Braemar Castle is a castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is played a significant role in the Jacobite Uprising, and is said to be haunted.

The location of Braemar Castle is on the old site of Kindrochit Castle, which had existed only as ruins since the 11th century. The construction of the current Braemar Castle began on the Kindrocht site in 1628 when the first of the Braemar Castle towers were constructed. Further, although the construction of Braemar Castle was on an old site, it was altered slightly so as to best take advantage of the Grampian Mounth crossing, as a defensive measure.

Beside the actual history of Braemar Castle there are a number of interesting bits of information that surround it. It is believed by some that Braemar Castle is haunted by at least two different spirits. The first, being the most recent, is the spirit of a young blonde woman who is said to have committed suicide inside the castle walls after she came to believe that her recent husband has fled her. Sightings of her have been reported as recently as 1987. Also, Braemar Castle is said to play host to John Farquharson of Inverey, the man who at one point burnt Braemar Castle down so as to prevent Government troops seizing it during the Jacobite Uprising. The castle is also regarded by many as being he ancestral home of the Farquharson Clan.

The Sidhe are a type of fairy found in Scottish Highlands.

The term Sidhe (pronounced as “shee”) would translate into modern English as “the people of the fairy hills”. This description reveals the nature of what people in ancient Scotland believed them to be, fairies who lived in hills, mounds or underground.

The Sidhe are not recorded anywhere in any literature as ever having a particular time of arrival in Scotland, they have just always been. Yet unlike they do now, the Sidhe did not live underground. It is said that when people arrived, they fought with the Sidhe and won, driving them underground. As part of their defeat, the Sidhe were forced to sign a treaty of peace, although as part of that documents humans were meant to leave tributes of milk or butter out for the creatures.

The stories involving Sidhe describe them as a fairly advanced mythical race, on par with tribal society of the time. The Sidhe live in almost clan like structures, with kings and queens. They interact between each other in a similar manner to Scottish clans. It is also said that the Sidhe are above typical mythological creatures in that they are extremely smart, some even going so far as to call their knowledge heavenly.

Interestingly, the Sidhe are actually the group for a much more well known Scottish mythological creature, the Banshee. Banshees are actually just female Sidhe. The first part of the name meaning woman and the second being the pronunciation of Sidhe.

The Shellycoat is a creature in Scoottish folklore, they wear a distinctive coat of shells.

The Shellycoat is a unique creature in Scottish folklore as it is relatively un-malicious. They are said to be found around rivers or bigger streams. As a rule of thumb, the Shellycoat will only try and influence or have any effect on humans if they believe them to be trespassing on the Shellycoat's territory. They will force the human to leave by misleading them, with no malicious intent. Sometimes, for entertainment purposes, the Shellycoat will recreate the sound of someone drowning and laugh at the human when he attempts to help the non-existent drowner.

The Shellycoat is reputed to enjoy and frequent the area around the river Hermitage, in Liddesdale. This fondness of rivers and water areas begs one to draw similarities between the Sheelycoat and other European creatures, the German Schellenrock. Although in other cultures the Shellycoat wears objects other than shells, in the German case, bells.

Red Caps are a figure in Scottish folklore, especially around the Scottish Boarder area.

The Red Cap, being a mythological creature is hard to describe in one set way, with every teller of a Red Cap story letting the story take on a new vision. In general though, the Red Cap is a short, old man, or goblin like creature. They wear iron shoes, and an iron weapon, which is often a spear. The name Red Cap is derived from the last distinctive piece of clothing worn by the creature, its hat. As one would expect, this hat is red, dyed that color by the blood of those that the Red Cap kills. It is said that if the blood in the hat were to dry out then the creature would die, perhaps explaining their seemingly insatiable need to kill.

While it would seem that a Red Cap would be a slow moving creature, being an old man who wears iron shoes, it is said that they are impossible to outrun. In fact the only way to escape from a Red Cap is to recite a passage from the bible. It is said that a similar theme applies for the strength of a Red Cap, which can reputedly overcome even the strongest of men. Apparently this also has the effect of the Red Cap losing a tooth.

The myth of a Red Cap surrounds many Scottish border castles, their natural homeland. One such example is Robin Red Cap, who was meant to be connected to Lord William De Soulis at the Hermitage Castle. Stories claim that the Red Cap committed many murders for Lord William. It is said in folklore that Lord William was eventually killed when he was boiled alive. In reality he was imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle, for his connections to Robert the Bruce.

The Selkie is a creature in Scottish mythology, best described as a seal in its natural form but with the ability to shed its skin and appear human.

The history of the word Selkie, betrays the nature of the creature. Selkie derives from selk, or selch, which is Scots for seal. This has further roots in Old English with seolh, meaning the same. It is believed that the stories of the Selkie originate from the Orkney Islands, which explains the use of Scots for the name.

Typically, the Selkie appears as a seal, accordingly it acts like one in the water. The mythical part comes from the ability of the Selkie to shed its seal skin and take the form of a human. The number of stories based on a female Selkie far outnumber those about the male Selkie.

