In honour and thanks to all the men and women who fought for our freedom and the ones who continue to fight to protect our country and others around the world, I thought I'd release an amazing ghost story from my newest book Ghost Stories - A Medium's Interaction with The Afterlife.
The Soldiers of Broughty Castle
Landing in Edinburgh was one of the best moments to that point of my year! I’m not the best flyer in the world, but an hour before I landed in Edinburgh, I stood on the tarmac in Dublin, Ireland staring at the strangest little plane, I’ve ever seen. It had a belly on it that looked strangely like a boat, and a propeller engine on each wing. It sat about 50 people but in my mind, I had no idea how it possibly could. My first thought was OMG we are flying in a plane that can land in the water…is that a just in case thing? Then I didn’t know if that made me feel safe or more uncomfortable. As we stood in line next to the plane, other small and large planes start taxiing on either side of us. My husband was pacing back and forth, talking constantly about “puddle jumpers” and how he has never seen one that looked like this before (he obsessively or passionately – depends on how you look at it - knows a lot about planes). He reassures me, us, himself that these turbo prop planes are known for picking up speed really fast and taking off quickly, almost like a plane on an aircraft carrier. Again, not sure if that made me feel better or ill. In my mind I just kept repeating over and over again, “it will be ok, they do this all the time”. I contemplated running from the spot I was standing on and sprinting towards one of the many buildings surrounding us, or even running towards the Dublin countryside that surrounds the airport. But visions of being tackled by security and the fact that I’m bone tired from our flight so far, I decided to suck it up and I followed the others into this tiny tube they are calling a plane. As I ascend the stairs I was greeted by a super cheerful steward, with a strong Irish accent, his partner in crime was standing at the other end of the tube/plane and that’s when I notice that in order for them to move about they need to hunch over. I instantly felt sorry for them and figure that they have to do this several times a day, and if they are willing to hunch over in a tube that scuds down a runway at a ridiculous speed and then shoots into the air and flies over the Irish Sea it truly is going to be ok. I attempted to relax as we taxied around the Dublin airport, actually we taxied and taxied and taxied so much that I felt I was in an actual taxi and was being driven to Scotland. But then we came to an abrupt stop, the engines roared, and we shot like a rock shooting out of a slingshot down the runway and before I could even gasp, we were up in the air. I have to admit the takeoff was strangely satisfying and as I focused on the constant bumps of turbulence, it was oddly comforting. As we landed in Scotland, I said a little (large) prayer to thank the universe for getting us here safely. Little did I know the worse, was yet to come.
As we gathered up our luggage and found the car rental place, we were vibrating with excitement. We had been up for almost 24 hours but in a few hours, we would be meeting up with family we haven’t seen in years. It was worth the stress of obsessively staring at a gps map of our plane scudding across the Atlantic Ocean for hours. The rental car attendant hands us our keys and told us our number to pick up the car. We ordered a midsize car, thinking it was small but big enough for us to all fit plus 4 medium pieces of luggage, but as we stood staring at the vehicle in front of us, we figure it must be a mistake. I hurried over to the attendant again and told them there has been an error, she smiles and said, “no error, I upgraded you”. Oh, that’s so nice, but oh my god what the hell was she thinking! I ran back and informed everyone that this SUV is ours. In many ways it is fabulous, in many ways its horrifying! SUV’s do not belong on Scottish roads, Mini Cooper’s don’t fit on most Scottish roads, never mind a car 4 times the size! We jumped in and my husband cautiously started our journey to his hometown.
