The Monster of Glamis

Smithsonian magazine ^ | 2-10-2012

[Renfield]

“If you could even guess the nature of this castle’s secret,” said Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore, “you would get down on your knees and thank God it was not yours.”

That awful secret was once the talk of Europe. From perhaps the 1840s until 1905, the Earl’s ancestral seat at Glamis Castle, in the Scottish lowlands, was home to a “mystery of mysteries”—an enigma that involved a hidden room, a secret passage, solemn initiations, scandal, and shadowy figures glimpsed by night on castle battlements.

The conundrum engaged two generations of high society until, soon after 1900, the secret itself was lost. One version of the story holds that it was so terrible that the 13th Earl’s heir flatly refused to have it revealed to him. Yet the mystery of Glamis (pronounced “Glarms”) remains, kept alive by its association with royalty (the heir was grandfather to Elizabeth II) and by the fact that at least some members of the Bowes-Lyon family insisted it was real.....

[Renfield]

Glamis Castle in the 18th century, shortly before its "mystery" began.

I have toured Glamis castle, and it is indeed gloomy and frightening, perhaps the spookiest place I have been. By the way, the correct pronunciation is "Glahms", not "Glarms", as the article claims.

[Renfield]

Scottish castle ping.

[bksanders]

+1 on Glahms; that’s lovely!

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[driftless2]

My wife has a sister who used to live in Tarvis outside of Aberdeen. We visited Glamis castle as well a number of other castles. Nobody mentioned the supposed secret...this is the first I’ve heard of it. You’re right, they pronounce it “Glams” or “Glahms” is you will.

[blueunicorn6]

The Vampire Rabbits of Oxnard. Just keeping in the spirit of things.

[blueunicorn6]

Dear friends; won’t you please donate what you can to the LET’S SEND BLUEUNICORN6 TO SCOTLAND TO SEE THE MONSTER CAMPAIGN. Send your donations to Free Republic. Help a poor kid to learn geography. “Scotland? Is that where my friend Scot lives over on 34th Street?” - blueunicorn6 in high school geography class.

[Beowulf9]

What I’ve never understood is how is it this ‘monster’ is so feared when the same men have fought bravely in battle, fearing nothing?

Many malformed individuals have been born over the years, and not in low numbers in those times, I would imagine. Why would they be so reticent to even speak of it? So fearful of it? Big deal, a malformed baby, even if it was royal. I can understand hiding the fact but the fear? Seems there is more to this story...

[bksanders]

GAWD!!!! Could you give us a little heads up before posting, I'm still trying to recover…

[SWAMPSNIPER]

It’s not really hard to see why Slick Willy doesn’t stay home much.

[Ditter]

I have been to Scotland but it was over 50 years ago. I remember the name and remember seeing a castle that looked like Glamis but I am not certain that we went into it. Great spooky story, thanks for posting.

[Defiant]

I was thinking about this when I read the headline:

[B Knotts]

Me, too! I clicked on it wondering why there was an article about Glamis. :-)

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Renfield. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[null and void]

Soooo, it’s a mystery because we’ve forgotten what the mystery was in the first place?

[marsh2]

Couldn’t they use some sort of technology to map the place and at least discover the secret rooms?

[shibumi]

Looks like there's plenty of room for Wilbur and "The Family" once they have outgrown the farmhouse.......

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

[Salamander]

I’d live there.

[and being a sept of the clan MacBeth, I have a hereditary right...so...who’s gonna help me go take it over?]

[shibumi]

I’m going to go sleep on it right now.

But as of this moment, next Wednesday looks pretty clear.

[Salamander]

Okay.

I’ll hone the blades.