The Ghost of Maryculter

This story can be found, along with many other fascinating tales, in Legends of the Knights Templar.

A local legend in Maryculter, Scotland, tells of a Knight Templar named Godfrey Wedderburn. who went on a Crusade to the Holy Land and was so eager to fight the enemy that he challenged a Saracen commander to a single combat before the battle began. In that duel, he received a serious wound and was left for dead on the battlefield.

When Godfrey regained consciousness, he made his way to a nearby well. There he was discovered by a native girl. She happened to be the daughter of the Saracen leader with whom the knight had fought. The two fell in love with each other and the Saracen girl nursed the Knight Templar back to health, acting in secret from her own family. As a sign of love, she gave him a golden ring. But staying true to his vows, Godfrey could not marry her. He had to return to the Knights Templar and was eventually stationed in his native Maryculter.

The Saracen girl, of her own accord, followed Godfrey to Scotland. Prepared to declare her love for the Christian knight, she entered the grounds of the preceptory in Maryculter, only to be violently thrown out by the Master of the Templar house. Upon seeing this treatment, Godfrey became outraged and attacked his commander, knocking him to the ground. The rebellious knight was arrested and sentenced to death.

The day of Wedderburn’s execution came. For his disobedience, he was slain with his own dagger. At that moment his Saracen sweetheart appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a closely guarded Templar compound and threw herself down on Godfrey’s lifeless chest. Tearful, she took the golden ring off the knight’s finger and offered it to the Master. Perplexed, he put it on and was immediately struck down with a bolt of blue fire. The maiden seized Godfrey’s dagger and killed herself. Wedderburn’s body was buried inside the Templar chapel. A white ghost with raven hair could sometimes be seen hovering above his grave.

The photo submitted by Barnnicus Habek