archaicwonder: Haunted Dirleton Castle: The Devil And His Witches Dirleton Castle, in East Lothian,
archaicwonder:Haunted Dirleton Castle: The Devil And His WitchesDirleton Castle, in East Lothian, is a medieval fortress that dates back to the 13th century. Several accused witches were held in the castle’s pit prison during the Scottish witch hunts of 1649–50. They were deemed guilty on account of the findings of John Kincaid, the witch hunter. Allegedly the accused had the mark of the Devil, so these poor people were kept in the pit until orders for their execution came, either by strangling or burning. Legend has it that a large ‘shadow man’ appeared on the grassy green beneath the castle wall in June of 1649 during the trials. People believed that this was the Devil himself, adding further to the hysteria.Electronic equipment has been known to malfunction on site, especially in the pit prison area where the alleged witches were kept. Many visitors believe that the spirits of the accused remain trapped there. Unexplained cold spots have been reported and sometimes people experience the uneasy feeling that someone is standing behind them when no one is actually there, or that they are being watched. The castle was built in three main phases in different eras by three different families. It started with a castle comprising several circular towers and a complete curtain wall that was built on a rocky outcrop by John de Vaux in the late 1200s. Ownership of Dirleton Castle passed back and forth between the Scots and the English during the Wars of Independence and it was slighted by Robert the Bruce after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 to prevent its future use by the English. The main surviving elements from this period are at the south end of the castle, with the most impressive being the huge drum tower or donjon. The remains of the castle passed from the de Vaux family to the Halyburton family by marriage in the mid 1300s. Large parts of the castle can be traced back to this period, including the gatehouse. The Ruthven family eventually became the owners of the castle in the early 1500s and added to it as well.The castle’s end came with the arrival of Cromwell. It was used as a base for moss-troopers attacking supply routes during his invasion of Scotland. In 1651 the castle was badly damaged by General Monck’s cannons and fell to ruin soon after. -- source link
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