Ghosts of St Andrews Castle

St Andrews Castle resides by the sea in the historic town of St Andrews, located in Fife, Scotland. It served as the primary residence of bishops and archbishops of St Andrews. In addition, King James III was most likely born at the castle in 1451.

St Andrews Castle

 

The Fore Tower, pictured above, was originally built of stone in the late 12th century. Its structure most likely included wooden towers on each side and a palisade wall spanning the same lines as the present stone wall.

In 1336, the Fore Tower was enlarged but demolished the following year. Towards the latter portion of the 14th century, construction began once again. It included the construction of a significant stone curtain wall with two new towers, as well as rebuilding the Fore Tower.

The castle underwent another transformation during the first half of the 16th century. Construction efforts encompassed the addition of rounded towers to the southeast and southwest corners of the castle. However, both towers were destroyed during the siege of 1546-1547, sparked by the murder of Cardinal Beaton, who served as the Archbishop of St Andrews. He imprisoned Protestants in the dungeon beneath the castle. Eventually, these prisoners would go insane in the darkness, at which point they were murdered. Cardinal Beaton's brutal treatment of Protestants included the arrest, trial, and execution of George Wishart, who was burned at the stake in front of St Andrews Castle on March 1st, 1546. In response, Protestant infiltrators penetrated the castle and assassinated the cardinal. His body was suspended over the castle walls by an arm and leg to form the cross of St Andrews.

Although a ruin today, Cardinal Beaton still roams the castle, in addition to others.

A White Lady ghost has also been seen roaming the castle ruins, most often during the early evening hours in the autumn.