👻 Haunted place
Kinnaird Head
Where a 16th-century castle became Scotland's first Commissioners-lit lighthouse — and a small tower nearby that local tradition says is haunted.
Photo: Wikipedia
Kinnaird Head — An Ceann Àrd in Gaelic, simply "high headland" — projects into the North Sea within the town of Fraserburgh, on the east coast of Aberdeenshire.
The peculiar charm of the place is that the lighthouse is the castle. The 16th-century Kinnaird Castle was converted in 1787 into Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, the first in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights, and the buildings clustered around its base are the work of Robert Stevenson.
Some fifty metres away stands the Wine Tower: small, three storeys high, and a good deal quieter than its famous neighbour. It is the tower, not the lighthouse, that carries the headland's ghost story.
Hauntings are told as reported — by owners, guests, guides and investigators — never as fact. The history underneath is often real, and sometimes tragic; we treat it with respect. Background from Wikipedia and the sources listed below.
The history behind the hauntings
Work on Kinnaird Head Castle — also known as Fraserburgh Castle and Kinnairdshead Castle — began in March 1570. Its builder was Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th laird of Philorth, the same man who in the 1590s transformed the fishing village of Faithlie into the burgh of Fraserburgh. Ambition came at a price: the cost of the castle was such that he was obliged to sell Philorth Castle, the family's own home.
The Frasers remained connected to the headland for generations. Alexander, 10th of Philorth, fought for the king at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and, though badly wounded, survived to live into his eighties; he inherited the title of Lord Saltoun in 1669 and in later years kept apartments at Kinnaird Castle. The last residents were Henrietta Fraser, daughter of the 12th Lord Saltoun, and her husband John Gordon of Kinellar. In 1787 the castle was leased to the Trustees of the Northern Lights, and the lamp — designed by Thomas Smith — was first lit on 1 December that year.
The structure was rebuilt in the 1820s and served until 1991, when a new lighthouse superseded it. Today the old lighthouse is a category A listed building and houses the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, while the Wine Tower — the name perhaps from "Wynd Tower" — is a scheduled monument. W. Douglas Simpson counted both among the nine castles of the Knuckle, the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.
The ghosts of Kinnaird Head
1 reported apparition, as the stories are told.
👻 The Wine Tower Legend
The Wine Tower and the cave beneath it, some 50 metres from the lighthouse
The story goes that one of the Fraser family, disapproving of his daughter's choice of suitor, imprisoned the young man in the cave below the Wine Tower and left him there to drown, and that the daughter then fell from the roof of the tower. It is a bleak tale, and a legend rather than a documented event — one worth repeating with some care for the grief it describes. Red paint on the rocks below the tower is said to represent her blood.
According to local tradition, the tower is said to be haunted. The tradition says no more than that — no named apparition, no particular encounter — and it is more honest to leave it there than to invent the rest.
What is on record is that the Wine Tower is an odd and secretive building: dated to the 16th century, perhaps used as a store associated with the castle, entered at second-floor level, and containing elaborate carved stone pendants, reputedly the result of its use as a covert chapel for the Catholic wife of the Protestant Alexander Fraser.
Kinnaird Head in photos
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Visiting Kinnaird Head
The old lighthouse and the buildings around its base now form the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, which incorporates the original lighthouse along with a modern building holding collections of lenses and other artefacts from lighthouses across Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland also publishes a visitor guide to the castle lighthouse.
The Wine Tower stands roughly 50 metres from the lighthouse. It is a scheduled monument and the lighthouse a category A listed building, so both deserve a light touch. This is an exposed North Sea headland within the town of Fraserburgh, so dress for the wind whatever the forecast promises.
Where to stay near Kinnaird Head
Nearest first — every distance measured from Kinnaird Head itself. Make a weekend of it.
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Kinnaird Head: your questions answered
Why is Kinnaird Head Lighthouse built into a castle? ＋
Kinnaird Head Castle, begun in 1570 by Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th laird of Philorth, was leased to the Trustees of the Northern Lights in 1787 and converted for use as a lighthouse. It was the first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights, with the lamp — designed by Thomas Smith — first lit on 1 December 1787.
What is the ghost story attached to Kinnaird Head? ＋
The haunting tradition attaches to the Wine Tower rather than the lighthouse. It is reputed that one of the Fraser family imprisoned his daughter's suitor in the cave below the tower and left him to drown, and that the daughter then fell from the tower roof. Local tradition says the tower is haunted, though it offers no further detail.
What is the red paint on the rocks below the Wine Tower? ＋
Red paint on the rocks beneath the tower is said to illustrate the blood of the Fraser daughter who, according to the legend, fell from the tower roof.
Can you go inside the old lighthouse today? ＋
The old lighthouse, superseded by a new one in 1991, now houses the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. The museum incorporates the original lighthouse along with a modern building displaying lenses and other artefacts from lighthouses across Scotland.
Your experiences at Kinnaird Head
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Sources and further reading
- Kinnaird Head — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
Researched by the BritStays Haunted Britain team; last updated 13 October 2026. Spotted something we've got wrong, or have your own story from Kinnaird Head? We'd love to hear it.