Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Glamis Castle Monster

Issue #52: April 1983

Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland, is one of the most famous and most haunted buildings in Britain. The childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, it has been the seat of the Earls of Strathmore for over six centuries.

But Glamis holds a secret. Somewhere within its walls lies a hidden room. And within that room, according to persistent legend, something monstrous was concealed for generations.

The Legend

The story has been told for at least a century. A child was born to the Earl of Strathmore in the early nineteenth century. The child was hideously deformed, perhaps the result of inbreeding among Scottish nobility.

Rather than acknowledge the birth, the family concealed the child in a secret room within the castle. He was fed and cared for but never seen. His existence was denied.

The child, it is said, was long-lived, surviving for decades in his hidden chamber. Only the Earl, his heir, and the factor (estate manager) knew the truth. The secret was passed from father to son upon each heir’s coming of age.

The child, some versions claim, was immortal, still living within the castle’s walls.

The Evidence

The legend is supported by several curious facts:

The Hidden Room: Guests at Glamis have long noted that the castle appears to have more windows from outside than rooms from inside. Attempts to account for all the rooms have failed. Something appears to be hidden.

Family Behaviour: Several Earls of Strathmore have displayed unusual distress upon learning the family secret. One reportedly never smiled again after his twenty-first birthday, when the truth was revealed.

Staff Testimony: Servants have reported hearing sounds from parts of the castle with no apparent source. They have been warned never to investigate.

Guest Accounts: The writer Sir Walter Scott stayed at Glamis and reported experiencing phenomena he could not explain. Other guests have described a sense of horror emanating from certain areas of the castle.

The Monster

What was the monster of Glamis?

Some accounts describe a child of the most extreme deformity: limbless, perhaps, or with a body so malformed that normal existence was impossible.

Others suggest something more supernatural: a creature neither fully human nor fully something else, the result of dark magic practiced by earlier Earls.

Still others propose that the monster was not physically deformed but mentally disturbed, kept hidden to protect the family reputation.

All agree that something was concealed, something so terrible that its existence could never be acknowledged.

The Secret Revealed?

Several individuals have claimed to know the truth of Glamis:

The thirteenth Earl, when asked about the secret, reportedly said, “If you could guess the nature of the secret, you would go down on your knees and thank God it was not yours.”

A factor who served the family in the nineteenth century allegedly knew the truth. On his deathbed, he is said to have stated, “I cannot speak. I have been silent these forty years and I must be silent till my death.”

A woman who worked at the castle claimed to have accidentally discovered the hidden room. She was immediately dismissed and paid handsomely to keep silent. She never revealed what she saw.

Current Status

The present Earl of Strathmore neither confirms nor denies the legend. The castle is open to visitors, but certain areas remain private. The hidden room, if it exists, has never been publicly identified.

Modern structural analysis might reveal the location of any concealed spaces. But the family has not permitted such investigation. Whatever secrets Glamis holds, they remain protected.

The Haunting

The monster is not the only secret of Glamis. The castle is said to be haunted by numerous ghosts:

• The Grey Lady, who appears in the chapel
• The ghost of a former Earl who plays cards with the Devil in a secret room
• A servant girl who was burned as a witch
• The spirits of guests who died during visits

Glamis may be the most haunted castle in Scotland. Its long history, its dark traditions, and its persistent secrets have created an atmosphere unlike any other.

Conclusion

Does the monster of Glamis still exist? Did it ever?

The legend is too persistent, too detailed, too consistently reported to dismiss entirely. Something has haunted the Strathmore family for generations. Something continues to haunt Glamis Castle.

The truth may never be known. The family guards its secrets. The hidden room, if it exists, remains hidden.

But somewhere in that ancient castle, in a chamber that appears on no floor plan, something may still wait.

Readers with knowledge of the Glamis Castle secret or similar family mysteries are invited to contact our research department.