Legend has it that an unfortunate situation befell the Strathmores. The firstborn son of the 11th earl was born grotesquely deformed. His body was shaped like an egg. He had tiny arms and legs and no neck. The large torso was covered with hair. He was known as the Monster of Glamis and was the rightful heir to the estate.
He was not expected to live and was hidden in a secret chamber. The only people who knew he lived were his father, the second son, the factor of the estate and the family lawyer. The firstborn son did not die and was healthy and strong. The second illegally inherited the estate.
Glamis' monster survived through succeeding generations. Each subsequent earl was told about his existence and shown the creature on his 21st birthday. After this happened, their personalities changed. They became withdrawn, silent, moody and morose. It has been said that the monster lived a long life and died in the early to mid 1900s.
There has been no proof that the monster existed. There are records of a secret chamber in the depths of the castle. A Scottish newspaper, in 1880, reported a workman accidentally knocked through a wall and found a hidden passage that led to a locked room. The man disappeared after he told the steward. Word was that he went to Australia after being given a large amount of money. It was said that this happened to others who came close to solving the mystery of the secret room.
Alexander, better known as Earl Beardie, was the Fourth Earl of Strathmore. Sightings of his ghost are frequently reported. There are two versions of a legend about him.
The one is that Beardie, two chieftains and a Lord Glamis were gambling in the tower one night. They argued and cursed God. The devil appeared and condemned them to play dice until Judgment Day. The tower is no longer inhabited.
The other version is that Beardie got drunk on a Sunday and could find no one who would play cards with him. He said he would play cards with the devil who appeared as a tall dark man wearing a hat and black cloak. They went into a small room. Loud shouting and swearing were heard. Beardie complained that he had lost all of his money and sold his soul to the devil. When the devil left, he took the earl's soul. Beardie died approximately five years later.
