HSSC-The Phantom Regiment

This is the story of the Phantom Regiment of Killiecrankie:

Angus McFayden was on a cycle tour of Scotland, and he made his temporary lodgings in Pitlochry. Angus decided to ride to the historic pass of Killiecrankie which wasn't very far. It was late when he arrived there and the sky was a great splash of crimson and gold-such vivid colouring that it was a very awe inspiring event. Angus was so entranced of the beauty that he perched himself on a a rock at the foot of one of the great cliffs that form the walls of the pass, and, he threw his head back and imagined he was in fairyland.
Angus lost a little time in this delicious luxury, and he fell into a light sleep. He woke up a short time later and the shadows of the night fell across his face. Angus was in a panic ans was about to pedal back to the lodge, when a strange feeling came over him. He thought to himself "I have a basket full of cookies and a nice country ham with some bread, a warm blanket, why not I'll just camp out here for the night."

Angus yearned to spend the night in the open moon full night. So Angus set up a little camp there on the rock. The cold mountain air, sweet with the perfume of gorse and heather, intoxiated Angus' senses to say the least. After eating a hearty sumptuous dinner Angus curled up and fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly he was aroused by a dull boom, that sounded like musketry. Then it went quite, deathly quite. He looked at his watch and it said 3:30AM.

All of the sudden dread fell upon poor Angus, it was a vague dread that oppressed and diconcerted him. He felt very alone extraordinarily alone. This feeling became so acute that panic once again fell upon Angus. The wind picked up slightly pushing past the evergreens. Then a piercing, ghoulish shriek of an owl broke the silence. Angus' blood froze from the sound. Angus sat still, breathing vey shallow, he was pretending to be angry for being such a fool. Then once again came the very strange booming noise that he heard before, this time closer, no longer he was doubt that indeed they were firearms.

Angus looked in the direction of the sound and his heart almost stopped at that moment. Racing towards him- as if fleeing for more than his life-his very soul- came the bounding figure of a Highlander. The wind was blowing through his messy hair which narrowly missed his gleaming eyes, which were fixed on Angus in a ghastly agonized stare. He was a very pale man and in the moonbeams the skin was very livid. The Highlander ran in hugh bounds, which were not of this world. He came closer with swiftness; his great, dirty, hairy fists bunched up in front of him:blood drops oozed down his sweating thighs.

Angus was in sheer terror, everything was real, the sporran, the scabbard, the kilt flowing in the cold breeze. angus tried so very hard to close his eyes from the evil sight but, was compelled to keep them open and follow his every movement, darting past him, he left the roadway and bounded over little boulders, finally disappearing behind a hugh boulder. Then he heard the rat-rat of drums, with fifes and flutes periferating the silence of the night. at the farther end of the pass an armed spectral regiment of scarlet clad soldiers appeared. At the head was a mounted officer, after him came the band, and then six abreast, a long line of warriors with swords and pikes: then more mounted men bringing up the rear.

Angus could hear the gravel covered ground vibrate, as the soldiers advanced, tall soldiers with white faces and livid eyes. Angus felt sickened with terror at meeting all those pale, flashing eyes. Angus was waiting for the end, but fortune fell on Angus, the soldiers seemed not to notice him huddled behind the rock. Angus watched the regiment pass him until the last of them moved around the hugh boulder down the road where the Highlander had been.

Angus had enough nad was going to leave the area when suddenly a constant wind was blowing and he noticed an Ash tree swaying violently to and fro, whilst from that area proceeded ghastly moaning and groaning. Angus tried to mount the bike but, he had no strength in him to do it. Summonig up the courage Angus crossed the road and went into a thicket to a clearing, he was just a the end of the field when to his horror he kicked something, and on looking down, he saw a body of an English soldier with a ghastly, gapping, festering, deep, wound in his chest. He gazed around the area and on all sides of him from one end of the valley to the other, lay dozens of bodies-bodies of men and horses-Highlanders and English, white cheeked, lurid eyes, and blood browed and a hodge podge of gory awfulness. Here was the writhing wriggling figure of an officer with half his face blown off, and there, a horse mutilated, and there a English soldier with no legs just gory stumps. The air, that once had the smell of fresh mountain air, resounded with their agonized death moans, reeked with fetid blood.

Angus had no idea where to turn, he was rooted to his spot in bitter terror. Suddenly he saw a shape coming towards him, it was a Highland girl, with bold, beautiful features, with raven black hair and the whitest arms and feet he's seen. In once hand she held a basket, and the other brandished a broad-bladed, sharp edged, horn handled knife. A gleam of evil and cruelty came into her large dark eyes, as, she wandered around looking at the rich facings of the English's uniforms. Angus knew what was in her mind, making straight for an English officer that lay there in agony about ten yards away from Angus, she spurned with her slender, graceful feet to the officer. She snatched his sword and pistol from him, she knelt down beside him, and with a look of the devil, calmly plunged her knife into his heart, working the blade back and forth to assure she had done a thorough job. