As we mentioned in our ‘Black Magic & The Occult’ section, rumours have been rife for decades about witchcraft and black magic rituals being undertaken in various locations around the city such as ruined castles, parklands and gloomy, wooded areas. If we look at the rumours on a national scale, the stories of witchcraft, devilment […]
Dundee History Archive
How to use the archive
Just keep scrolling down to see the most recent posts, and click previous at the bottom of the page to see more – be warned there are over 130 stories here! If you’re looking for something specific, use the search bar (there’s one in the footer on every page if you keep scrolling down, you’ll find it!) or click on any category (like crime and death, or wars and battles – the ones with the coloured backgrounds below each post) or one of the words in the tag cloud below to see all posts in a specific theme.
We hope you enjoy reading all the stories about Dundee’s dark history we’ve put together for you, but if you’re looking for things to do in Dundee why not take one of our walking tours!
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Vikings – The Battle of Barry
Local historians agree that there is evidence of Vikings in the area, and DNA analysis suggests 8% of us have Viking ancestry in our genes. But did they battle the locals at Barry?
Hellhounds
For those of you who don’t know what Hellhounds are; be thankful. Prominent and frequently-reported features include mangy fur, the colour of night, glowing red eyes, a pungent odour and possessing supernatural speed and strength. Often used as guardians of the entrances to the underworld, legend has it that if you stare into their eyes […]
Earl Beardie
The tale of Alexander Lindsay, the 4th Earl of Crawford is by far one of the most popular ghost stories of Glamis. Known as “Earl Beardie”, Alexander Lindsay is alleged to have been a cruel, evil man with a wicked temperament and a searing bloodlust. Born to nobility and of a particularly influential character, he […]
George Wishart
George Wishart was born in 1513 and became one of the earliest Scottish religious reformers. Wishart is widely recognised as a martyr for his Protestant beliefs and was burned at the stake because of them in St Andrews on the orders of Cardinal David Beaton under accusations of heresy in 1546. George Wishart is best […]
Grey Lady of Glamis
The Grey Lady of Glamis haunts the family chapel and the Clock Tower of the world-famous Glamis Castle. Steeped in centuries of tale and legend, the castle has been standing since the late 1300’s, and has seen its fair share of goings-on. The Grey Lady of Glamis is believed to be Lady Janet Douglas, burned […]
William Bury
William Bury presented an alarming story concerning the death of his wife to local police in Dundee on 10th February 1889, but was he the infamous Jack the Ripper?
Springheels
In the latter part of 1882 and into the first few months of 1883, Dundee had a somewhat alarming visitor “…described as being rather tall, and is generally seen dressed in a long dark cloak, although occasionally he sometimes assumes a luminous appearance, supposed to be due to the inside of the cloak being lined […]
The White Lady
Nearly everywhere seems to have a story about a White Lady, so let’s have a wee look at some of our own local legends concerning mysterious ladies in white… The White Lady of the Coffin Mill Now, we all know the media likes a headline, but by and far, this is one of the best. […]
Glamis Castle
Whilst not actually in Dundee, per se, we couldn’t let a wee treasure like Glamis Castle fly under the radar. Steeped in centuries of dark, blood-soaked history and with more legends attached to it than almost any other castle in Scotland, Glamis Castle was too hard to resist. The Castle was presented to Sir John […]