Scottish Myths and Legends

by Rodger Moffet

  It was some time before his escape was discovered and by the time he was tracked down to the kitchen the mad Earl had already devoured parts of the body of the servant boy.

  Despite the Duke's best efforts the story leaked out, a nation already shocked at its betrayal but these so called Nobles was dumbstruck by such an act barbarism and the 'Cannibal Earl' was never seen in public again. He was spirited off to England and died there a few years later. The Duke had another problem though, James was the eldest son and as such was the rightful heir to the Dukedom, more swift political and constitutional engineering contrived that this passed to his second son, Charles on his death.

  But the story didn't end there – was there a curse on the name of Douglas? Charles married Catherine Hyde who was also prone to acts of eccentricity bordering on insanity too. She had a vile temper and hated Scotland and the Scots, when in residence in Queensberry House she would deliberately dress like a peasant girl to ridicule her Scottish guests. Their son was also afflicted by the family madness and one day in 1754 while on a journey to London he rode in front of the coach carrying his mother, produced a pistol and shot himself dead.

  The fortunes of the house fared little better: in 1801 the house was sold by the inheritors of the Queensberry title. Stripped of all its decoration it was given away for the meagre sum of £900 and turned into government barracks, by 1853 it had become a refuge for the destitute and the adjoining lodge was used for 'the reception and treatment of female inebriates'.

  So was there a curse on the Queensberry's? Many say the terrible act's of the 'cannibal Earl' were a judgement for his betrayal of the Scottish People for his parcel of English gold. There is one older legend however that suggests a much older curse upon the family. On the day and hour of the death of the first Duke in 1695 a Scottish skipper who was at that time in Sicily swears to have witnessed the sight of a flaming coach and 6 horses driving up the side of Mount Etna and disappearing into its fiery caldera. As it passed he heard a diabolical voice cry out:

  'Make way for the Duke of Drumlanrig!"

  The Death of the Great Lafayette

  By Amanda Moffet

  A century ago, The Great Lafayette was the highest paid performer in the world. But in the middle of his show, on the 9 May 1911, a fire began in the theatre. Trapped on the stage, Lafayette died, as the theatre burned to the ground. This was the Edinburgh Empire Palace Theatre, on the very same site now occupied by the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

  The finale of this final performance was the 'Lion's Bride' which involved the use of tapestries, cushions, tents and curtains to create an Oriental setting. An African lion paced restlessly in a cage while fire-eaters, jugglers and contortionists performed. A young woman in Oriental dress walked slowly on stage and entered the cage. When she was inside, the lion roared and reared up ready to pounce. The animal skin was then suddenly ripped away to reveal The Great Lafayette who had mysteriously changed places with the lion.

  As The Great Lafayette took his bow a lamp fell amongst the scenery which instantly caught fire, the audience (3,000 people) escaped as the band played the national anthem. The safety curtain on the stage came down, everyone on the stage and backstage were killed in the fire. Lafayette had actually managed to escape but returned to save his horse, Amazon. As well as the horse, a lion and ten performers including a child who performed illusions in a bear outfit lost their lives this terrible night 100 years ago.

  The festival theatre is said to be haunted, people have head Lafayette's voice and also a lion's roar. A few days before Lafayettes death his beloved dog had also died and is said to also haunt the theatre; Beauty, Lafayette's dog was a gift from the great Harry Houdini. It is buried in Piershill Cemetery, where Lafayette would later join him. She was the object of The Great Lafayette's affection, and was famously spoiled by the man of mystery, treated to velvet cushions, diamond-studded collars, five-course meals and even his own room.

  But it was this indulgence which was to put an end to Beauty's life when, during his stay in Edinburgh, he died of apoplexy, a condition caused by over-eating.

  Distraught, The Great Lafayette negotiated a formal burial for his pet at Piershill Cemetery, agreed on the condition that he too would be buried there when the time came – which was sooner than he anticipated.

