A Devastating Aberdeenshire Feud

There are many castles called Knock in Scotland and one of those sits on a small hill above Ballater. It’s a small tower house in a quiet location and even when lived in by a branch of the Gordons, Knock didn't see much action. The only thing that ever caused them concern was the Forbes family.

These two sides were in a long-running feud, finding any reason to pick a fight with the other. In the 17th century, Alexander Gordon upgraded Knock by adding musket holes underneath the windows to feel slightly more secure within its walls. But the Gordons couldn't stay inside their castle forever.

Now there were lots of fresh holes in the walls, Knock needed roaring fires to keep it warm, so Alexander sent all 7 of his sons out to cut peat one day for burning. They were going close to their rival’s land and needed strength in numbers to keep them safe. However, when a servant took the boys some lunch he was met with a terrible sight.

The Gordon boys had strayed across the border and that was enough to provoke the Forbes’ wrath. All seven had been killed and to send a message, their heads had been cut off and planted on top of their peat spades, stuck upright in the ground. When the servant brought the news back to Alexander that all of his children were gone, it was too much for the old man. He fainted from shock, fell down the stairs and died.

It seems as if this ill-fated family may have been the last to live at Knock Castle since it entirely disappears from records until 1840 when it was painted as a dilapidated ruin. Anybody who might have considered moving in was probably put off by the ghost of Alexander Gordon, sobbing for the children he had sent to their doom.