Borthwick Castle in Midlothian is supposedly haunted by a number of ghosts, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who must rank as one of Britain’s most pervasive specters. Supposedly, the castle is also haunted by the tragic spirit of a murdered servant girl, as well as an embezzling chancellor who met a horrible death.

The ancestral home of the Borthwick family, the castle is located on the edge of the Scottish Borders, some 12 miles south of Edinburgh. It was built in 1430 for William of Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick, after King James I of Scotland granted him a charter to erect a castle. The Scottish pair had helped secure the release of King James while the monarch was held captive in England. The castle remained in the hands of the Borthwick family until 1650, when the owners were finally driven out by the forces of Oliver Cromwell.

The well-preserved 15th-century fortress boasts two massive towers of imposing height. The walls around the base are 20 feet thick and the lofty Great Hall has a barrel-vaulted ceiling. In earlier times, the castle also sported a moat, drawbridge and portcullis. Borthwick Castle became a hotel in 1973, however since February 2013 it has returned to being a private residence.

With a history dating back to Scotland’s troubled past, it seems only natural that Borthwick Castle should boast a spooky legend or two. A tradition in the castle was known as the “Leap of the prisoner”. Borthwick inmates were supposedly granted their freedom if they could jump from the roof of one tower to the other. They would have their hands tied behind their backs and if they cleared the 12-foot gap, they were free to go. No one apparently accomplished this seemingly impossible goal, instead falling to his death some 90 feet below.

Mary, Queen of Scots took refuge at Borthwick Castle in 1567 with her third husband, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. James was the prime suspect in the suspicious death of Mary’s former husband, Lord Darnley. The newly married couple were being pursued by enraged noblemen who wanted to see Bothwell put on trial. When the castle was suddenly surrounded by an army of 1,000 men, the pair were forced to make a dramatic escape. To evade her pursuers, the Queen of Scots disguised herself as a page and left the castle through a window into the Great Hall. Rumor has it that her ghost has been seen in the vicinity of the castle, reliving the events of that action-packed night.

A gory tale recounts how Borthwick’s Red Room was once the scene of a terrible crime. It is said that he is haunted by the ghost of a maid named Ann Grant. She was impregnated by a Borthwick lord who subsequently murdered her. The story relates how she was kidnapped by two women and a guard. The women held her while her guard slashed across her abdomen with her sword, killing her and her unborn child. People who have slept in the Red Room have reported abrupt drops in temperature and the ominous sound of approaching footsteps on the nearby spiral staircase late at night. An unseen force has tried to pry sleepers from the majestic four-poster bed, while visitors and staff reportedly witnessed a ghostly re-enactment of the horrific murder.

Another murder in Borthwick was that of a chancellor who had embezzled funds from the family coffers. When the Borthwicks found out, they reacted with extreme brutality and burned the man to death. The ghost of the unfortunate chancellor is said to haunt the castle and the niches where he kept his safes are still visible on the walls of the Red Room. Once a priest was brought in to exorcise Borthwick Castle, though apparently the hauntings still persist.