  The body of Lafayette was soon found and sent to Glasgow for cremation, however two days after the fire, workers were clearing the under stage area and found another body identically dressed as Lafayette. It turned out that the body in the crematorium was that of the illusionist's body double. Two days later the ashes of the Great Lafayette were taken through Edinburgh witnessed by a crowd estimated to number over 250,000 before being laid to rest in the paws of his beloved (and stuffed) Beauty at Piershill Cemetery.

  Evil Laird Pringle and the Haunting of Buckholm Tower

  By Amanda Moffet

  One evening in the 1680s, as the light was starting to fade and the colour of day drained away turning everything to grey an ominous dark character was seen striding over Ladhope Moor with two large dogs. He was seeking covenanters who he was sure were holding an assembly meeting somewhere nearby. His shiny black eyes searched for tracks as he listened for signs as to where they were hiding. He knew they were there somewhere it was just a matter of time before he found them.

  He was the renowned Laird Pringle of Buckholm Tower, an ardent Royalist, hater and torturer of covenanters.

  His hunch as usual was correct and he found evidence that this was indeed the spot which the covenanters had used. But it was deserted. They had recently, and in some rush, fled the scene; obviously they had be warned that he was closing in on them. Nearby Pringle spots the body of a man lying hurt on the ground , he recognises him straight away, it's George Elliot, the well-known covenanter. He had been injured after being thrown from his horse. With him is his son William, who had stayed to look after him. Their faces full of fear watching helplessly as Pringle and his growling dogs approach.

  Pringle was ordered not to kill the men on the spot but to take then captive overnight so they could be interrogated the next day. Pringle was furious with this decision. The pair were locked in the cellar of Buckholm. Later that night Pringle was roaring drunk and seething with anger at being made to do this. He wanted their blood, the kill should be his. His rage grew till he decided to take matters into his own hands and stormed the cellars. Pitch dark down the cellar - servants gathered upstairs peering into it to see what all the noise was hearing scuffling, then screaming, then nothing …. silence.

  Meanwhile the wife and mother of the prisoners - Isobel Elliot had arrived at Buckholm demanding to see the men and make sure they were being treated fairly. She knew of Laird Pringle's blood lust and feared for their safety.

  The Laird still covered in the blood of Geordie and William sees her approaching. He desperately wants her to witness the aftermath of his savagery, see what he's done. He jumps out and drags her down the cellar. In a small pool of light the lifeless bodies of her husband and son hang from meat hooks. Their flesh torn and their bodies beaten to a bloody pulp.

  Isobel was distraught, furiously she cursed Pringle for killing her family, and from that night until the day he died one June, Pringle was adamant that he was being chased by hounds that were invisible to other people.

  During the nights before the first anniversary of his death, the laird's ghost was seen running towards the tower, with the baying cries of the hounds reverberating behind him. And on the night that he died and every June thereafter, cries and running footsteps were reported to be heard, not outside the tower, but from the depths of the cellar. Had his terrible deeds finally caught up with him?

  In nearby Melrose Abbey graveyard stands a stone bearing the name George Pringle, aged 78 years.

  The date of death on the headstone reads 5 March 1693, making it possible that this is the laird in question's grave.

  Buckholm Tower today is largely ruined, though the best preserved room is
the cellar, where the iron hooks featured in the story can still be seen.

  In 2005, paranormal research team Spectre carried out three investigations at Buckholm Tower. The team reported temperature changes, the sound of footsteps and recorded video footage of the iron hooks moving. They also claim to have taken an audio recording of an indistinct voice, and when they asked whether laird Pringle was present, the voice is believed to have said: "I had to" or "I hate you".

  Buckholm Tower remains a favorite among ghost hunters, many are convinced that something evil lurks in the remains of the tower's cellar, even claiming that if you look closely you may see faint blood stains on the wall. Maybe the spilled blood of Geordie and William?

