The Green Lady of Caisteal Chamuis
A Halloween tale from the Sleat Peninsula
When the poet Iona Lee first visited Skye, the thing that stayed with her most wasn't the stills or the warehouse. It was the castle. "I'm very interested in ghosts," she told us. "If there's ghosts about, I wanna know about them."
So, in the spirit of Halloween, here's one for you, Iona...
The castle on the headland
A stone's throw from the distillery, on a rocky headland above the sea, stand the ruins of Caisteal Chamuis. You might know it as Knock Castle, or Castle Camus. A castle has stood here since the 15th century, on the site of a much older fort, and it changed hands in battle many times. Its last documented owners were Clan MacDonald, in 1632. By the end of that century it was empty and falling into ruin.
It didn't vanish entirely, though. For years there was a rumour on the Sleat Peninsula that some of the castle's stone had found its way into the old farm steading at Torabhaig. When we restored the steading into our distillery, that rumour was confirmed. A little of Caisteal Chamuis is part of our home.
It seems not all of the castle's residents moved out.
The Green Lady
The story told most often about Caisteal Chamuis is that of a Green Lady, a spirit bound to the fortunes of the family who lived there. She doesn't rattle chains or slam doors. She simply knows what's coming.
When good news was on its way, it's said she would appear to the household, smiling. When bad news was coming, she would weep. Some tellings say that before a tragedy, she wasn't seen at all. There was only the sound of quiet weeping somewhere in the walls.
A spirit by many names
Ask around Skye and you'll hear her called different things. Some call her a glaistig, a female spirit of Highland folklore often dressed in green and tied to a house or a family. Others say the castle had a second spirit, a gruagach, who cared for the cattle and the land around the castle. Many storytellers simply say there are two: the Green Lady, who watches over the family, and a quieter spirit who watches over the beasts.
That's the nature of a story passed by word of mouth. Each teller shapes it a little, depending on where it's shared and who's listening. We think that's rather the point.
If you visit
The ruins are fragile, so enjoy them from a respectful distance. Enjoy the incredible views from the distillery as you watch the light change over the water, and listen.
If the wind sounds a little like weeping, don't worry. On Skye it usually is just the wind. When you're back by the fire, raise a glass of Taigh to the lady in green, and hope she's smiling.
Happy Halloween from all of us at Torabhaig.
Welcome to the Torabhaig Way.