Ghostly tales of The Big Grey Man

A supernatural presence is said to stalk the slopes of Ben Macdui – Am Fear Liath Mor, or The Big Grey Man.

James Hogg, the poet known as the Ettrick Shepherd, referred to the presence in verses as far back as 1791, but it was in 1925 that it came to prominence. It was then that renowned climber Professor J. Norman Collie, related his encounter with The Big Grey Man more than 30 years previously in 1891.

He described being seized by a feeling of terror while on the mountain, and hearing a giant’s footsteps shadow his own.

Most encounters detail this feeling of fear and unease, rather than a physical sighting.

However, in 1958, a report by mountaineer Alexander Tewnion was published in The Scots Magazine. He described being charged at by a large figure looming from the mist while climbing Ben Macdui during leave from the RAF in 1943. He shot at the figure three times with his revolver.