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The Windhouse At Yell is considered to be the most haunted house on the Isle of Shetland. RICK HALE tells us why.
For most of my life as an investigator of the macabre and the haunting, I tend to follow many of the established theories of paranormal research.
There’s one long-held belief I can never get behind, though: if you build over a cemetery, you’re sure to anger any ghosts that might be sleeping along with their moldy, old bones.
While it may be disrespectful, like the unscrupulous real estate in Poltergeist 1982 I found out the hard way: building in a cemetery doesn’t necessarily create a spooky atmosphere.
Don’t try to tell the people of the Shetland Islands that, though. Because according to them, their most beloved abode was caused when the remains of two skeletons were unceremoniously discovered, buried under the Windhouse in Yell.
Far to the north, in the cold icy waters of Scotland, are the Shetland Islands and the largest island, Yell.
Although settlements on this windswept island date back to the Neolithic Age, it was the Normans who brought culture to Yell and are even mentioned in the Orkeyinga saga.
When strong winds forced these ancient farmers and warriors to Yell Sound, they stayed and, according to the Saga, partied there.
Throughout World War II, German U-boats sheltered at Yell and the dreaded Luftwaffe went on a bombing run to cut communications.
Since that time, Yell has experienced major depopulation and is mainly used as a transport hub for the neighboring islands.
But one thing it is known for is the imposing and sinister-looking building known as the Windhouse. A building known as haunted house.
History of the windhouse at Yell
The imposing structure known as the Windhouse may have been built in the early 18th century, but it’s an older structure that may be the source of the ghostly horrors lurking behind its nearly impenetrable walls.
According to historians, the former home, with some ruins still standing nearby, belonged to a succession of brutal men.
Beatings, torture and hangings are said to have taken place in the old house, which was built sometime around 1600.
Eventually that older house was abandoned and razed to make way for the Windhouse in Yell.
While that gruesome place no longer existed, it didn’t stop the ghosts from claiming what they clearly thought was still theirs.
A strange comment
Katie Sutherland was a young girl who moved into the Windhouse with her parents in 1906.
Shortly after she moved in, she received a note in the mail with a bizarre message that simply read, “I hope the ghost doesn’t scare you.”
How strange to receive from a complete stranger. Naturally, this can only come from a person who has previously lived in the house.
A person with first-hand knowledge of the phantoms contained within. About ‘the spirit’ the message was certainly vague. Nevertheless, there are a handful that could potentially comply with that bill.
The women in silk
Stairs seem to be a constant place where apparitions are observed. And the Windhouse at Yell certainly has its own.
A woman in a silk dress has been glimpsed walking up and down the stairs.
It is believed she was the mistress of a former lord of the Windhouse, who met her fate after falling down the stairs.
This belief was reinforced when a woman’s skeleton was discovered at the foot of the stairs as workmen pulled up the planks.
The tall man
A second candidate for that bizarre note could be the figure of a tall, dark man, dressed in a long black coat and top hat.
The tall man is regularly seen roaming the corridors of the Windhouse in Yell, but seems to prefer the front terrace.
Witnesses have watched in awe as he walks through a wall and disappears from view.
No one can say with any certainty who he was in life. But an explanation is required.
There is a story about a tax collector dressed in the same style who paid a visit to the Windhouse and was never seen leaving.
A generally accepted view was that the tax man went to settle a debt and was killed.
And as with our previous ghost, the woman in silk, a skeleton of a six-foot-tall man was discovered on the property.
To some, these are undoubtedly the remains of the dark figure that haunts the Windhouse.
The girl and the invisible staircase
A third apparition regularly seen at the Windhouse at Yell is a young girl climbing an invisible staircase. And when she reaches the top, she disappears.
This ghost sounds like nothing more than a psychic echo captured in time and has no idea she is being seen.
Other phenomena
While these three apparitions are regularly seen at the Windhouse, there is an abundance of mysterious activity that can be attributed to all the ghosts haunting this ancient building.
Footsteps are heard stamping. Chilling cold spots are said to follow people through the building.
Disembodied laughter and voices can be heard during conversations in several rooms.
And finally, in one instance, a young boy reported watching in horror as a ghost ascended from an old sea chest to dissolve before his very eyes and vanish back into the chest.
To say that the Windhouse on the Isle of Yell is extremely haunted would be a gross understatement.
The few people who inhabit this island are all too familiar with the countless ghost stories surrounding the Windhouse.
And they cherish them all.
Tell us your thoughts on the Windhouse at Yell in the comments below!