It is said that if a human were to steal and hide the seal skin of a Selkie, that Selkie would be compelled to marry the human. Typical stories involving the Selkie revolve around a human tricking a Selkie in such a manner and years later the human child of the pair unwittingly finding the skin. Traditional stories have the Selkie returning to the sea as soon as she finds her skin. In the case that a human does not steal the skin, the Selkie can only visit that human every seven years.
There are stories of male Selkies, these come in two general varieties. One has the Selkie male being responsible for storms and the sinking of ships, this is done as an act of revenge upon humans for hunting seals. The male Selkie is also said to be quite omnipotent in the wooing of human females. It is said that a human female can summon a male Selkie by crying seven tears into the sea.

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Red Caps are a figure in Scottish folklore, especially around the Scottish Border area.

The Red Cap, being a mythological creature is hard to describe in one set way, with every teller of a Red Cap story letting the story take on a new vision. In general though, the Red Cap is a short, old man, or goblin like creature. They wear iron shoes, and an iron weapon, which is often a spear. The name Red Cap is derived from the last distinctive piece of clothing worn by the creature, its hat. As one would expect, this hat is red, dyed that color by the blood of those that the Red Cap kills. It is said that if the blood in the hat were to dry out then the creature would die, perhaps explaining their seemingly insatiable need to kill.

While it would seem that a Red Cap would be a slow moving creature, being an old man who wears iron shoes, it is said that they are impossible to outrun. In fact the only way to escape from a Red Cap is to recite a passage from the bible. It is said that a similar theme applies for the strength of a Red Cap, which can reputedly overcome even the strongest of men. Apparently this also has the effect of the Red Cap losing a tooth.

The myth of a Red Cap surrounds many Scottish border castles, their natural homeland. One such example is Robin Red Cap, who was meant to be connected to Lord William De Soulis at the Hermitage Castle. Stories claim that the Red Cap committed many murders for Lord William. It is said in folklore that Lord William was eventually killed when he was boiled alive. In reality he was imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle, for his connections to Robert the Bruce.

King Lot, or Lothian, is a figure in Arthurian legends and also Scottish history.

In Scottish history, King Lot ruled of the Goddodin, a people residing in what is now south-east Scotland. He ruled from Traprain Law, a 221 meter high hill near East Lothian, Scotland. It is hard to judge the validity of any claims made about King Lot, and other historic figures, as all written accounts could have been altered or made up by the author. Despite this, many still believe that King Lot was the father of Theneva, mother of Saint Mungo, who became the patron saint and legendary founder of Glasgow.

In terms of Arthurian legend, King Lot is unique in the sense that his story is relatively unchanged through the various writers and cycles of mythology. He is reputed to be the brother in-law of King Arthur. He is the father of Mordred, the character who fatally wounded King Arthur.

There are variations in the story of King Lot. In some accounts he battles with Arthur alongside other kings, but looses, finally having his lands taken by Arthur. In other accounts he reconciles his differences with Arthur and becomes one of his most loyal supporters.

The Glen Coe Massacre is a controversial moment of Scottish history in which large numbers of the MacIan tribe was killed.

The Glen Coe Massacre came at a time which should have seen greater peace and tranquility in Scotland. In the August of 1691 a pardon was offered by King William III to all Scottish Highland clans who chose to side against him in the Jacobite Uprising. One condition of this pardon was that the chieftains of the clans pledge an oath of allegiance to him by the 1st of January 1692.

The MacIan was the victims of the Glen Coe Massacre for a number of reasons. As their leader, Alastair MacIan, was waiting for advice on the oath from King James VII, although the advice was to take the oath it came at a late date. Further, when Alastair MacIan travelled to take the oath it was already incredibly close to the deadline and he arrived at the wrong location. By the time he came to the right place to take the oath, it was past deadline and it was not accepted by the Government.

The Glen Coe Massacre took place on the 1st of February 1692. The government dispatched 120 soldiers to surround the MacIan clan and prevent their escape. Due to weather conditions and late arrival of some troops, only 38 Clan MacIan were killed, from a total of 200. Some managed to escape only to die from the severe weather conditions in the mountains in which they tried to hide. At a later date the MacIan Clan were offered protection by the Scottish Privy Council.

Doric is the dialect spoken in north-east Scotland.

In the past, Doric, was used to refer to all dialects of Lowland Scots, although now it is used exclusively for the north- eastern area, like Angus and Forres. Technically, Doric belongs in the Indo-European, West Germanic, Scots family of languages. As Doric is a dialect and not an individual language, it is hard to judge the exact number of speakers that it has, equally, there is no regulating body for Doric, although in recent years interest in it has been resurging.
The term Doric comes about as a reference to Dorians and their dialect. The original Doric dialect was regarded by Athenians to be the lowest and most rustic of Ancient Greek dialects. This was transposed further in time, with the more rustic groups of historic Scotland receiving the same name. The root of this comes from a point at which Edinburgh was called by some “the Athens of the North”, as such, those subscribing to this idea referred to those from Edinburgh as Attic and those from rural areas as Doric.

Doric language received a significant amount of wide spread publicity in 2006. One proponent of this was the Aberdeen Hotel, who at one point instigated that their elevators would be voiced in Doric. Also, Maureen Watt decided that when she took her Scottish Parliamentary oath, she would do it in Doric. In the past, Doric has received times of increased interest. “Kailyard” literature was heavily influenced and often written in Doric. George Macdonald, considered to be the first fantasy author, also wrote in Doric.