a dead man’s wish
This story was inspired by a sunny yet chilly winter walk to Loch Callater in January. I took the bus from Aberdeen to Braemar and set off into the hills, following Jock’s Road to the loch and its nearby bothy Callater Stables. The trail is named after Jock Winter, a local shepherd who fought for access to Glen Doll after a new landowner closed it off following the purchase of the Glen Doll Estate. This led to the Scottish Rights of Way Act in 1894, which laid the foundations for our right to access nearly all land in Scotland — provided we do so responsibly and in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
I wanted to catch my bus back to Aberdeen around half past five, but the landscape was just so captivating and magical, and rushing back was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I did the complete opposite: I slowed down, let go of the pressure to be somewhere at a certain time, and simply wandered along the path, enjoying the sight of the snow, my constant companion, and immersing myself fully in the landscape.
But, this meant that I had to finish my walk in the dark. At first, I didn’t feel comfortable, but soon I found it to be magical in its own way.
The landscape changed completely from what I had seen earlier in the day. The trees had become dark shadows, and the river was barely visible, its presence only recognisable by its sound. It wasn’t hard to imagine different creatures lurking in the dark, and you know what? If I hadn’t stayed out there, I would have never come up with a haunted tale that was inspired by this gloomy path. The story goes like this:
One night, a girl wandered along the river’s shores, an ancient path lined with trees that were used to hang the condemned. It was tradition to leave them hanging for one day and one night, as a reminder for others not to commit evil in this world. The poor souls have not yet left this world, for it takes the midnight hour to cross into the realm of the dead.
As she passed the first tree, the ghost of its hanged man descended and asked the girl to leave a silver coin. Tomorrow, his parents would come to take his body, and he would enter the world of the dead at peace if he knew his parents were provided for until his brother returned from war. She was a kind girl, and so she left a coin and continued on her way.
As she passed the second tree, the ghost of its hanged man descended and asked the girl to leave her shoes. Tomorrow, his sister would come to take his body, and he would enter the world of the dead at peace if he knew she had gotten the shoes she had longed for, with a bow, one he didn’t have time to finish for her. She was a kind girl, and so she left her shoes and continued on her way.
As she passed the third tree, the ghost of its hanged man descended and asked the girl to keep him company. There was no family to take his body, and he wished for nothing more than to have someone by his side before he would enter the world of the dead at peace. She hesitated at first, for she wanted to reach her home, but, she was a kind girl, and so she sat by the tree and kept the poor soul company. The hours passed as they talked and whispered, and the ghost enjoyed her presence very much, so then, as the midnight hour struck, he grabbed her hand as if in marriage, and –
The next day the families came to pick up the bodies. The first one was retrieved with a silver coin, a poor yet needed comfort for the dead man’s parents. The second one was retrieved with a pair of white shoes, with a bow, a poor yet pleasing comfort for the dead man’s sister. The third tree was left untouched, and as people passed it, they wondered who it was hanging from the tree. A young man, with a shy yet content look in his eyes. And a second body – a girl, so bright and pure, and with no shoes.