Apparently when you drive on the left side of the road and your steering wheel is on the right you tend to drift to the left side. After a few curb and wheel impacts we found our way to the motorway, happy to be on a strait road with no major turns or freaking round abouts!! Round abouts are a great idea to keep traffic moving, if you know how to use one! I’m getting stressed just typing this paragraph, it’s incredible how much you can clench your muscles in your legs and butt. As we chugged along the motorway, we were all feeling very proud of my husband for getting us this far, he was doing a great job considering it had been almost 30 years since he last drove in Scotland and he was also functioning on limited sleep. Then it all just became a happy memory, signs appeared that told us we had reached our cut off, we exited the motorway and hit the first round about! Steve was still doing pretty good. As we got closer to town, he started to recognize where he was going, so some of the stress of not knowing exactly where we were going started to fade away, only to be replaced by the challenge of parked cars and narrower streets. As we get closer and closer to Broughty Ferry, the tighter the streets became. These are streets that were made for tiny British type cars, not an American monster SUV. OK, so the car we had was by no means a monster SUV, it was, if at home, a mid-size SUV, but here, it felt like we are driving Grave Digger (a very famous monster truck). And at some point, in our journey to find our Airbnb I thought our only option was going to be to drive over parked cars just like Grave Digger would do. In all honesty we came so close to leaving traces of paint from our rental car on some of the parked vehicles, let’s just say our side mirrors may have lightly kissed some parked cars mirrors once or twice.
The further into town the more tense we all became, we all started freaking out in our own ways. Me constantly nagging Steve to move over to the right, him yelling that he couldn’t, or he would hit the car on that side that was parked, Emilia holding her breath and Jack just sat frozen in fear. Finally, it all became too much, Steve navigated us to a spot he hoped wouldn’t be too busy and parked the car, we were not sure we were even allowed to park there, but at this point I was willing to pay the parking ticket. Once the car stopped, I have never seen people get out of a vehicle faster. We all just wanted to put our feet on solid ground and destress. I was so incredibly stressed that I told my husband there was no way I was getting in that car again! I’d walk to the Airbnb with my luggage before ever going through that stress again. And that is when I turned and saw what we were parked by. “The Castle” as Steve and his family call it. Broughty Ferry Castle a majestic site to see after such a crazy journey.
Steve walks us towards The River Tay, which flows past the castle out into the North Sea. The sandy beach which you’d expect to see in the Mediterranean, not Scotland goes on for miles. Miles and miles of sand deserted completely except for a lone man and his dog who are having a great time with a stick, while seals perched on rocks in the river watch their game. It was July, midday, with the sun shining, yet no one was there enjoying this amazing beach, ok it was a bit cold (18 degrees Celsius/64 degrees Fahrenheit) to be sunbathing on a beach but I’d have expected more people beachcombing and enjoying the splendor of it all. Once you are situated on the pier looking at the most beautiful scenery you can imagine; The “Silvery” Tay (poem by William McGonagall) flowing past you and as you look a mile across the Tay to the other shore, a large white light house stands firm with a background of rolling patchwork coloured hills with quaint homes perched amongst the hills and fields. But then you realize very quickly just how strong and fast the current is flowing, and how this picturesque view is also an incredibly dangerous one, going for a swim may just end you up in Norway. We made our way to the Castle grounds, and as we crossed over the “Castle Green” (a small grassy park that leads to the castle), we pass a large kids playground with a small splash pad. Kids in swimsuits (yes, I said they were in swimsuits and we were in sweaters) were jumping and skipping around, while their Moms stood to the side chatting and drinking their coffees. I stopped for a moment and took it all in and wondered; 1) do these people understand that they are playing on the grounds of a CASTLE, I mean seriously they probably come here multiple times a week if not a day, play on the swings and run around chasing each other with a giant castle in the background and when I say background I mean a stone’s throw away background! And 2) It’s freezing out, it maybe, pushing the 18 Degree Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) mark, but not by much, and these kids are running through a splash pad in swimsuits (not wet suits), no wonder the Scot’s are known for being made of tougher stuff! They start them young! I shook off my crazy thoughts and ran to catch up with the rest of my family who were making their way across a small but impressive draw bridge.
