Creepy Urban Legends--The Headless Drummer

 

Standing atop Castle Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland, is Edinburgh Castle.

The castle was built centuries ago and is known today for being the most attacked castle in the world. In its 1,100-year history, the castle has faced 26 sieges!

Naturally, there is bound to be a lot of history…and a lot of hauntings.

There are ghostly dogs, a weeping noblewoman, the ghost of an unlucky prisoner, and a headless drummer boy.

Who was the drummer boy, and how did he become headless?

There are several versions of it online, and one of them is that the boy was a young man who was in the army. It was his job to warn of danger, and he would do so by playing the drums.

Unfortunately, he was killed by an enemy who didn’t want the soldiers to know about their attack. They beheaded him.

But since the young man was loyal, he was committed to his work even after death.

It so happened that in 1650, the palace staff heard the sounds of drums. Upon investigation, they found a young man in uniform, playing his drums loudly. However, when the staff approached him, they were horrified to discover that the drummer did not have a head.

They all stayed indoors, too afraid to approach the headless drummer, and prayed that he would go away on his own.

The headless drummer played on through the night, but when morning came, he disappeared.

Soon after that incident, the Edinburgh Castle was attacked and captured by Oliver Cromwell.

From then onwards, the Headless Drummer was regarded as a harbinger. Sighting means that tragedy and ill-fortune will befall the Edinburgh Castle.

However, the Headless Drummer was not sighted after 1650, yet people have said that sometimes late at night, they can hear the steady rhythm of a drum playing.