Ethie Castle is said to have been the model for the fictional Castle of Knockwhinnock in Sir Walter Scott’s novel *The Antiquary*. A large statue of Sir Walter Scott can be seen in Edinburgh.

Sir Walter Scott was a very close friend of William Hopetoun Carnegie, the 8th Earl of Northesk (1794–1878), and therefore frequently stayed at Ethie Castle.

Until 1927, the Carnegie family lived at Ethie Castle. In 1928, the castle and surrounding lands were acquired by the Glasgow artist and antiques collector William Cunningham Hector. After some time, the Cunningham family moved to South Africa and subsequently sold the land and much of the castle’s furniture.

Following the sale by the Cunningham family, the castle changed hands many times. Among others, a “hippie family” lived in the castle with monkeys, goats, rats, birds, and other wild animals – a small tower toilet, for example, served as a cage for birds. My current bedroom was a room for the monkeys.

Thankfully, the castle’s roof was never destroyed, allowing it to survive a period when people weren’t interested in such buildings.

In the 1960s, the Forsyth family lived at Ethie. Alistair Forsyth, Chief of Clan Forsyth, began the reconstruction and renovation of the castle by undertaking minor repairs. Later, he and his family emigrated to New Zealand, where he still lives today at the ripe old age of over 90. He told me, among other things, about an entrance to a cellar that had been discovered by chance during renovations towards the end of the 19th century. A young boy was lowered into the cellar on a rope and found a large quantity of captured wine from French ships. After the estate manager at the time had the wine removed, the entrance was sealed again. Mr. Forsyth heard this story from an elderly worker who was repairing the roof. He was the grandson of the boy who had gone down into the cellar. He further told me that during construction work on the walk-in vault, workers discovered the walled-up skeletons of a woman and a baby. The remains were buried in the Inverkeilor cemetery. Silver and other valuables were also found in the vault.

After the Forsyths owned the castle, it passed into the possession of the de Morgan family and was converted into a small bed and breakfast with three rooms, four bathrooms and two toilets.

Present Day

I acquired the castle from the de Morgan family in November 2013.

I also hold the feudal titles Earl of Wigtoun, Lord and Baron of Cumbernauld. Like all feudal titles in Scotland, it is registered in the land register and the barony register in Edinburgh.

When I acquired Ethie Castle, I initially thought I could continue running the bed and breakfast business – but this proved impossible from a distance, as I don’t have a background in the business and couldn’t be there often enough, so I almost sold it again. I bought the castle with absolutely nothing – no fork, no knife – nothing at all – just a room with furniture where I could sleep for the first few months and years, and the nails in the wall where the previous owners’ pictures had hung. I bought everything new. Then I began to completely refurnish and renovate the castle, taking everything it needed. Over the past 12 years, I’ve completely refurnished 15 rooms, 12 of which now have en-suite bathrooms, one room with a private bathroom down the hall, and an apartment with a separate entrance, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom.

Ethie Castle has been available for rent since the summer of 2025.

Like many castles, Ethie is also home of ghosts. Among them is the ghost of Cardinal Beaton, who was murdered in St. Andrews during the Reformation. He is said to haunt the castle. It is reported that he can be heard walking through the castle rooms, especially near the “Cardinal’s Sitting Room,” which is named after him. It is said that one can hear the rustling of his robes and the sound of his footsteps, supposedly caused by gout in his legs. Furthermore, there is a “Grey Lady.” She is usually seen near the walled garden, where she walks silently. Legend has it that her appearance is a bad omen, and that if she appears, the death of the castle owner is imminent.

Another ghostly figure is a small boy pulling a wooden cart. Residents and guests often heard heart-rending cries from a child at night, accompanied by the squeaking of the wheels. After excavations uncovered the remains of a wooden toy cart and a small skeleton in a hidden, walled-up room, and the boy’s remains were subsequently given a Christian burial, the crying ceased.

Since the discovery of the secret room, strange occurrences have continued to take place. For example, a clock would still tick while the pendulum is broken and the winding key is missing. The boy is also occasionally seen wandering around the rooms…

Dr. Roland Ladislaus Zettel
Earl of Wigtoun, Lord and Baron of Cumbernauld