious new Georgian house in Glasgow. The house has been virtually unaltered since Allason built it, so it provides an interesting glimpse into the world of an 18th century to***co lord. Greenbank garden is an oasis or tranquility that contains over 3,700 plant species, and is divided into 12 distinct areas, all separated by high hedges, and which feature ornamental plants, shrubs, trees, water features and a mystical nymph fountain.
However, Greenbank Garden is also well known for more infamous reasons...being the ghostly residents! Hosting several of Glasgow’s most mischievous ghosts, in particular the Red Lady apparition, who frequently makes appearances in the dining room of Greenbank House. According to legend, phantoms that appear, draped in a blood red dress, can be seen as having been victims of degradation or murder. Other ghosts which have been reported at Greenbank Garden include a large phantom black dog who has been seen in the garden nearby the pond, and also the ghost of a young girl, dressed in Victorian clothing, who has been seen skipping beside the lilly pond within the garden. It is believed the young girl is the ghost of a local girl who was tragically killed in the courtyard in the late 1800’s.

04/03/2020

Queens Park, which is located in the South Side of Glasgow, opened in 1862. The 150-acre park is situated on the original site of the Battle of Langside, and is considered to be one of the best examples of a Victorian Park in Scotland. The park was named after Mary, Queen of Scots, who fought her last battle in nearby Langside. The battle marked the final defeat for Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been held prisoner in Loch Leven Castle after being forced to abdicate from the throne. Mary had been forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son James, leaving her half-brother, James Stewart (Earl of Moray) regent. Mary escaped from Loch Leven Castle in 1568, and amassed an army of over 6000 men, under the command of the Earl of Argyle, to take over regency from James Stewart. However, James Stewart had to stop Mary as there was a strong chance of her retaking the Scottish throne.

The Battle of Langside took place in the location of Queen’s Park, on 13 May 1568, during which Mary’s army of 6000 strong were defeated by the army of her brother. The Battle of Langside lasted 45 minutes and Mary’s troops suffered 300 casualties. The remainder of Mary’s troops fled after the battle, and Mary was never to set sights on Scotland again.

For much of the year, Langside’s Queen’s Park is a relatively quiet and peaceful place..However, on the anniversary of the battle, those who visit the park have reported seeing the ghosts of the fallen soldiers of Mary Queen of Scots, roaming their former battlefield. Strange ghostly soldiers have been reported around the former battleground for years. In the 1830’s, before Queens Park was laid out, the area was marshland. The first sightings of the ghostly soldiers occurred in 1831, when the wife of the park’s lodge keeper reported seeing the spirits of those killed in the battle rise up from the marshes, many of them missing heads and limbs. The area was exorcised by a local minister to prevent the ghosts rising again, however the exorcism doesn’t seem to have worked as there have been many sightings of the ghost troops looming above the boating lake within the park. Stories of the ghostly soldiers that have been sighted in Queen’s Park originated from the legend of the De’ils Kirkyard (Devils Kirkyard), being mass graves on unconsecrated ground where those killed in the battle were buried.

04/03/2020

The Southern Necropolis graveyard is located in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The burial ground was first established in 1715 for the local people of the Gorbals, however at this time the graveyard was in an appalling state due to the fact that most people could not afford a proper burial, so most people were buried in long trenches which were left barely covered until they were full. The graveyard was also used for mass pit burials during the cholera outbreak of 1832. However, over the years, the Gorbals began to prosper and began to attract merchants and professionals to the area, and it was in 1840 that the Southern Necropolis was opened as an affordable cemetery where all people could be buried with dignity. The graveyard is home to over 250,000 individuals, which include the graves of wealthy merchants, traders, shipbuilders and architects, which includes the graves of Sir Thomas Lipton and the architect Alexander Greek Thomson. The Southern Necropolis feels like a secret garden and part of its charm is its air of decay with weathered stones, often draped by creeping ivy.

