Bothies are almost at all times welcoming locations of refuge, shelters to flee the moist and chilly climate of the Highlands for a number of hours or an evening. Nevertheless, for one younger hiker and his buddy, the bothy they picked to sleep in supplied them with essentially the most terrifying evening of their younger lives.
Within the winter of 1973, 18-year-old Phil Macneill and his buddy Jimmy Dunn set out on what they assumed can be an thrilling journey climbing within the distant Lochaber hills and mountains round Ben Nevis.
When the sunshine started to fade, they determined to hunt shelter within the close by Luibeilt Lodge, a former deer stalking lodge, the place the pair had been instructed folks had been mentioned to have been dwelling however had been blissful to welcome strangers and hikers in want.
That they had deliberate to make use of Luibeilt as a base camp.
Phil, who revealed all the particulars of that terrifying evening to the favored paranormal podcast, BBC Radio 4's Uncanny, said that they'd visited it within the afternoon earlier than setting off however that it had been locked.
Learn extra: Scotland's scariest locations in response to supernatural professional Ghost Finder Normal
Because it was 9 pm, it was "pitch black" in response to Phil, and very similar to the afternoon, the doorways nonetheless seemed to be locked, determined attributable to chilly circumstances, they determined to enter through an unsecured window.
Phil defined that issues instantly did not really feel proper, he mentioned: "It was a lot colder inside than exterior. It felt odd. It simply did not really feel proper."
These emotions solely turned extra extreme as they regarded across the place, noting that it appeared that the place had been "vacated very quickly".
"The desk was set for Christmas," he added. "There have been Christmas crackers on the desk, however Christmas hadn't occurred. The place regarded as if folks had upped and left rapidly."
And it would not be till afterward, once they lastly settled into their sleeping baggage on the ground of one of many rooms they might realise why.
They started to listen to unsettling noises coming from the bed room upstairs, the one unfurnished room within the constructing, together with the sound of footsteps and enormous objects being moved round.
The pair did their greatest to disregard the noises, finally nodding off, earlier than being awoken at round 4am.
"The noises aren't simply within the room above, they're in our room. The complete room erupts. There are issues flying round all over."
A "petrified" Phil mentioned that finally after a while, the noises died down and the room fell silent once more, they usually had been capable of gentle a candle. Nevertheless, it was then all of the sudden despatched "flying throughout the room".
Surprised, they might solely look on because the sound of footsteps upstairs started once more, this time coming instantly down the spiral staircase straight to the room they had been hiding in.
Phil defined that he grabbed his ice axe and rushed to the door of the room, swinging it broad open sure somebody can be there however although the footsteps had stopped proper exterior, nobody was there.
Terrified the pair climbed again out the best way they'd are available and out of doors shone their head torches as much as the bed room the place all of the noises had been coming from. They had been shocked to see the olive inexperienced curtains that had been open earlier had been now closed. The pair ran for his or her lives heading again to the closest city.
Chatting with Uncanny host Danny Robins, Phil defined that he, Jimmy and one other pal returned only a few years later and found a message painted in stark letters on the wall: "This home is haunted; this home is evil".
Now little greater than a shell of what it was, Luibeilt is deserted and uninhabitable, with a lot of the roof and home windows gone.
Edinburgh-based paranormal psychologist Evelyn Hole, who additionally contributes to the present, believes Luibeilt is a basic case of poltergeist exercise, with Phil himself unable to elucidate what occurred to them that evening rationally.
What do you assume? Is Lubielt haunted? You'll be able to hearken to the complete episode of Uncanny right here.
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