  Hobbie Noble of the Crew

  By Tom Moss

  On the English Scottish Border in the reiving times, nominally from the 13th to the 17th centuries, when the Border Reivers disputed all authority, national identity was often dismissed. Joint raids by the forces of Scots and English, all animosity to each other put aside for a while, resulted in a lucrative pay-off for the clans and families involved in the grand theft of cattle and sheep. The Border country was beset with the intrigues of the Reivers; local law enforcement on both sides of the Border at a loss, reticent to lay the blame for crime at anyone door, careful of reprisal or lasting feud.

  The story of Hobbie Noble of the Crew, one of the English Border Reivers of somewhat dubious renown, is one such example of Scots and English coming together. He would aid the Armstrongs of Liddesdale, a Scottish Border clan, in their hour of need, yet eventually be betrayed by one of their own.

  Hobbie Flees to the Scottish Borders.

  Hobbie was from Bewcastle in what was known in his time as the Waste of north Cumberland; his home was Crew Castle. Little of what would once have been a formidable tower remains today; the earthworks, however, easily recognised, bear testimony to a place of formidable strength: the home of a family of prominence and importance in the region. The Waste is still there to this day. It is a harsh and unforgiving country yet delights in little pockets of sylvan beauty which are a delight to the eyes.

  Hobbie spent many years raiding in Tynedale (Northumberland) and even parts of his homeland, to the south of his Cumberland fortress. It would seem that allegiance to his countrymen was of little concern to a man bent on raiding wherever the opportunity presented itself. The product of theft, the 'reive', meant more to Hobbie than allegiance to his own countrymen, his own people.

  Eventually they disowned him as they tired of the retribution exacted on them by the surnames (families) he had raided within his own country and the clans to the north of the Border. Their lives were dominated by the relentless raids from Tynedale, other parts of Cumberland, and southern Scotland which, with regular monotony, raided the homesteads of the folk of Bewcastledale.

  He was much prized by the English West March Warden, the law in Cumberland. Doubtless there were many crimes laid at his door in which he had taken no part.

  Hobbie fled to Liddesdale in the Scottish Borders were he was well received by the Laird of Mangerton, head of the Armstrongs. Anyone on run from the law, irrespective of nationality, was welcomed by the Armstrongs of Liddesdale.

  Hobbie is True to his Scottish Hosts.

  When Jock Armstrong of the 'Side', a stalwart and leading member of the Scottish clan was captured and thrown into gaol in Newcastle to await a fate which would inevitably see him dangle at the end of a rope, Hobbie was a major force in planning and achieving his rescue. He was lauded by the Armstrongs of Mangerton for the sterling part he played in the rescue of Jock but there were other Armstrongs, within Scottish Liddesdale, who resented the popularity of the Englishman.

  Hobbie is asked to lead a raid into England by the Armstrongs of the Mains.

  Sim Armstrong was Laird of the Mains, today a peaceful farm in Liddesdale, but in the days of the Border Reivers, the most dangerous valley in the whole of Europe. Sim had grown to hate the great English Reiver whilst the English Warden was bent on wresting Hobbie from the Scottish Border lands and bringing him to account for his crimes in England. Sim and the Warden made a deal whereby, in return for English gold, Sim would betray Hobbie into the Warden's hands. Accordingly, on the pretext that Hobbie knew the English ground better than he did, Sim persuaded Hobbie to lead a raid south of the Border into England. The cattle and sheep were fat and ripe for the picking.

  Hobbie is betrayed by Sim of the Mains

  Hobbie led the Armstrongs of the Mains into England but at the same time Sim Armstrong sent word to the English Keeper of Askerton that Hobbie was back on English ground. Hobbie and the Armstrongs had rested overnight before their final assault on their target. At the first light of the following day Hobbie woke to see the English confronting him. He was not unduly concerned because he knew the ground right well. His fertile mind instantly recognised the path in which he and the Armstrongs could evade any confrontation. But it was not to be. The Armstrongs at his back suddenly voiced their allegiance to the English and Hobbie was betrayed for gold.

