Ballechin House

Built in the nineteenth century, the Ballechin House in Pertshire, Scotland, is a classic example of a haunting that is seemingly caused by an angry, wronged ghost. In 1876 the owner of the house, Major Steuart, died shortly after declaring that he was not going to allow his spirit to leave the world. Instead, Steuart claimed that he would find a way to put his spirit into the body of one of his fourteen dogs. Once the funeral was over, however, Steuart’s nephew killed all of the dogs and moved into the Ballechin House. According to some who knew Steuart’s heir, he did this because he did not want to spend any time or money caring for the dogs. Others, however, said that the nephew was a superstitious, religious man who did not want his uncle coming back to life, even as a dog. In either case, shortly after the dogs’ death, strange things started to happen in the house. The odor of dogs would appear at odd times and places, for no apparent reason, and people in the house would suddenly feel themselves pushed by what they sensed was a dog—though no dog was there. Visitors also heard strange noises, including knocking, loud bangs, and angry but muffled voices. Some years later, the nephew was accidentally struck and killed by a London taxicab, at which time the Ballechin House was put up for rent.

From 1892 to 1896, a few groups— including a priest and some nuns seeking a religious retreat and a party of hunters wanting to shoot game on the property— stayed in the house. All such occupants fled within days, saying it was haunted by unseen animals. From February to May 1897, members of the Psychical Research Society, a group dedicated to investigating paranormal phenomena, rented the house in order to study the goings-on there. At this point the haunting escalated: The strange noises became louder and more frequent; the house seemed filled with the sounds, smells, and jostling of unseen dogs; and a mysterious black spaniel appeared and disappeared on several occasions in front of many witnesses. A few people also reported seeing a weeping apparition of a nun. (They later discovered that Major Steuart’s sister had been a nun.) Eventually the members of the Psychical Research Society decided to abandon the house as well, after declaring it haunted. The Ballechin House no longer exists (though another structure is located on the same land), but the grounds where it once stood are said to be haunted by the ghost of a black dog.

SEE ALSO:

• Apparitions
• Animal Ghosts

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning