If you go down to the Crook of Baldoon this week, take a close look at the ruins of old Baldoon Castle, on the road to Baldoon Mains farm. There you might see the lonely ghost of Janet Dalrymple wandering the grounds of the ruin in the early hours, her nightdress splattered with blood. She is said to haunt the castle most often around the anniversary of her death, 12th September.
In the middle of the 17th Century, Janet Dalrymple, the eldest daughter of Sir James Dalrymple, was forced by her parents to marry David Dunbar, the wealthy heir of Sir David Dunbar of Baldoon. Janet had fallen in love with the practically penniless, Archibald, third Lord Rutherford and may have secretly been betrothed to him. However, her parents had already made a match for her with David Dunbar and refused the match with Archibald. Janet, dutifully, having been worn down by her mother, eventually married David Dunbar at the Kirk in Old Luce, near the family home. Her brothers later reported that she had been pale, quiet and her hands were cold as ice, despite the warm summer weather, when they escorted her to the church. Later that night, the door to the bridal chamber was smashed down after terrified shrieks were heard from within, only to find the bridegroom lying on the floor, dreadfully wounded and streaming with blood, and Janet cowering near the chimney corner, her nightdress splattered in blood, muttering incoherently and clearly quite insane. Poor Janet never recovered from her madness and died shortly after on the 12th September 1669. David Dunbar, recovered from his wounds but refused to ever discuss the events of that night. He later married again but died from a fall from his horse in 1682. Archibald Rutherford, Janet's true love, never married and died in 1685.
This sad tale was immortalised by Sir Walter Scott in his tale of the Bride of Lammermoor, copies of which can be purchased in Machars Action in Wigtown town centre. While you may not see Janet on her nightly wanderings, you will have a good chance to see the ghostly shape of a barn owl hunting over the fields. Listen out for it's blood-curdling shrieks and watch out for bats swooping low to catch insects on the wing.
For more ghost hunts visit Kenmure Castle, the ancestral home of the Gordon's of Lochinvar, near the Ken-Dee marshes reserve. William Gordon, Viscount Kenmure, was executed at the Tower of London in 1716, after his part in the 1715 Jacobite rebellion. The ghost of a headless piper is said to haunt the ruins, quite how he plays I don't know, but hearing water rails call is a spooky sound to experience in the middle of the night.
Take a torch and warm clothes to experience RSPB reserves after dark. You might want to take a lantern too to ward away any ghosts or ghouls. Visit the Crook of Baldoon to experience the beauty of the stars in the expansive coastal sky near the only Dark Skies park in the UK.