  Askerton Castle.

  Hobbie is bound and taken to Carlisle

  Hobbie was bound with his own bow-string and led ignominiously to Carlisle and thrown in the dark damp cells of Carlisle castle. He was told he would hang next day unless he would confess to stealing Peter of Winfield's horse, a crime that had hung over his head for some time. There is some doubt that Hobbie was involved, that the charge was trumped up by the English to see an end to the great English Border Reiver. He denied the allegation and prepared himself for death. Next morning he was hanged. There was a lot of sympathy in the watching crowd for the man who had risked life and limb to rescue Jock of the 'Side' from the Black Tower of Newcastle.

  Sir Walter Scott, avid lover of Scottish English Border history and eminent writer of the early nineteenth century gathered the story of Hobbie Noble and committed it to verse in his 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border'.

  Here are two particularly poignant verses from the ballad:

  'And fare thee weel , sweet Liddesdale, (weel = well)

  Baith the hie land and the law;

  Keep ye weel frae the traitor Mains,

  For gould and gear he'll sell ye a' (goud = gold, a' = all)

  'Yet wad I rather be ca'd Hobbie Noble, ( wad = would, ca'd = called)

  In Carlisle , where he suffers for his fau't, (fau't = fault)

  Than I'd be ca'd the traitor Mains,

  That eats and drinks of the meal and maut'. ( maut = malt)

  English Gold was no benefit to Sim of the Mains

  When the Laird of Mangerton, head of the Armstrongs, heard of Hobbie's fate and Sim's involvement, he was furious. Normally, as Hobbie was executed by the English, his retribution would have been aimed against the English families who dared to steal in his domain, Liddesdale or its surrounds. For once he directed his wrath against his own. He planned a great reprisal against the Armstrongs of Mains even though they were a sect of the clan. Sim fled to England but within two months, thanks to intelligence furnished to the English by Mangerton, Sim of the Mains also dangled at the end of a rope on Harrabee Hill, the killing ground of Carlisle. No tears were wept by a crowd who were pleased that he had got his come-uppance for the betrayal of Hobbie Noble of the Crew.

  Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead

  By Tom Moss

  Jamie Telfer lost all when raided by the English of Bewcastle. His despair would change to delight when help from the Scotts of Teviotdale brought him an unexpected gain.

  English Reivers Raid

  Bewcastle lies just south of the English Scottish Border; the remains of a once formidable castle still stand as a stark reminder that it had been a dangerous place to live in times gone-by. The Bewcastle Waste was a hunting ground of the Scottish Border Reivers and a direct route for them in their relentless raids into Northumberland, in particular Tynedale. The castle was well garrisoned in an effort to thwart the Scots as they headed for the Tyne valley.
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br />   Late in the sixteenth century the Captain of Bewcastle ventured forth to teach the Scots a lesson. Reprisal was on his mind as he sought to counter the many inroads into England of the Border Scots clans.

  The Fair Dodhead

  High in Ettrickdale, a lovely Border valley on the Scots side, once stood the home of Jamie Telfer. Here he lived with his wife and bairns in a somewhat isolated location. The family had little in the way of possessions, and as for many another Borderer of the time, life was harsh. They had only ten cattle and but a meagre smallholding of land which proved hard to tame to provide for almost all their needs. Yet they were happy in their lot; they asked for nothing but to live in peace and tranquillity in their little parcel of heaven.

  The Captain of Bewcastle and his marauding band soon came upon the scene and, having gauged the lie of the land and the absence of close neighbors, laughed raucously at their good fortune. They saw only easy pickings.

  The clash was but a scuffle; Much as the parents strove to combat the superior English force they were soon overcome, left face down in the mire as their children looked on in howling distress. The Bewcastle horde had soon made off with Jamie's little herd.