ANY OTHER time of the year, on-site paranormal activity might be something that a luxury hospitality business would keep tactfully quiet about – but come Halloween, a bit of spookiness is a positive selling point.
Thus it is that Dunkeld House Hotel, former home of the Duke of Atholl on a site overlooking the River Tay, has chosen this week to highlight its haunted credentials, with one room in particular associated with other-worldly apparitions.
The building that now hosts the hotel dates back to 1897, and is credited to the 7th Duke of Atholl’s desire for a more modern home, but aristocratic occupation of the Highland Perthshire site dates as far back as 1676.
Its reported spooky sightings include a pregnant lady apparently waiting on her husband, spectral children playing in the corridors and even voices coming from the third-floor room 306, which is where a visiting medium detected the most spiritual activity.
The expert also sensed other figures throughout the hotel, from presences whispering in one of the men’s toilets, to businessmen in the former function hall. The hotel also noted that some previous guests had made comments about paranormal activity upon check out.
A spokesperson for Dunkeld House Hotel said: “As the ghostly season is well and truly in full swing, we’ve been looking into the haunting history of Dunkeld House and it is incredibly interesting.
“Dating back to the 17th century, it is no wonder that there have been ghostly sightings, in fact with such a rich royal history, there could be former dukes, lords and ladies still present amongst us.”
With an eye to nervous guests, the hotel stressed that the spirits frequenting its corridors seemed to be more like Casper the friendly ghost, and had no record of causing undue fright.
The spokesperson added: “Rest assured, there has not been any gravely findings or sightings recently – however for those who enjoy this time of year, I’d encourage them to visit room 306 to see if they are visited by ghosts of the past.”
