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Chessel's Court Ghost, Edinburgh

 

I used tae board in the main building of 4 Chessel's Court, in the Canongate, Edinburgh for three and a half years from 1985. Chessel's Court is through some arches off the Royal Mile in the Old Town of Edinburgh and the buildings that are there were built around 300 years ago tae make the court what it is today but the site had been built on for some hundreds of years before that with wee closes about it. This is my encounter!

"One night, I had been asleep but had woken and got up tae get myself a drink of water, this was about 1.30am. After climbing back in tae bed I heard my landlady's dog growling and scratching at my door to get in. At that same moment something or someone came through the wall beside my bed and started to climb over me. I could feel it pushing down on the blankets as it climbed over me. This went on for what seemed like forever but would say was about two minutes, with the dog growling at the door all the time. It was pitch dark. I just froze and would nae move.

While lying there I was thinking if I sat up fast, what would happen? Would I be face tae face with something that I could nae see as it was so dark or will it just go through me, something I did nae want tae happen fae sure. As soon as it got to the other side of my bed and climbed off me, the dog stopped growling and went back to her bed. I waited a few moments then got up, turned the light on and looked about out the room and out the window, but there was nothing to be found."

The next day I had told my landlady what had happened and she said she never heard a thing and I found that strange in its self as the dog used tae sleep just outside her room and every other time at night when the dog had got up fae whatever reason she always woke, but not this time!

History of the House

"A short time later a gentleman from the floor below was up mentioned how things have changed at Chessel's Court over the 40 odd years he had been living there. I asked him what he meant, in what way? He said he used tae come up tae our house and visit and old lady and he said that the bathroom used to be where the kitchen was and the kitchen where the bathroom was, and that the door to my bedroom used to be at the other end where my bed is now. I asked him again tae show me where my door had been. That gave me the answer as to why whoever it was came through the wall where they did."

It's a well-known fact that if there had been a door moved from where it used tae be then the person who is now a Ghost will come through a wall where the door once was.

When my Landladies daughter visited I told her and she laughed and said, "Told you the court was hunted" she was brought up in the Court.

Also other folk in the court have said that there were ghosts about the place, but in the years I lived there this was the only encounter there I had had.

John.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, Haggis, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Aliendewd (6 stories) (22 posts)
 
8 years ago (2015-10-07)
The thing about this story and the poorly chosen 'Dialect' is the inconsistencies. Had Haggis written the entire story in Scots it would be acceptable, however the use of 'tae' and then 'to' would be confusing for many non Scots. The use of 'fae' for 'for' is one i've heard in "ma puff", 'fur' being the correct vernacular.
I think the Mods are correct in stating "he" was attempting to sound Scottish during his story for effect and I feel it backfired badly.
Note for Haggis. If yer gawnae write yer stories in Scots tongue at least dae it a' the wiy, no hauf ersed. Know whit I mean?
lexi-loo (1 stories) (175 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-26)
lol I will just go with the flo and hope people will understand me
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
 
9 years ago (2015-08-26)
Lol I completely understand the keyboard vs fingers situation. I hate commenting on my phone. Half the time I have letters instead of numbers. All my comments have to be proofed a couple times because my corrections have mistakes lol
lexi-loo (1 stories) (175 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-26)
miracles thank you 😊

I didn't want to sound pushy but just got a little spongebob grump pants when I read this story and then the o/p's elaberation on it

P.s I may sometimes mispell things but that is due to my keypad on my phone having letters to close together and me having fat thumbs (not my poor scottish lingo) 😆
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-26)
Lexi-loo - don't apologize. I certainly appreciate you pointing that out.
lexi-loo (1 stories) (175 posts)
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-26)
suprise suprise I'm late again but just had to comment on this:

I am from edinburgh and use the word fi (fae) everyday in life and it has always meant "from".ie where you fi... Whats that fi... I'm fi edinburgh

Never in my 30 years of life have I ever heard or used the word fi (fae) as a meaning for 'for'. As I said I am from edinburgh born and raised and I could barely read this story due to the grammar and I am as common as they come some may even say I speak like a ned (non educated delinquient) but I am actually an intelligent person and have a very strong opinion on things regardless of my native tongue or lingo...

And as a matter of fact hundreds of years ago the language of scots was 'lallans' doric or gaelic, they are quite hard to read even to a modern day scot but a very interesting read at that

And I find it quite insulting when one person alone claims they can speak on the behalf of an entire country...

Sorry to invade the comments just had to get my point across 😆
Foxglove (23 posts)
+3
9 years ago (2014-10-19)
I can't comment on fea/for...which does seem technically incorrect, but to the mods I say, the wider spelling situation might not be entirely Mr Haggis's fault, more of a genuine language barrier. Not having seen the original I can't be sure but I shall endeavor to knowledge-blast you regardless, in case the issue comes up again. Scotland does have a monopoly on ghosts so you never know.

