A GHOSTLY encounter on the road from Falkland to Auchter-muchty has uncovered a centuries-old tale which has aroused the collective memory of local people.
The supernatural sighting was made by 19-year-old Thomas Armstrong when he was driving back to his home in Auchtermuchty with two friends.
At the side of the road just past Falkland wood, the friends saw a blanket of mist which took on the appearanc
e of a ghost as they drove by.
When Thomas returned home, he told his mother Wilma, who immediately remembered what she thought was an April Fools Day joke played by her brother 20 years previously.
Wilma explained: "My brother saw a ghost on the same stretch of road. He was walking along the road with it right by his side and it wouldn't leave him until he neared Dunshalt.
"He was in a state of shock when he came home that night, but nobody would believe him because it was April Fools' Day.
"When I phoned to tell him that Thomas had seen the ghost he laughed and said 'I told you so'.
"Nothing was ever done after my brother saw it, but when Thomas told me that he had seen a ghost in the same area I thought I would try to find out a little bit more about it."
Wilma's appeal for information prompted a number of responses from local people familiar with the history of the area.
Now she thinks that the ghostly apparition may have been that of the 'White Lady', a well known local legend who many believe is the ghost of Jenny Nettles, a Strathmiglo lass who was buried on the Nuthill estate in 1716.
According to local historian Helen Cook, whose book 'A Haunting of Ghosts' deals with the area's supernatural folklore, Jenny committed suicide after she was deserted by her lover.
The mystery man was known to be a member of the Macgregor clan who had occupied Falkland Castle during the Jacobite Uprising of 1715, but he disappeared from the area along with the rest of his clansmen when they were forced to leave the castle.
According to legend, Jenny's ghost now wanders the countryside between Strathmiglo and Falkland, where she used to meet her lover.
Wilma said that while she never knew of the story before, the tale has now aroused her curiosity.
"In a way I would like to see the ghost for myself, but on the other hand that is maybe not such a good idea!" she added.
