Cumnock: Haunted areas in Mauchline and Sanquhar revealed

One website has compiled a list of the alleged most haunted places in the area.

The list includes a few obvious locations, as well as a couple of rogue suggestions.

Here are the five most haunted locations in the area, according to UK Haunted Locations Database.

Dumfries House

Dumfries House. (Image: Anne Welsh McKinlay)
Maybe not surprising, Dumfries House was included on the list.

Given it dates back to the 1700s, it's no surprise that one or two ghosts rumours have surfaced from the house in that time.

The website's explanation says: "A malodorous ghost is said to haunt the building."

It adds that Satinder Kaur, the collections manager and tour coordinator, apparently responded to an email regarding any recent phenomena.

Satinder said: "I've been at Dumfries House for four years and have experienced nothing out of the ordinary or odd. I have been at the House at all hours of the day, and have never seen anything.

"However, other members of staff have. I have heard stories of running footsteps, and also a visual sighting of a small boy in a black flat cap at the end of one of our corridors.

"In the ladies' toilets, one of our guides looked in the mirror and jumped when she saw a veiled lady standing behind her, but when she blinked, the lady was gone.

"We have a bedroom in which two residents of the House died, and that is said to be our most haunted room; I have heard a story of a voice shouting 'no', and of the curtains pulling away from the wall when the windows were not open in this room.

"Our onsite accommodation, the Dumfries House Lodge, also has some stories, with doors opening and closing, the bell ringing, and footsteps being heard."
 

Glaisnock House

Glaisnock House (Image: Tommy Samson)
Again, a rather unsurprising submission was Glaisnock House.

Built in the 1800s, the house has been unoccupied since closing its doors as a school in 1973.

The explanation for Glaisnock House's haunting simply says: "A girl who was said to have been imprisoned in one of the chambers and died in the house has returned as 'The Green Lady'."
 

Sanquhar Castle

Sanquhar Castle (Image: Morag Gordon)
The next inclusion was Sanquhar Castle.

Believed to have been built in the 13th century, the ruins of the castle have remained since.

Sanquhar Castle's haunting is described as: "A 'White Lady' is said to walk these ruins; she is said to be Marion MacMath who disappeared in 1590.

"Her remains may have found in a pit during excavations nearly three centuries later. Her appearance is said to be an ill portent for the Crichton family, to whom the castle belonged.

"An innocent messenger, John Wilson, who was hanged when he became involved in a dispute between the lairds is also said to be here, groaning and rattling chains."
 

Craighead Inn

Craighead Inn (Image: Street View)
A slightly more surprising entry on the list was the Craighead Inn in Cumnock.

A short description of the pub's haunting reads: "Little is known of the haunting, except that the spectre is found in the attic."
 

Poosie Nansie's

Poosie Nansie's (Image: Street View)
The final inclusion on the list for the area comes in the form of another current pub, this time in Mauchline.

Poosie Nansie's is said to date back to the time of Robert Burns.

The haunting description for the pub reads: "The sound of a young child crying coming from the dining room has been mentioned but, as usual, no cause has been found; additionally, glasses have fallen from the shelves and optics have emptied themselves."