Our intrepid reporter spends the night in Scotland's spookiest castle ... and lives to tell the tale

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There is, allegedly, a man with a bandage on his head. A young soldier. Strange smells. Children playing. And the sound of a lady filling the rooms with laughter, ghostly laughter.     It is a crowded house. A crowded, haunted house and Scotland's spookiest castle. A castle where I was going to spend the night.     Told I was heading to Aberdeenshire to stay in Leith Hall, my emotions were a mix of dread and intrigue.     The castle had opened its doors last month for the first time in five years after a £500,000 refurbishment.     But it still offers a rare glimpse into the Leith-Hay family's past and the ghostly occurrences witnessed by residents.     It is a building steeped in a dark and bloody history.     Built in 1650, the castle in Kennethmont was a family home for nearly 300 years.     In 1746, terrified Andrew Hay of Rannes hid there from murderous soldiers after the bloodbath Battle of Culloden.     The Jacobite eventually fled to France and, in 1780, was finally given a pardon by King George. The document has survived and is still in the castle.     During World War I, Leith Hall became a temporary hospital. It housed more than 500 patients, some horribly injured in the killing fields of France and Belgium.     It is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, having been gifted by Henrietta Leith-Hay in 1945. She lived there until her death in 1963.     Some of the accounts include the figure of a large man with a dirty white bandage over his head, a young man in a military uniform, strange smells of camphor and food in bedrooms, heavy footsteps, the sound of a lady laughing, sightings of children playing in a bedroom, sudden changes in temperature and feeling touched when nobody is there.     As I drove up the long tree-lined driveway to Leith Hall at 10pm last Tuesday, it was hard not to be struck by the sheer presence of the castle and harder not to wish I had experienced ghostbusters Scooby-Doo and Shaggy along for the ride.  & nbsp;  With grey clouds hanging over it, the hall looked like something out of a horror film. It was going to be a long night.      When I walked across the courtyard, my eyes were drawn to a peculiar-looking tree. Its unusual branches curved upwards and it looked really eerie. I was sure this was the so-called hanging tree I'd read about.     Medium Derek Acorah, from TV show Most Haunted, found evidence that a tree in the grounds had been used by lairds over the centuries to punish criminals and to perform hangings.     It gave me goosebumps just looking at it. Rope marks can still be seen in some of the branches.     Once inside, I realised there was no phone signal, which meant it was just me and Leith Hall.     There was also a sudden drop in temperature as I made my way upstairs to the rooms that had apparently had unexplained occurrences.     The first room I entered was the dining room, which had a large table laid out for a meal. It had a very strong smell, almost suffocating, and I couldn't stay in there longer than a minute.     Earlier in the day, tour guide Kirsty Howett had said: "I have always noticed this smell. I know it's an old house but the smell is so strong – it catches in your throat. All the rooms have different smells but this is by far the strongest."     Christina Low, who has been managing the property for four years, said: "I haven't had any sightings. The hanging tree      "The weirdest thing that has happened so far was when a woman, who was here to discuss holding a crime writers' event, refused to go into the dining room as she was convinced something bad had happened in there. She didn't like it at all."     The  ghosts of the family are said to have been spotted throughout the house over the centuries.     The most well-known is that of John Leith III, who was killed on Christmas Day in 1763 in Aberdeen. The laird was shot in the head during a drunken brawl at Archie Campbell's Tavern in Castlegate.     In the music room, there is a picture of John Leith III and the door leads off a small corridor to his bedroom.     While I was in there with the photographer, one of the lights on the chandelier went out.     Perhaps someone wanted to make their presence known.     Novelist Elizabeth Byrd, who wrote a book about Leith Hall called A Strange and Seeing Time, reported spotting the figure of a large moaning man on July 16, 1968.     He had a dirty white bandage over his head and covering his eyes and wore dark green trousers and a shirt. He also had a dark beard and carried a short weapon.     The writer said that it was not a ghost as it seemed solid, like a real man. She shouted at him to go away and he disappeared in the direction of a window behind a dressing table.     After that night, the writer could no longer sleep in that room after seeing what is believed to be the figure of John Leith III.     Byrd wrote about her experience and claimed that she felt watched, like there were others in the room with her.     Out of all the rooms in Leith Hall, this is without a doubt the one that I did not want to spend much time in. The bed's presence in the room mad e me feel claustrophobic and the room was not inviting.     Other guests have reported having nightmares about a face bending over them and feeling hands at their throat or feeling smothered with a pillow.     Author Alanna Knight, who wrote The Inspector Faro novels, was staying at the castle with her husband when they both woke up with a feeling of being  smothered and they felt that there was someone else in the room.     She described hearing the clinking of crystal, the rustling of silken dresses and footsteps.     In the drawing room, The Flight into Egypt painting has also attracted some weird sightings. Byrd was convinced she could see a massive bearded man. But when she pointed this out to other people, nobody else could see it.     When I sat down, it was hard to relax as you could still hear creaking.     In Most Haunted, the film crews had heard unexplained noises while they were staying overnight in the music room. It seems even the experts have been spooked by the mysterious castle.     When it was time to leave, I couldn't get out of there quick enough. At night, it doesn't feel very welcoming.   &nb sp; There was definitely something eerie about the castle. Every room had a different atmosphere and smell, especially the dining room.     There were sudden drops in temperature and at times certain rooms, such as John Leith III's bedroom, felt claustrophobic.     There is no doubt that this castle has a spooky atmosphere – there have been too many accounts and stories.     A ghost-hunting night would certainly prove popular for those who are brave enough – but it's not something I would be in a hurry to do again. Source: Emma Smith, Scottish News, August 11, 2013.