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Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland / Collected Entirely from Oral Sources cover

Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland / Collected Entirely from Oral Sources

Chapter 95: AT DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE.
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About This Book

A collection of oral traditions from the Scottish Highlands and Islands, recorded and arranged thematically to present popular beliefs about fairies, changelings, banshees, tutelary beings, witchcraft, and related customs. The material combines narrative tales and descriptive entries that show regional variants, accounts of sightings and interactions, and practical measures for protection or repair. Gaelic expressions are translated with emphasis on literal meaning and authentic usage, and the compiler relied solely on spoken testimony gathered across multiple districts to preserve the vernacular form of these folk beliefs.

AT DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE.

This castle (Dùn-sta’innis), once a seat of the kings of Scotland, was haunted by a woman known as the Sianag (or Elle-maid) of Dunstaffnage. She broke into outcries of joy or sorrow (mulad no aighear), according as a happy or unfortunate event was to befall the inmates. A stranger, who accompanied one of the servants to the castle and remained there that night, had his bedclothes twice pulled off by her, and heard her all night walking through the room and in the adjoining passages. Her footsteps were heavy like those of a man.