01 / The documented castle
A family home built across generations
The Lyon family’s connection with Glamis begins in 1372, when Robert II granted the thanage to Sir John Lyon. The castle’s own timeline places the beginning of the building we recognise around 1400. That distinction matters: the long history of the place reaches further back than the towers standing before a visitor today.
Historic Environment Scotland describes a five-storey tower house with lower wings, enlarged and altered through successive centuries. Its pointed corner turrets are among the features that give Glamis its distinctive outline. The landscape changed too, as formal courts and avenues gave way to a more open parkland setting. Castle and surroundings have both been shaped by changing tastes.
Glamis remains the family seat of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. It was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the birthplace of her daughter, Princess Margaret. Those domestic associations are part of its character: this is a house where family life continued, as well as a setting that attracted remarkable stories.
02 / The chapel and the gambler
Two enduring Glamis traditions
The castle’s own account of its filming locations identifies the chapel’s reputed Grey Lady as Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis. Biblical scenes painted by Jacob de Wet cover the chapel’s walls and ceiling. This intimate, richly decorated room has become one of the best-known settings for Glamis’s haunting traditions, although the operator’s short description supplies no dated encounter.
Janet’s historical fate is more securely recorded. She was executed on Castle Hill in Edinburgh on 17 July 1537 after accusations of treason and attempting to poison James V. The castle’s timeline describes the accusations as false and places them within the king’s hostility towards her Douglas family. Her death should be understood through that political history; identifying her with an apparition belongs to the later tradition.
Another story moves into a sealed room. VisitScotland’s folklore brochure places the fourth Earl of Crawford there, endlessly playing cards with the Devil. It is a compact, unsettling legend of confinement and a game with no release, rather than a documented episode in the castle’s household records.
03 / The hidden-room mystery
How a rumour acquired a life of its own
Few Glamis stories have travelled further than the supposed family secret. In his historical review for Smithsonian, Mike Dash follows a changing tradition: an inaccessible chamber, an unknown captive and eventually a hidden heir. Accounts differ about what the room contained and who might have known its location.
The version commonly called the “Monster of Glamis” alleges that a child was concealed because of a physical difference. That is a claim within the legend, not an established medical or family history. Dash traces the story through Victorian reports and later recollections, showing how secrecy and repeated speculation helped it grow. There is no sound basis here for presenting a named child’s imprisonment as fact.
Part of the story’s fascination lies in the building itself. A castle with so many windows invites a visitor to imagine the rooms behind them. A window apparently left unaccounted for, however, cannot settle the fate of a person. The mystery remains a subject for historical inquiry without turning an unverified family rumour into a certainty.
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04 / An early published ghost story
Armour in the corridor after the storm
The woman called Miss McKinney in Scottish Paranormal’s June 2024 article has an earlier literary trail. Elliott O’Donnell included the account in Scottish Ghost Stories in 1911, explicitly giving the woman a substitute name. He presents the experience as it was said to have been told, leaving some distance between reader and original witness.
In the story, a guest returns from India and reaches Glamis during an autumn blizzard. After sleeping in a room in the Square Tower, she wakes to a sudden stillness. Then comes the sound of armoured men racing along the corridor, a struggle outside her door and a dark fluid spreading across the floor. She faints as the door opens.
The ending is worth retaining in full outline. Morning reveals no physical traces, and the following night passes without a repeat. Later, an armoured figure appears beside her bed, vanishing when her maid knocks. These details belong to a transmitted personal account. Its unnamed witness and uncertain encounter date limit what can now be independently checked.
05 / From the Scottish Paranormal archive
Ryan’s long-awaited visit inside Glamis
For Ryan O’Neill, Glamis was a place he had wanted to investigate since childhood. In his account published on 14 December 2024, he describes years of requests before gaining permission to record in the grounds. Photography, filming and audio recording were allowed there. An invitation from France2 later brought him inside the castle.
One incident stayed with him. As the group prepared to go up to a loft room, a bulb blew when the curator switched on the lights. Ryan also describes feeling watched, apparent rustling behind him and small knocks and creaks. He recalls recordings containing sounds he interpreted as fleeting whispers.
The article is a personal retrospective, without a stated visit date or the recordings and conditions needed to assess those sounds here. A failed bulb alone cannot establish a paranormal cause. Ryan’s account nevertheless adds something distinct to the older stories: his own experience of a place that had held his attention for years.
Sources for this section · 1
06 / Beyond the castle rooms
The stories continue beneath the trees
Leave time for the grounds. The Italian Garden, created by Countess Cecilia, offers a different scale from the towers, with formal planting, a terrace and a fountain. In the Kitchen Garden, fruit and vegetables still supply the Castle Kitchen. Its productive purpose connects a visit with the everyday work needed to sustain a large house.
Among the trees, the Macbeth Loop turns Shakespeare’s drama into seven wooden sculptures. Created by Neith Art & Sculpture from trees grown on the estate, they include the Three Witches, Banquo, Lady Macbeth and Macduff. Meeting these figures outdoors gives the literary association a physical presence, while keeping the play’s imagined world distinct from the castle’s documented past.
The loop is now in the East Woodland. A 2025 announcement records its relocation and the new names East Woodland and Kitchen Garden, replacing Nature Trail and Walled Garden. Use the current visitor map when planning your walk. Older descriptions may send you looking for familiar features under their former names.
07 / Planning your visit
Book a tour and allow time for the grounds
For an interior visit, choose the guided castle tour ticket, which also includes gardens, grounds and seasonal exhibitions. A gardens-and-grounds ticket is available separately. General admission does not reserve a particular tour time: check in on arrival for the next available tour. Allow about fifty minutes for the guided visit, with additional time outdoors.
Checked on 15 September 2026, the operator’s season runs daily from 10am to 5pm until 18 October, with the last tour and gardens entry at 4.30pm. From 19 October to 1 November, opening remains 10am but the last tour and gardens entry move to 3.30pm. Confirm arrangements for your date using the official opening and ticket pages.
The interior route involves several staircases, including one with 42 steps, and there is no lift to the upper floors. The ground floor is step-free; the Coach House offers an exhibition and a video tour. Some garden paths are rough, although the Italian and Kitchen Gardens can be visited by wheelchair. Contact the castle about your needs, follow staff guidance and leave private or closed areas undisturbed.
Prepared for Scottish Paranormal / Haunted Scotland.
Sources and visitor information reviewed 15 September 2026.
