“Geographically comprehensive…refreshing…enthralling.”

The Stirling Observer

This is the essential guide to all things magical, mystical and macabre in Stirling District – one of the most popular and beautiful parts of Scotland. It includes:

A full description of all the strange carvings in Stirling Castle and Dunblane Cathedral.

A complete list of all the witchcraft trials in the area.

The real story of Robert Kirk, the ‘Fairy Minister’ who wrote about fairies in the seventeenth century and is reputed to have been abducted by the Little Folk.

The legends attached to William (Braveheart) Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and the Battles of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn.

The locations of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Stories of ghosts, demons, saints, loch monsters, murderers and executions.

Tales of Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Mary Queen of Scots and Rob Roy.

Where to find standing stones, stone circles and healing stones and wells.

The book covers the whole of Stirling District, including part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Review from the Stirling Observer:

“Geographically comprehensive, this account of local folklore, standing stones, sacred wells and mist-shrouded history is not stinting in the detail of each community either.

Holder has clearly pounded every street, hoofed it up every hill and forded every burn he discusses here, as well as wading his way through a wealth of often contradictory written materials, both recent and much older.

Map references accompany most of the more obscure, harder-to-find sites, making it easier for those who are interested to get to them, while entries for prominent sites such as Stirling Castle and Dunblane Cathedral come complete with opening times.

In his words the book is “a guide to all things magical, marvellous, mystical, macabre and mysterious” in the Stirling area.

But, despite his obvious enthusiasm, it is also refreshing to see the healthy scepticism with which Holder treats many of the sites he visits, whether they be fairy knolls, healing wells or yet another of the seemingly endless list of caves frequented by Rob Roy/William Wallace/Bonnie Prince Charlie.

This might be frustrating for readers who like nothing better than a good wallow in old ghost stories and superstitions without a voice of reason interjecting to pour cold water all over their spine-chilling thrills.

But the real history brought to light underneath the frills is, for my money, just as enthralling.

A good book for those who want to add extra interest to their walks in the local area, there is also much to divert those who prefer reading of a fireside kind.”

Copyright of and reproduced with permission from Gregor White, Stirling Observer 2008

Read reviews and buy this book on Amazon.co.uk

A guide to everything supernatural, paranormal, folkloric and, above all, mysterious about the Isle of Iona and the nearby island of Staffa.

This third book in what they’re all calling “The Guide to Mysterious....” series is a comprehensive guide to everything strange, curious, supernatural, folkloric and weird in the Inverness and Loch Ness area,