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Myths & Legends Day
"Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui. And I will not go back there again by myself I know.”
~ Professor J. Norman Collie, 1925, at the 27th Annual General Meeting of the Cairngorm Club in Aberdeen
Climbers ascending Ben MacDhui—the second-highest mountain in Britain and the highest peak of the Cairngorm massif—are often warned to tread carefully. This remote summit has long been associated with eerie encounters and strange phenomena, and it is said to be the haunt of Scotland’s very own Bigfoot: Am Fear Liath Mòr, the Grey Man of MacDhui!
Those who claim to have encountered the Grey Man often describe the same chilling sensations. A sudden rush of dread, a wave of panic, and the unnerving sound of heavy footsteps crunching in the snow or gravel—always just behind them, though no figure can be seen. Most reports place these experiences just below the skyline, near the eerie expanse locals know as the Lairig Ghru Pass, a place where the boundary between the natural and the supernatural seems especially thin.
Skeptics, of course, have offered their own explanations. Some point to infrasound—low, inaudible frequencies generated by the wind, which can trigger feelings of unease in sensitive individuals. Others blame the phenomenon known as the Brocken Spectre: when the sun is low and behind a hiker, their magnified shadow may be cast onto mist or cloud banks, creating the illusion of a towering, ghostly presence.
Whether born of legend, illusion, or something else entirely, the Grey Man’s presence still lingers. As Hallowe’en draws near, it may be wise to tread carefully on Ben MacDhui—and keep watch on the drifting mists. This tartan was designed as a tribute to those mysterious and unsettling encounters with the Grey Man in the Cairngorms. 💛 🖤 🤍 ⛰️ ⛰️ 🏔️🦶🦶
Folklore in the Cairngorms is rich and varied and include:
Reports of John Brown's ghost haunting Balmoral Castle
Glenshee Fairies
Serpents Stone and legends of a witch at Loch Beanie
A phantom at ‘Loch of the Curse’ (Loch Garten & Loch Mallachie)
Ghostly figures at The Corrieyairack Pass
Strange occurrences at Ruthven Barracks
But one of the most interesting and more historically recent of mysterious encounters has to do with Am Fear Liath Mòr, the Greyman.
Sightings and reports of Am Fear Liath Mòr go back at least a couple of centuries, but the first credible experience took place back in 1891. Professor Norman Collie was a respected mountaineer who had a strange experience during his ascent on Ben Macdui. At a meeting of the Cairngorm Club in 1925, he related the following detail:
I was returning from a cairn on the summit in the mist when I began to think I heard something else other than my own footsteps. For every few steps I took, I heard a crunch and then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking footsteps three or four times the length of my own. I said to myself this is all nonsense. I listened and heard it again but could see nothing in the mist. As I walked on and the eerie crunch, crunch sounded behind me I became seized with terror and took to my heels staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles nearly down to Rothiemurchus Forest. Whatever you make of it I do not know but there is something very queer at the top of Ben Macdhui and I will not go there again by myself I know.
His revelations opened the way for similar stories from other climbers. One of the more fantastic reports came from a man called Alexander Tewnion. In 1943, Tewnion claimed that while he was on Ben Macdui, he shot at and possibly wounded something in the mists. While Tewnion was descending the mountain along the Coire Etchachan path, a strange shadow-like form appeared out of nowhere and seemed to be heading straight for him. Fearing for his safety, Tewnion fired a trio of shots with his revolver before fleeing in the direction of Glen Derry.
This tartan is listed in the register as: Designed by Fenton Wyness, Dee Valley Textiles, c 1963. The story of the Cairngorm Plaid is the story of this famous mountain range and Ferla Mor - The "Big Gray Man."
For more real life accounts and history of Greyman sightings, click the photograph of a Brocken Spectre!