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North of Tayside is Glamis Castle, in Angus,
ancestral home of the Bowes-Lyons or Earls of Strathmore, as well as the
Queen Mother (Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon) and hence, the current Windsor Royals.
It's also the birthplace of Princess Margaret. Glamis (pronouned "glahms")
is surrounded by a variety of eerie and disturbing legends, ranging from
many bloody, ghostly hauntings (including by the historical Macbeth, and
a tongueless woman with a bleeding mouth), a female vampire who shows up
from time to time, and a strange creature with thin arms and legs and a
beast-like head, described by one percipient as "a hellish combination of
all things foul and animal." This young lady, sleeping in a "haunted tower
room" in the castle in the 19th century, was awakened by the strange apparition
or creature, which vanished when someone else rattled the bolt on the door
before entering the room. Was an underworld or non-human rapist interrupted
or frightened away? |
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But these are not the greatest terrors of Glamis, which has a horrific
secret tradition. For centuries, there have been rumors of the periodic births
of 'half-human' or otherwise deformed 'monsters' at Glamis Castle, and their
imprisonment, for life, in some of the secret chambers which allegedly exist
in the structure. The most recent such birth is said to have occurred in
1800, and the deformed heir to the Bowes-Lyon line was described as having
"a huge, egg-like body" (shades of Humpty Dumpty!) and stunted or stubby
limbs. He has also been described as being "neckless," and extremely hirsute
or hairy. Others have insisted that he was merely mongoloid (suffering from
"Down's Syndrome"). The tradition also maintains that he was still immensely
strong and inordinately evil, and had to be locked away from the rest of
the family in secret, for both his safety and theirs. He allegedly did not
die until the year 1921, meaning that he lived for 120 years in nearly-complete
secrecy! This negates any rumors of Downs Syndrome, as those who are stricken
with this unfortunate condition have generally not been known to last into
old age. |
Supposedly, during the hidden heir's lifetime, each successive Earl of
Strathmore was told of his secret existence when they reached the age of
twenty-one, and shown the "rightful" heir.
One tale has it that the first Lord of Glamis, after gambling with the
devil (or an underworld being of some sort) at cards on the Sabbath, brought
down a curse upon future generations of his line. Could it be that the stakes
of the card-game were actually more than just his soul, and that he and his
were cursed to make payment in genetic exchange, down through the centuries?
Could it be that the genetics of families which tend to be somewhat interbred
or interrelated, whether isolated by geography, or of 'noble' lineage, are
nurtured by unseen manipulators for certain, desired genetic traits?
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There is a family secret surrounding tales of the Glamis 'monster,'
which is said to be told only to each male heir of the Bowes-Lyon family
when he attains majority (reaches the age of 21). At one time this supposedly
dealt with keeping the deformed, rightful heir locked away and his existence
concealed, even from his own family (supposedly, only four men at a time
were allowed access to his cell, and knew of his existence, one of these
being the family "factor" or steward, and one the attorney). This was first
told by the second Lord of Halifax, who heard it from the 13th Earl of Strathmore
himself. This 'dread ancestral secret' may have also dealt with the family
tradition, or curse, of having an occasional birth of a less- or other-than-human
child born to the clan. There is said to also be a secret concerning a
"vampire-like" or blood-lusting being which is periodically born within the
family. All of this raises the obvious question: What is the source of this
perhaps-repeating genetic anomaly? Could it have anything to do with strange
nocturnal things, male or female, which creep into sleepers' rooms by night?
Or was there, in the distant or recent past, a willing liaison now and again,
with the "unseen rulers of this world," mentioned in the Book of Ephesians,
representatives of the gnome, troll, fairy, elemental or reptilian races
which preceded man on this planet? |
It should be noted that upon several occasions, different 'factors' of
the family, trapped at the castle by either snow-storm or other inclement
weather, have refused to stay on the grounds, out of apparent terror based
upon the secret knowledge to which they were privy….Another story (All
the Year Round Magazine, 1880) states that, during the lifetime of the monstrous
heir, a workman accidentally discovered his chamber, and was "persuaded to
immigrate to Australia (leave the country and keep his mouth shut?)." Another
version states that a stonemason accidentally broke into the chamber, and
"died of shock" (did he actually meet his end at the hands of whatever was
in the room?). His wife was paid off and packed off to Australia so that
she wouldn't ask questions.
As for the unfortunate, deformed and hidden Earl…He is rumored to
have been sealed inside his secret room after death, where his remains rest
in secret to this day, his restless spirit joining the many others which
have been reported by witnesses at Glamis, through the centuries. To add
another clue to the mystery, and credence to the periodic 'strange births,'
there is said to be a family-type portrait in the drawing-room, which depicts
an earlier Earl of Strathmore, his two sons, and a horribly deformed and
unsightly dwarf whom no one can (or will?) identify...
Additional legends about Glamis involve a giant ghost (thought to be the
ghost of the card-playing first Earl, "Beardie"), a ghost with "long, hairy
arms," and the local folk belief that "monsters" are still born into the
family upon occasion, or there is still one, hidden on the premises, who
has never died.
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MYSTICAL-MAGICAL ENDLESS SERIAL:
THE BLAIR sWITCH PROJECT
[Enigmatic toon-series starring Tony Blair,
both Georges, myself and my wife] |
