Blythswood Square sits at the heart of Glasgow’s Georgian New Town - elegant, symmetrical, and steeped in history. But behind the sandstone facades, the square holds a darker story.
In this episode, we explore a haunting said to be tied to one of Scotland’s most infamous court cases: the 1857 trial of Madeleine Smith. Her secret affair with Pierre L’Angelier ended in scandal and death, and although the verdict was “Not Proven,” the questions never truly faded. Nor, it seems, did the presence of those involved.
We look at ghost stories stretching across decades: strange smells, silent corridors, footsteps in locked rooms, and apparitions that appear to walk not just through buildings — but through time itself. Some of the tales link directly to Madeleine’s story. Others seem older, or completely separate, yet share the same unnerving details. A woman in white gliding past closed doors. A child’s scream. A figure in Victorian dress vanishing into a wall.
This is a square shaped as much by memory as by architecture. And whether you believe in ghosts or not, some places leave a mark that doesn’t easily fade.
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28:53
Bruegel’s Book and the Man in the Hallway: Untold Ghost Stories from Edinburgh
As featured in Tales from the Crypts of Auld Reekie by John Tantalon
What if one of the most haunted streets in Edinburgh wasn’t in the Old Town, but found just beyond the Meadows — overlooked, residential, and never mentioned in ghost tour scripts?
This episode explores the eerie happenings of Arden Street, a seemingly ordinary road in Marchmont with a long history of unsettling events. From spectral footsteps and phantom dogs to frightening apparitions and a mysterious book of Bruegel prints, these stories draw from real first-hand accounts gathered over years.
I originally wrote this chapter for Tales from the Crypts of Auld Reekie, a brilliant collection of Edinburgh hauntings compiled by John Tantalon and featuring contributions from Graeme Milne, Kerrie Powell, Scott Lyal and Joss Cameron.
If you’d like to explore the full book, Tales from the Crypts of Auld Reekie is available now on Amazon.
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31:02
The Tomb and the Tower: The Ghosts of Haunted Alloa
Beneath the streets of Alloa lies a history far stranger than most realise.
In this episode, we explore the layered past of a small Scottish town once tied to kings, conflict, and industry—and the eerie stories that have emerged from its most forgotten corners. From the imposing walls of Alloa Tower, where ghostly figures are said to appear in dungeons, bedrooms, and echoing stairwells, to the rediscovered tomb of a long-vanished family whose final resting place seems anything but still, this is a journey through places where memory clings to stone.
What begins as a story of heritage and architecture slowly shifts into something darker—accounts of unseen presences, unexplained cold spots, and a lone figure spotted near the cemetery gates. Disturbances that might be easily dismissed—if they weren’t so consistent.
Hauntings don’t always come with a name or a face. Sometimes they’re found in the silence that follows a rediscovery, or in the places where the past was meant to stay buried.
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The Paisley Poltergeist: The Glenburn Haunting
In this episode, we turn to Glenburn, a quiet area in Paisley, Renfrewshire—where in the 1980s, a family reported a series of disturbing and unexplained events. What began with strange noises soon escalated into something far more intense: loud crashes with no source, doors slamming, and a deep sense of unease that seemed permeate throughout the property.
Neighbours heard nothing, but friends of Alan - the young boy who lived in the flat - experienced something that nearly ended in tragedy and ultimately brought in the local authorities.
Was it a classic poltergeist case - focused around one member of the household? Or, was it something psychological?
Join me as we explore the documented reports, eyewitness accounts, and theories behind one of Scotland’s lesser-known but compelling hauntings.
If you enjoy stories of real-life hauntings, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts or experiences in the comments.
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The White Lady and the Chained Grave: Ghost Stories from Scotland’s Southern Uplands
There’s something about the land around Sanquhar that feels… different. The fields have an atmosphere to them, as if the place is waiting for something. And when the light starts to fade behind the broken walls of Sanker Castle, the stories don’t just feel like stories anymore - they come to life.
There are accounts from the east stairwell. Of a woman seen at the top - tall, dressed in white, wringing her hands. They call her the White Lady. She’s been part of the local memory for as long as anyone can remember.
In life she is thought to have been Marion of Dalpeddar, a noblewoman who entered the castle in 1590 and never came out. No burial. No record of her death. Just witness sightings, passed down through the years - until, centuries later, a skeleton was discovered hidden deep within the stone.
This is her story - and the shadow she’s left behind.
The episode also looks at the case of John Wilson, a servant caught between two powerful rivals. He was executed the same year Marion disappeared, and some say his ghost remains.
Move beyond the castle walls and there are more reports of hauntings.
There’s talk of a phantom pedlar still walking the old path near the Deil’s Stone. Witches were said to live in the area and down by Crawick Water, they say a great black dog waits in the dark - watching, unmoving, and not quite real.
With thanks to Christopher, a long-time subscriber, for helping trace some of the earliest stories and local legends behind this episode.
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