Each step I took across the draw bridge the dizzier I became. At first, I thought it was just the stress of our journey and then I entered the main area of the castle and I felt as if I was being knocked back and forth like a ball in a pinball machine. Moving as quickly as possible I made my way to a bench that was situated next to a huge cannon. Dropping on to it, I closed my eyes and centered myself. With my eyes closed I could sense people spirits or ghosts from the past rushing past me, I could just barely hear whispers. One part of me was wanting to jump right into investigation mode, another huge part of me was too exhausted and knew that it wouldn’t be safe to put myself or my family in any situation talking to unknown dead people when I wasn’t at full strength, body, mind and soul, you just never know what you may come up against in a location you’ve never been in. Once I caught my breath and regained myself, I forced myself up onto my feet and started exploring my husband’s old stomping grounds. I’ve heard many stories of what Steve and his childhood friends got up to on the castle grounds and the piers that surround it, I was excited to explore it.
The energy was extremely strong, the best way I could put it is that the energy felt extremely busy. Wisps and gusts of energy flowed from one tower look out to another, there wasn’t a spot I could find that felt relaxed and calm. It was all hustle bustle. Having had enough of the outside courtyard, I decided to see if the inside of the castle felt any different. If anything, the courtyard was relaxed compared to the energy inside the castle. As you step in you are immediately ascending a tight (and I mean tight) stone spiral staircase. The first flight felt like walking against a rushing current of water, almost like all the energy was flowing down the stairs and you had to fight to walk up them. Once I got up to the first floor, I took refuge in the little souvenir shop that sold little trinkets of Scotland. I walked around gathering my thoughts and energy, preparing to battle up the stairs to the next floor. Feeling ready, I stepped onto the stairs, I made it up two stairs when I became overwhelmed with dizziness and I literally felt like I hit a brick wall, I couldn’t take another step forward. I felt that if I did attempt to take another step I would tumble backwards. I didn’t see any ghosts or spirits in the stairwell, but I sure felt that the presence that was in front of me did not want me going any further up the stairs. Normally I would tell the presence to move out of the way, but not being at my best energetically I retreated down the stairs out to the courtyard and plunked myself down on the bench before I fell over. Sitting waiting for my family to finish their exploring, I sat soaking up the sunshine, as I absorbed the fact that I was sitting in Scotland in a Castle that was completed around the date of 1495! That’s almost 400 years before Canada, the country that I’m from and just left only hours before was founded, that is mind blowing! I knew I would have another opportunity to discover more about the crazy energy that this castle has and I couldn’t wait to figure out who or what was on those stairs. But at that point there were higher priorities on my list; I needed sleep and food! Finally, the family congregates around the bench I was sitting on and we decided to leave the castle (and our car – thank goodness) and walk around town to find our Airbnb and grab a drink. As we explored Steve’s old haunts and took a lovely walk down memory lane, we heard from his Uncle Grant who had been searching for us around the castle! After all it seems to be the central meeting place here like a piazza in Italy would be or a coffee shop in Canada. It was a wonderful and emotional meeting. We hadn’t seen him in many years, and it was a much overdue visit. After a quick visit, I nonchalantly took Grant aside and talked him into driving our car to our Airbnb with Steve. I convinced both of them that a drive around town the next morning once we all had a good sleep was a must so Grant and Steve could catch up with each other. Of course, it was a total scam, I just wanted Grant to give Steve driving tips while they were out together! I swore I would not get in that monster suv again until Steve had some lessons and learned the rules of the roads.
The next day after a good sleep and a bit more exploring, we found ourselves back at the castle. Steve’s cousins Gael and Gemma and their families met up with us and we thought it would be fun to try to explore the castle one more time. And one more time the energy was too overwhelming for me to venture further than the courtyard and the first floor. This time it was so overwhelming that I started to feel sick to my stomach and my head began to pound. I found myself once more perched on the bench in the courtyard, while everyone else explored. This kind of thing doesn’t happen too often, and it makes me angry more than anything. But I also know that I’m not at 100 percent strength yet, I was still pretty run down from the journey. As the kids started to gather around and everyone started to get hungry, we decided we’d meet up with Uncle Grant and we’d all go for dinner. As we were all making plans, I glanced up at the tower windows and standing staring down at me was a gentleman. At first, I thought it was a living person but then I realized that this man was in a section of the tower that isn’t open to the public. I was intrigued before seeing this creepy man, now I knew I would be making my way up that tower one way or another.
