Ghostly drumming said to portend the death of a member of the Oglivy family, the earls of Airlie and owners of Cortachy Castle, Scotland.
According to myth and lore, which dates back to medieval times, it is said that a messenger who arrived one day at the castle with unpleasant news was stuffed into a drum and tossed over the castle walls. Just before he died he vowed to haunt the family forever, and for hundreds of years after it was heard a member of the family died.
One of the most famous drumming cases happened during Christmas, when a guest staying at the castle triggered a panic when she heard the drumming and asked the Earl and his wife where the sound was coming from. Lady Airlie died six months later, leaving a note saying that she knew the drumming was for her. Some believe that panic and fear about the curse brought about her death.
The drumming stopped in 1900 when the then Earl died in the Boer War and nobody heard the drumming - or admitted that they heard it...
