Local legend tells of the ghost of a boy who was murdered on the Arnish Moor on the Isle of Lewis after a dispute over valuable bird eggs. The murderer, his friend, buried the body in the peat and fled to sea but was later confronted by supernatural signs when he returned to Stornoway years later.
While eating at the Star Inn, he was served with cutlery handled with bones found on the moor. When he touched them, the handles reportedly began to bleed, a supernatural sign based on the belief that a victim's remains would bleed in the presence of their murderer. Shaken by this omen, the man confessed to the murder and was hanged at Gallows Hill in Stornoway
The ghost of the murdered boy was said to continue to haunt the Arnish Moor, and locals avoided the area at night. In 1964, a man on a motorbike reported being pursued for several miles by the ghost.
In 1964, two men cutting peat on the Moor discovered a body dressed in 18th-century clothing. The remains were sent away to Edinburgh University for analysis and evidence was found to suggest death by head injury from an attack. Could this be the remains of the murdered boy? And did the discovery of his grave end the haunting and put his soul to rest?
Location: Arnish, Isle of Lewis
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1700s onwards
References:
Arnish Moor Man - Kinloch Historical Society
The Haunting of Arnish Moor - Stornoway Gazette