Cut to a week later. I’m standing on the beach staring up at the castle tower and walls that surround the courtyard. Steve and I had gotten up early every morning and had walked the beach soaking in the sea air, walking past the castle most mornings. But this day was the day that I was going to venture back into the castle, and I was going to make it the top of that tower if it was the last thing I did! It didn’t take much to convince my husband to go back into the Castle yet again on this visit. I had a game plan in my mind, head down, move directly to the stairs and move up them as fast as I could. I didn’t hesitate at all! I was not going to allow the crazy energy in the courtyard to mess with my energy again. Head down, vision laser focused I made a beeline for the Castle door and start to ascend the stairs. I hit the second flight which was the furthest I had gotten up to this point, I was feeling pretty confident and as I turn the corner the energy smacked right into me again. It’s like walking right into a brick wall. It pushed me backwards this time, but I was not going to allow it to stop me. Pushing forward I needed to hold on to the walls to keep my balance. I felt the energy around me and knew it was the presence of a man, I felt him more as I moved further up the stairs. He was trying his best to stop me and others from going further up into the tower. I kept pushing forward and finally I reached the second floor. Bursting out of the spiral staircase energy, I walked around the second floor which holds historic artifacts. I still could not see the spirit that is the master of the staircase, but I could feel him watching my husband and I as we walked around the second floor. Not wanting to waste any more time and honestly not wanting to pick up too much energy, I headed for the staircase again. This time before I even made it to the first stair heading upward, I felt like I was being pulled backwards. It was a horrible feeling. It felt that at any time I would be pulled back and I’d tumble head over heels down the steep stone stairs. Refusing to give into the fear that this ghost wanted me to feel, I pushed forward. Finally making my way to the top of the tower. The view was incredible, from a section of windows you could see the river below, where we were able to witness a few dolphins swimming, spiraling and torpedoing through the current. It was incredible. A chatty young girl was jumping up and down with excitement seeing the dolphins play, watching them closely with her pair of binoculars, which she kindly offered to share with me. I laughed and joked with her mom and as I turned to leave the area, standing statue still by the staircase was a stern looking man. It was the same man that a week before I saw staring down from a tower window at me, and now here he was looking me straight in the face.
I give him a tiny smirk, hoping he isn’t as bad or mean as he seems to be. But my tiny smile gets no reaction. He stands, arms crossed, a tartan woven hat on, he looked like the stereo typical Scottish Highlander you might have seen in the movie Braveheart. I moved towards him and that’s when I realize that the closer, I walked towards him the less of him I could see. He was what people would call an apparition; he was see-through. Many ghosts and spirits cannot manifest themselves fully, it takes an incredible amount of energy for a ghost to show themselves at all. Over the years I’ve come to realize that some spirits and ghosts are very talented at showing themselves physically to us, others are not great at doing it, if they can do it at all. I could just make out his off-white shirt, and tartan material over his one shoulder, I could not see legs at all, he wasn’t floating or anything like that, he was standing firm, I was just unable to see his legs, and he was unable to manifest them in the physical world. He was about 5’ 10” and had very broad shoulders. As I approached him, he didn’t move a muscle. Speaking to him I asked him what he was doing. He did not respond at all. I shrugged my shoulders and started to move away from him when he said in an incredibly thick accent, that we are not supposed to be up in the tower. No one is allowed in the tower. I apologized and said that the tower is now open for people from our time to enjoy the history of the Castle. He just repeated more firmly that no one is allowed up the tower. This ghost was not caring that times had changed or that he was dead, he was just simply very angry that people were coming up the tower. We dinna belong there. His words not mine. Looking for another way down from this tower I searched every door I found. Most were locked and none were an escape route from the menacing ghost. Grabbing my husband, I explained that I thought it was best that we left as the angry ghost guard wanted us gone. Hurrying by the ghost we moved as fast as we could down the winding narrow staircase. Glancing back every once in a while, when I felt a push of energy at my back, I could just make out the man following us down the stairs.
