Dark Encounters: A Collection of Ghost Stories

  ‘‘Sauntering down to the pend, I passed through its deep-black vault and out into the castle-close. There, spell-bound by a beauty and mystery that were enhanced by the fading light, I stood for a while motionless. Below me I could hear the rhythmic splash of the sea on the rocks that bore the castle's weight, while the light sough of the wing could have come from the ancient stones themselves, whispering to one another their memories of the past. And soon, caught in the magic of the place, I began to give words and meaning to the sounds that came and went: ‘‘Beaton, proud Roman Cardinal, murdered and defiled.'' ‘‘Guns, French guns, breaking down block-house and tower.'' ‘‘Knox, John Knox, toiling at the galley's oar.'' The most ‘M.R.James' stories you will ever read, enriched by Scotland's unique atmosphere.