The Haunting of Buckholm Tower: A Tale of Murder, Betrayal, and Ghostly Hounds

Buckholm Tower, located in Galashiels, is steeped in chilling tales of the supernatural. According to local legend, the tower is haunted by the spirit of James Pringle, the 18th-century laird of Buckholm, whose cruelty and violent temper left a bloody mark on the land. The stories surrounding the tower are both eerie and tragic, with unsettling reports of ghostly noises emanating from its dungeon and an everlasting bloodstain that stains a beam—marked by the horrific murder committed by Pringle in the tower’s dark interior.

James Pringle, a notorious and wicked man, mistreated his wife and son so horribly that they were forced to leave him. It is said that no woman in the tower was safe from his brutality, and his name became synonymous with cruelty for miles around. He was infamous for his passion for hunting down Covenanters, often accompanied by his two savage hounds. Known as a loyal supporter of the English Government, Pringle’s actions were as violent as they were unwavering in their support of the crown.

One day, Captain Bruce, the leader of a troop of Dragoons, called on Pringle to help in breaking up an unlawful assembly of Covenanters on Ladhope Moor, a common gathering ground for religious dissenters. Eager to do his part and with a wicked heart, Pringle led the Dragoons to the spot where the Covenanters were most likely to be, but the group had already dispersed. However, two men—Geordie Elliott and his son William, both known Covenanters—remained, with Geordie seriously injured after being thrown from his horse.

Pringle, who harboured no sympathy for the men, wanted to kill them on the spot. Captain Bruce, however, believed they might be able to provide valuable intelligence, and so the two men were taken prisoner, with the plan to move them the next day. They were locked in the dungeon of Buckholm Tower for the night, with Pringle’s cruelty growing as he drank away his anger.

As night fell and the Dragoons departed, Pringle’s mood soured even further. After indulging in brandy, he made his way to the dungeon. Servants, hearing muffled cries for help from within, tried to intervene. Pringle, now drunk and enraged, shoved them aside and entered the dungeon. What followed were the sounds of heavy blows, strangled screams, and the dragging of bodies—before silence filled the tower. When Pringle reappeared, he was unbothered and intent on drinking more.

Just then, a loud knock echoed through the tower. One of the servants opened the door to reveal Isobel Elliott, the mother of the two men, who had come in search of her husband and son. In a drunken fury, Pringle seized the woman and dragged her to the dungeon. When she saw the horrific sight of her son and husband hanging from hooks—lifeless and mutilated—she screamed in anguish. Pringle, unmoved by her grief, called her a “witch” and left her sobbing uncontrollably.

It was then that the curse of Pringle’s cruelty took hold. Haunted by the ghosts of the two men, he became convinced that spectral hounds were hunting him. His servants often found him in fits of panic, attempting to fend off invisible beasts that attacked him at all hours. He claimed to be relentlessly pursued by the hounds that seemed to plague him wherever he went. His life became a cycle of fear and drunken rage, and eventually, Pringle died a painful, convulsing death—still tormented by the unseen hounds, even in his final moments.

As the first anniversary of his death neared, a ghostly figure was seen running towards the tower’s entrance, pursued by the sound of baying spectral hounds. The following night, the household heard the same eerie sounds, accompanied by a desperate voice calling for help. When the servants opened the door, no one was there. The strange sounds continued, and on the anniversary of Pringle’s death, they were heard once again, this time coming from the dungeon itself.

Since that night, every year on the anniversary of Pringle’s death, the sounds of baying hounds and heavy banging on the dungeon door can still be heard from the depths of Buckholm Tower. Some say that the ghosts of Geordie and William Elliott, along with the spectral hounds that once tormented Pringle, continue to haunt the ruins, ensuring that no one will forget the evil that once took place within the walls of Buckholm Tower.

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