When we finally reached the main door, I literally leaped out into the courtyard, never happier to be out of the watchful eye of the miserable tower guarding ghost. Glancing back at the tower I could see the ghost looking out the window at us. Satisfied that he was happy that we were out of this tower I turned to speak with my husband who had ventured onto one of the grassy mounds within the courtyard. I was completely shocked when I turned to see him standing on a mound surrounded by the spirits/ghosts of WW11 soldiers. I quickly realized why I had felt so much activity, there were at least 30 men standing around talking and laughing. Some were smoking, some reading, others hurrying here and there, going somewhere within the castle. I slowly made my way to where my husband was standing amongst the soldiers. He had no clue what was happening around him. As I weaved my way towards Steve, I said hello to one or two of the soldiers. They all smiled and nicely replied. These men were all ghosts. My heart sank for them all. Why were there so many? Why were they all here of all places? I remember Steve’s Granny telling me stories of the town being taken over by the military during World War 11. With Broughty Ferry being at the mouth of the River Tay and the North Sea so accessible it was a desired location, also with many shipyards down the river in Dundee, it was a perfect location for the forces to make a temporary base. She told me stories of how the families had to move out of their homes in order for officers to live in them. Many families were relocated to the other castle in town to live together. But I didn’t understand why they hadn’t crossed over or why they were in Broughty Castle. This Castle never saw fighting in WW11 and as far as I knew there were no deaths from the war here? I was very confused by it all. Just as I was thinking this thought a young man, I’d say in his teens turned to me and in an English accent said that they didn’t feel they were finished what they were doing, and this was the last place some of them were stationed before crossing the North Sea to the front lines. I said that the war had ended and that they had won, and they are finished and could crossover. He said that there were many reasons they are still there not just unfinished business. He said many of their bodies were not recovered from the battle fields, and many other soldiers have issues with the death and killing and are worried that they will be punished if they attempt to cross into “heaven”. I told him that they will be allowed to crossover that it doesn’t work that way, but he said they don’t believe that. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help, he smiled and said not today. Then he winked at me and walked over to speak with another soldier.
I left the Castle that day feeling overwhelmed. I was excited about my interaction with the angry tower ghosts, who has issues with people entering his tower. And I was extremely upset that I couldn’t help the soldiers that are in limbo. That night when I was in bed, the young soldier showed up in my room (the funny thing is I never told my family this story at the time, Steve kept saying he heard knocking at our door. He actually got up in the middle of the night when he heard the knock and looked out the peep hole to see if anyone was at the door! I kept lying and said he was hearing things, the last thing I wanted to do was freak him out more than he already was by telling him a ghost followed me home! The knocking was the young polite soldier, he knocked a couple times before entering, why he did this I have no idea other than he was just very polite and didn’t want to enter without announcing himself). He told me he came to find me because he knew I was upset, and they wanted me to know they are not in limbo like we think. They are ok where they are and when the time is right, they will move on. He told me that some of the soldier ghosts just followed some of the others to the castle, that they had never been there in life, but they are there together as a brotherhood. He told me others had moved on to the other side and one day they will all find their way across, but right now they are finding comfort with each other. A brotherhood on the other side. And then he just winked again and was gone. My interactions with spirit/ghosts always teach me something and this young man just taught me that being a ghost isn’t as horrible as we think, as a group these men, many of them who died before they ever truly lived are finding comfort and friendship with each other. They were in no hurry to change their circumstance, but they all were aware they could at any time. It seems that many of them are sticking around for each other, not wanting to crossover because some of their fellow soldiers are not ready. Sort of the “leave no man behind” motto you hear from many military forces.
I have to say this is one time that I hope when I go back to Broughty Ferry Castle that this group of ghosts are no longer there and that the Castle grounds are as quiet as a 600-year-old castle can be! I know they are happy all together, but I know they will be happier if they crossed. If they are still there, I hope to convince many of them to cross. But I do know you can’t talk a ghost into crossing most times, but to convince a group of men who seem to be enjoying the company of each other, that are supporting each other and seem to enjoy watching the visitors from this era, I’m not sure if any convincing will work to get them across. But I will try my best to do just that!
