The strange case of Miss X and Scotland's 'most haunted' houseSteven McKenzie - BBC ScotlandSun, October 25, 2026 at 11:35 AM UTC
Deep in Highland Perthshire stood a mansion with the undesirable reputation of being Scotland's "most haunted house".
Ballechin appeared to have it all - ghostly hounds, a spectral nun, floating beds - and rapping on walls that kept residents and guests up at night.
Victorian Britain was enthralled by the alleged spooky goings on, but was it caused by ghosts or dodgy water pipes and cheeky children?
An English medium - Ada Goodrich Freer, aka Miss X - headed north to discover the truth, and her investigation would influence ghost hunters and the horror genre for generations after.
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Little remains of Ballechin House today, with most of the property having been demolished in the 1960s following a fire.
Its strange history seems to have been largely lost too.
The forgotten stories include that of a former resident, Maj Robert Steuart, who lived at Ballechin with more than a dozen dogs in the 1850s.
Steuart believed that after his death his soul would live on in his favourite pet, a black spaniel.
After the major died one of his nephews, who took over Ballechin, allegedly had all the dogs shot to stop Steuart coming back to haunt him.
In later years, unusual goings on were reported.
One former Ballechin House resident believed he would live on after his death as one of his dogs
Gary Knight, a Perth-based tour guide and author, said: "A Father Hayden, who lived there, told of raps on the front door and the sound of something throwing itself violently against the door.
"Other witnesses reported footsteps, banging noises, a ghostly black spaniel, and a spectral nun."
Knight added: "In 1896 a Spanish family, the Heavens, moved in. They experienced strange things and left before their let was finished.
"It was said the Heavens' children were faking the activity."
The children's father strenuously denied the claim, and a butler also said they were not to blame for incidents - including his bed being lifted up off the floor one night.
The butler also dismissed rattling hot water pipes as the source of unusual noises.
Knight believes there was something strange about Ballechin.
He said one night a group of male guests were so unsettled by noises they searched the house, with one of them armed with a revolver.
"There were so many witnesses. Even if you write off a percentage of what happened there is still some uncanny activity," said Knight.
What did Ballechin House look like?
In early 1897, paranormal investigators visited Ballechin to uncover the truth.
They included Scottish aristocrat John Patrick Crichton-Stuart - the 3rd Marquess of Bute - and Uppingham-born Ada Goodrich Freer, a medium, clairvoyant and folklorist who went by the nickname Miss X.
Goodrich Freer spent days at Ballechin, staying in different rooms in the hope of recording phenomena and explored the grounds. She also spoke to witnesses and examined the pipework.
She later co-edited The Alleged Haunting of Ballechin House, a book about the investigation and her own experiences.
Though it offered no conclusions, Goodrich Freer claimed to have seen a ghostly nun and a woman in grey in Ballechin's grounds.
She also told of hearing things inside the house, including the sounds of an animal, voices and footsteps in a locked room.
The 3rd Marquess of Bute investigated Ballechin along with Ada Goodrich Freer
Film producer and writer Sean O'Connor researched Ballechin for his book about England's "most haunted" house - Borley Rectory - and describes himself as an open-minded sceptic.
He said whatever people believed about Ballechin, there was no doubt about Goodrich Freer's lasting influence.
"Ada Goodrich Freer established the investigative template that just about every famous haunting has followed since - from Borley to Enfield and Amityville," said O'Connor.
He said it did not matter what the truth was because the book was a great success.
"It was a best-seller," said O'Connor.
The use of a ground plan of Ballechin House in the book was hugely influential, and O'Connor said the idea had been replicated for other ghost stories.
He said Goodrich Freer likely had an impact similar to a modern day influencer.
"She does feel very modern," he said.
"It's also interesting that all the studies of famous hauntings are by men - Goodrich Freer is the standalone female investigator - but she is now little remembered."
Source: Crime
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