*Ø* Blogmanac September 28, 1749| The murder of Arthur Davis
On June 10, 1754, Duncan Terig alias Clark, and Alexander Bain Macdonald, two highlanders, were tried before the Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, for the murder of Arthur Davis, sergeant in Guise's Regiment, on September 28, 1749. Davis, who had been quartered at Dubrach, a small upland farm near the clachan (village) of Inverey in Braemar, had been missing for several years.
One Alexander MacPherson, who knew only Gaelic, spoke through an interpreter and said that an apparition had come to his bedside. The ghost had said he was Sergeant Davis, and took him to the body. Counsel for the prisoners asked, in the cross-examination of MacPherson, “What language did the ghost speak in?” The witness replied, “As good Gaelic as I ever heard in Lochaber.” “Pretty well for the ghost of an English sergeant,” answered the counsel. The ridicule in the court helped to acquit the accused. Another witness, Isabel Machardie, also saw a man (naked) enter the house.
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On June 10, 1754, Duncan Terig alias Clark, and Alexander Bain Macdonald, two highlanders, were tried before the Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, for the murder of Arthur Davis, sergeant in Guise's Regiment, on September 28, 1749. Davis, who had been quartered at Dubrach, a small upland farm near the clachan (village) of Inverey in Braemar, had been missing for several years.
One Alexander MacPherson, who knew only Gaelic, spoke through an interpreter and said that an apparition had come to his bedside. The ghost had said he was Sergeant Davis, and took him to the body. Counsel for the prisoners asked, in the cross-examination of MacPherson, “What language did the ghost speak in?” The witness replied, “As good Gaelic as I ever heard in Lochaber.” “Pretty well for the ghost of an English sergeant,” answered the counsel. The ridicule in the court helped to acquit the accused. Another witness, Isabel Machardie, also saw a man (naked) enter the house.
There is more about this case online
More on Scotland's ghosts
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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