Of all the many monuments and graves within the Southern Necropolis, one particular statue named ‘The White Lady’ has gained a mysterious and ghostly reputation. The statue is in the form of a veiled woman standing beside a broken pillar, and this particular grave and statue comes with a tragic story. The statue stands above the resting place of Magdalene Blair and her housekeeper of 25 years, Mary McNaughton. On the 29 October 1933, while returning home from church, and sheltering from the heavy rain behind an umbrella, both women walked into the path of a tram. Magdalene Blair was killed instantly and Mary McNaughton died a few days later. Many believe that the White Lady statue is haunted, and that it is the spirit of one of the ladies that haunts the statue. Local legend also tells how the White Lady slowly turns her head to watch you as you pass by, and another story is that the stare of the statue will turn unwitting victims to stone, so to prevent this from happening, it is advised to run around the statue 3 times chanting ‘White Lady’. It certainly looks like a grave that would have a ghost! The White Lady statue is located in the south part of the graveyard, to the right of the main path from the gatehouse, and it is part of the Southern Necropolis Heritage Trail.

Another mystery of the Southern Necropolis is that of the Gorbal’s Vampire..a story which made news headlines around the world, and also one which also caused mass panic within the City of Glasgow. In 1954 hundreds of primary school children from Glasgow, between the ages of 5 and 14, gathered inside the Southern Necropolis, searching for a 7 ft vampire with iron teeth, who had apparently killed and eaten 2 boys. The children came armed with stakes, knives, stones and even their pet dogs to hunt down the monster. The graveyard was overflowing with children, and the police were called to deal with the situation, however the police were unable to move the children on, and the vampire hunters continued to turn up at the graveyard for the next 2 nights. When this bizarre case happened it shocked and chilled the nation, and eventually led to a new censorship law in the 1950s. The National Union of Teachers blamed imported American horror comic books for the rumours and mass hysteria regarding the Gorbal’s Vampire. The campaign by the teachers reached Parliament and resulted in the 1955 Children and Young Person’s Act being passed, and this act still stands today.

There was never any record of children being abducted or missing at this time in Glasgow. Some other theories which could have contributed to the tale of the Gorbals Vampire are that there is a passage in the Bible Daniel 7:7, regarding Daniel’s dream about 4 beasts, including one which devoured its victims with its large iron teeth. The children could also have been inspired by the rhyme ‘Jenny wi the Airn Teeth’ which was a terrifying bedtime poem about an old lady who used to haunt Glasgow Green, and who ate children who failed to go to sleep. Another possibility could have been that there was an iron foundry at the back of the graveyard which operated day and night, and lit the night sky up red and orange which created spooky shadows within the graveyard.

04/03/2020

Pollok House is a large Edwardian country home, located within Pollok Country Park, which lies to the south side of the city of Glasgow. Po***ck House was built in 1752, and is the ancestral home to the Maxwell family, who have lived on the estate since the thirteenth century. Po***ck House is famous for its striking Georgian architecture, luxurious Edwardian furnishings and world-famous art collection, however in 1677 this country estate became infamous for its association with witches and witchcraft, which resulted in five people being burned at the stake. The story begins in the 1670’s with Sir George Maxwell, who was the Laird of Pollok Estate at the time. Maxwell had been a staunch covenanter who had traveled across Scotland to witness and also take part in various witch trials. Maxwell had just returned from a witch trial in Gourock when he suddenly became ill with a high fever and pains down the right side of his body. At the same time, a new servant girl called Janet Douglas arrived at Pollok Estate. Janet was a mute and she immediately became suspicious of her masters symptoms, and assumed that it was witchcraft . Janet miraculously regained the power of speech and accused five people (a local widow and her son, and three servants from the estate) of witchcraft, consorting with the Devil, and being responsible for the Laird’s sickness. All of the accused homes were searched, where wax effigies in the shape of the Laird (pierced with huge pins) were found, in exactly the same positions as Janet had described. On 10 June 1697, all five of the accused were tortured, garroted and then burnt at the stake at the Gallow Green in Paisley, Glasgow. Later, Janet Douglas herself was put on trial for spreading malicious mischiefing (rumours) regarding witchcraft, and despite having great knowledge about the subject, she was never tried as a witch, and many years later she disappeared without a trace. Pollok House and the surrounding grounds are reported to be haunted according to many members of staff and also by many people who have visited the estate. It is believed that the spirits of the witches still haunt the grounds of the estate, and many people have reported seeing the ghost figure of a man and a ghostly black dog with glowing eyes roaming the grounds of the estate. In addition, within Pollok House, the apparition of a woman, believed to be a female servant, has been seen wandering within the basement floor of the house where the servants quarters used to be.

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