The Eternal Card Game In Glamis Castle

The impressive Glamis Castle might have sprawled into an enormous building now, but there's no mistaking the old stone keep at its heart. Amongst all the stories these walls have to tell, that’s where to find the very best of them.

One Saturday night in the 15th century, a raucous group were drinking and playing cards in the lower levels of Glamis Castle. As the hour was reaching midnight, people began to get twitchy and disappear off to bed. They knew it was a terrible sin to gamble on the Sabbath.

There was one man who didn't care. Sometimes said to be Earl Beardie of Crawford, other times Alexander Lyon of Glamis. Either way, in his drunken state this fool roared that he didn't care what the others thought. He would play cards on the Sabbath. He would play until doomsday. He would even play with the Devil himself.

Suddenly, a heavy knock came at the door. It was a tall, dark stranger seeking warmth and shelter, maybe even a wee game of cards too. Common sense was out the window and he was welcomed to the table.

Once midnight passed and it was now early on Sunday morning, the stranger revealed himself to be the Devil, here to grant the man's wish. The little room they had been sitting in had somehow been blocked up and the fool was now trapped inside, playing cards with the Devil for eternity.

It's a strange feeling in that lower hall, and there’s a clear space in the wall where that alcove for playing cards should be. Stand on the lawn outside Glamis Castle, look up towards the old keep and you can even see an extra window, with nothing but wall on the other side.