Ghosts White Lady of Corstorphine

Haunted Edinburgh

Corstorphine White Lady

The Edinburgh suburb of Corstorphine used to be the site of Costorphine Castle - now long gone. The castle was razed in the 18th century and all that remained were an ancient Dovecote and sycamore tree.

The famous Corstorphine sycamore tree sadly met its end in the storms of 1998 and all that now remains is a stump.

Back in the 17th century, Corstorphine Castle was home to one James Forrester. This laird was charming and popular - though known for his rather "relaxed" approach to the morality of the time. One of Forrester's lovers was Lady Christian Nimmo who was not only married but also his niece.

It was a custom of Forrester to meet his secret lovers by the old dovecote. One night the Lady Christian arrived for such a clandestine meeting only to find no-one there. Since she knew Forrester's habits well, the Lady sent one of her servants to fetch him from the local inn.

When James Forrester finally arived, he was drunk and rude. An argument began which was ended when Lady Christian grabbed Forrester's sword and killed him in a fit of rage.

The Lady was caught and executed. Her ghost, dressed in purest white, has since then haunted the scene of her crime, the sword in her spectral hand still dripping with blood.