Sitting in a leafy, sun-dappled spot in the heart of Old Aberdeen, author Graeme Milne is telling a tale that chills the blood.
He’s speaking amongst the ancient graves and headstones of the Snow Kirk – a lost and abandoned kirkyard nestled in the King’s College campus – which is reputed to be haunted.
“The story goes that the last person buried here is the ghost who remains until someone else is buried here,” said Graeme. “But there have not been burials here for many years, so this ghost must be very old.”
“People claim to have seen it while back home through College Bounds late at night, a figure in white that emerges from the graveyard.”
This ghostly tale is just one of a number of stories that fascinate Graeme, who has researched many of them for his new book Aberdeen’s Haunted Heritage. Just published, it is the third in his series exploring the Granite City’s supernatural tales.
Amateur ghost hunting went wrong
The Aberdeen-born writer, who now lives and works in Edinburgh as a tour guide, said his latest offering updates some of the stories from his previous books and adds fresh ones.
“There are lots of good new stories. There is one about Torry at St Fittick’s Church where two guys decided to do some amateur ghost hunting in the 80s because it’s rumoured to be haunted.
“They weren’t taking it too seriously, having beer and cigarettes and sitting around in the mist, when they saw a figure of a man walking by. As the mist cleared, the figure repeated the process, but it was only half a body.
“They freaked out and ran for it. One of the guys actually ran into a tombstone and injured his leg quite badly.”
Another story revolves around Jones, the former shoe shop on Union Street, still marked out today by the distinctive golden boot shop sign outside.
“There was lots of stuff there – like one of the assistants having the Hoover switched off by a ghost while she was Hoovering and a child’s voice said in her ear: “What is that, what is that?”
Phantom highwayman of Aberdeen Market
Graeme said the soon-to-be demolished Aberdeen Market building also features heavily in Aberdeen’s Haunted Heritage.
He said: “There are stories of a guy dressed like a highwayman with a tricorn hat wandering about below ground who has been seen by many staff.”
Another yarn centres around the High Street of Old Aberdeen where a woman who had a recurring horrific nightmare about seeing a phantom figure at the foot of her bed, which one night led her through a trapdoor into a basement cellar. In her dream, she witnessed a terrible murder.
Graeme said: “She doubted what she had seen as there was no hole in her floor for a cellar to be there. About six months later she was chatting to a local shopkeeper, who said; “Oh, you stay at such-and-such number on the High Street. Did you know there was a murder that committed there in the cellar?”
Among the stories Graeme has updated is the tale of Captain Beaton, the First World War soldier said to haunt the First Bus HQ in the former barracks on King Street.
“A friend of mine, who was a former bus driver, saw a kilted figure walking past one night when he was switching out the lights and locking up. This figure walked up the stairs in front of him, absolutely as solid as you or I. He was terrified and the temperature dropped to almost sub-zero.”
Search for evidence to back up spooky tales
Graeme, who was in Aberdeen recently to distribute copies of his book to local shops and donate several to the city library, meticulously researches these incidents of the uncanny, interviewing eye-witnesses to garner their first-hand accounts.
“A lot of the research was done over 12 years and I have tried to interview people who have had experiences, so it is anecdotal. I have also gone into the archives in Aberdeen – who have been very helpful – looking at what was in these places before. I look at whether the building has any history, who lived there and what they were used for, to try and get some solid evidence to back up the stories,” he said.
“People could say it’s all fantastical and people’s imagination, but when you get that solid evidence to back it up, it makes it more real.”
He has had many first-hand experiences himself – starting with a “weird” experience while house-sitting for a friend in his 20s – and describes Aberdeen as one of the most haunted cities in Scotland.
One of his spookiest experiences came when he was at Powis House, now a community centre, during his time as a worker with Aberdeen City Council.
Something unpleasant in the attic
“Supposedly the ghost of a woman has been seen there, four or five times, and there have been footsteps in the stairs,” said Graeme. “One of the cleaners – whose daughter I know personally – quit because of something she saw in the attic, which was very unpleasant.
“I was there myself one day with a guy who was working there at the time. We were standing in one of the main rooms and the temperature went down to zero. We could see our breath, you could actually put your hands round this cold shape. That was odd and inexplicable.”
Graeme hopes people will enjoy Aberdeen’s Haunted Heritage and get more out of it than some spine-tingling yarns.
“Apart from a spooky story or two to tell among friends, it also highlights some of Aberdeen’s most prestigious buildings. It is local history and social history and should give you a love of your city, I hope, and inspire you to go out and explore a little more for yourself.”
The author said Aberdeen’s Haunted Heritage is available from Blackwell’s Bookshop on Old Aberdeen’s High Street, will be in Waterstones within the next few weeks and is also available online and via his own Facebook page for the Haunted North.
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