CULCREUCH CASTLE'S GHOSTLY CAT

Betcha' can't say that three times fast!  Culcreuch Castle is located in Fintry, Scotland, and according to their hotel concierge is the oldest continually occupied castle in Scotland, the main hotel building dating back to somewhere between 1290 and 1320.  Also according to the concierge, 'off the record' it houses the biggest bat community in all of Scotland.  Apparently scores of them live in a recently discovered hidden room right above the kitchen (this brought up visions of bat guano seasoning dropping in our soup!)  Castle Culcreuch is a very stark and impressive structure as you approach along their driveway, and I will confess; a little eerie.  There is little physical adornment to the outside of the castle; solid gray stone jutting straight up five stories with the ancient narrow windows affording the only visual break.  This castle has been the seat of Clan Galbraith since 1390 and has recorded some colorful history.  

By this point on our trip when we turned into their driveway, I had one daughter barely recovering from a British 'super virus' and the other smack in the throes of it.  Due to fly out of Edinburgh to Ireland the next day, I was sure my youngest would need a doctor when we got there.  Needless to say, all three of us were a tad edgy that day, and the exterior look of the place didn't assuage our jitters any.  We walked into the beautiful lobby and had to wait because of customers in front of us, so the girls went outside to mull around and take pictures of the castle and surrounding lake.  I drifted to a corner of the lobby where a massive guestbook/historic journal of Culcreuch lay spread open on a pedestal stand.  Signing the guestbook I skimmed through a few of the pages and read at the bottom of one that, in addition to all the two-legged spirits supposedly calling Culcreuch home, there have been many documented encounters with the Culcreuch Castle cat.  Flipping further through the book were hundreds of entries from visitors who'd had an experience of the paranormal while there and written it down for posterity. 

I registered for our overnight stay and when ready to be escorted to our room I called the girls back in.  Culcreuch, did I happen to mention is five stories?  And no elevator.  We were given a room on the fourth floor, the top floor for customers, I believe, because above that is mostly attic.  When we walked into the cramped room the three of us got a bad feeling as we checked out every corner.  My bed was wedged in a separate area off the tiny bathroom that used to be a closet.  Our steward bid her leave of us, but we informed her that we might not be staying . . . I needed to speak with my daughters about it privately. 

Once alone, all three of us jumped to the same page immediately; we all felt uncomfortable.  The first time that had happened in all of our Scotland accommodations.  Better to get back to Edinburgh that night so we wouldn't get caught up in any delay the next morning and miss our flight.  There was a lot of road construction going on at the time.  My eldest sat on the side of the bed as we discussed getting back on the road, but suddenly she went still and her eyes flew open wide.  She stood and looked around her ankles, then under the bed. 

                "What are you doing?" I asked.
 

                "Mom, I swear something just wrapped itself around
                 my ankles!  Like a cat or something purring up
                 against me, but there's nothing  there!  Nothing's
                 under the bed.  It felt . . . almost like something
                 jumped off the bed beside me and onto the floor;
                 next thing I know it's rubbing up against me!" 

The girls hadn't gone near the guest book to have read up on that little piece of information.  All three of us jumped into action and did a thorough search of the room, turning up nothing.  That was it; our decision was final.  We were leaving.  If this level of paranormal hubbub was manifesting in broad daylight, we did NOT want to stick around for the nighttime shadows to show us just how crazy things might get.   We left the bats in the belfry and pointed our rental car toward Edinburgh.  If creepy/beautiful is your thing, you won't miss the mark if you check in to Culcreuch Castle!  Log our experience in the guestbook, if you would be so kind.  We hightailed it out of there so fast, we forgot!  Later, friends.