Scots IS a separate language from English, related to it in much the same way Danish and Norwegian are related - they are both separate branches of an ancient, early-Mediaeval tree. If an English-speaker heard a conversation in the true Scots leid, I guarantee they would understand maybe 5% of what was being said. I know this as an American-raised Scot with some relatives who speak almost the full mother tongue on occassion. ("Quihilk yin, spiered thon quine" and so forth!)

I'm being didactic here because even many SCOTS don't know this info, and assume that theirs is an inferior, pidgin English, and I think it's a bit tragic. Not to mention the result of demonstrable cultural genocide over several centuries, and now prey also to globalization and other homogenizing influences.

Anyway, what most Scots speak in current parlance is actually a combination of Scots and English. However the relative combination of the two varies widely. What I'm trying to get at is: Haggis's problems with English spelling/syntax and the apparent schitzophrenic combinations of English and Scots formulations are actually quite typical of many of his countrymen, including my own family, who write and type in an "oral-transcription" form of their own mixed spoken language. This creates the appearance of pretty crazy misspellings of "English" and also some inconsistent vocab combination between Scots/English. All of which is to say, do consider the possibility that this is the reason for some of your mutual confusion. If not then at least I hope you found this lecture enlightening and educational.:p

While I'm here (lol)... Please NB Scots is NOT Gaelic, it is a completely different language, Germanic rather than Celtic, though incorporating Celtic, Norse and probably other extinct (eg, Pictish) indigenous language influences.

Ok I think that's all folks.
elnoraemily (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-19)
No Scottish book misuses Scottish Gaelic.

There are many words for "for" depending on context, none of which come close to Fae.

The trolls keep on trolling.

To and from, tae and Fae.
Haggis (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-19)
Hey l don't want special treatment.
This is not what l wanted at all.
So will close down the account.
As regads tae the wording.
I guess all the old scots books over 100 years old are all rong then, because fae was never the meaning for from.
But hey what do l know, l only lived in Scotlands.
elnoraemily (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-18)
Thanks, val, I needed that giggle.
Haggis, you do not get to call people judgmental for asking you to read the posting guidelines. It is, however, wrong of you to ignore rules on purpose and want to get special treatment.

My step family is Scottish. In all the times I have ever heard them write or speak, they rarely use the words you do, especially when they are not applicable.

Val is correct. Fae does not mean for. Any Scott knows that.
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
+2
9 years ago (2014-10-18)
Haggis,
Personally, I don't mind when someone writes using their dialect to aid in the 'flavor' of a story, however... Could you at least do it properly? Every time I see you using 'fae' to mean 'for' I cringe. 'Fae' and ''frae' both mean from. The word that means 'for' is 'fur'. It's an offense tae a' scots whin ye mak' sic a mistake! 'n' dinnae ye be jumping tae conclusions aboot oor mods. Mynd ye, we come fae a' ower, 'n' thay dae th' best thay kin. Mibbie ye shuid uise plain sassenach?
Haggis (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-18)
You are very judgemental and no you never gave me a reason why you would not publish my story after l submitted it twice and asked each time fae a reason as well.
Also before my 3rd submission l did use spell check.
Again lm sorry fae my lack of education on my paragraphing not being so perfect and although l did paragraph it you saw it as a wall.
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+1
9 years ago (2014-10-15)
Haggis - we have the right to reject stories that require more editing than we should have to do. Another thing, having edited at least one ofyour stories, I realized you appear to deliberately use tae and fae. Not that there is any rule against speaking in native tongue but when some of your story has to and for and other parts tae and fae, it makes me want to return it because of the inconsistency. I feel like you are trying too hard to speak in Scottish.

Anyway, you were provided a reason why your story was returned and I'm pretty sure because we don't want it on our site wasn't the reason given.
BadJuuJuu (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-15)
Haggis, you may have noticed this
"THE USE OF A SPELL CHECKER IS REQUIRED. Please read the submission guidelines. Badly written stories with poor grammar, too many spelling errors, incoherent storylines or lack of punctuation will be discarded. Don't forget to use small paragraphs for easier reading,"
When attempting to submit your story. We understand the occasional typo, but a massive wall of text with no paragraphs that is riddled with deliberate misspellings? We just don't have the time to fix that. If you want your story published, you have to meet us halfway. Its the guidelines, and it applies to all of us.
Haggis (guest)
 
9 years ago (2014-10-15)
I do have another event that I have been through but they don't want tae put it on this site, I can sent tae you if your interested enough in reading it?
pjs1977 (2 stories) (48 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-09-07)
Haggis I really liked your story, very interesting but at the same time pleasant. If you have anymore please do share.
Haggis (guest)
 
10 years ago (2014-09-07)
Iol there a lot of Ghosts around Edinburgh.
I have a great photo of an orb I caught on camera that I noticed sometime later after l enlarged a slide l had taken one night when l done a sitin at a place called Mary Kings Close, more people died of the plague there than anywhere in Edinburgh and they kind of closed the place and when you walk around it its like walking back 500 years!
Swimsinfire (11 stories) (556 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-09-06)
Love all your stories. That was interesting. Is it just a given that if you live in Edinburg you should expect a lot of alternatively exsisting company? I'm guessing that is considered a residual haunting. Thankyou much.

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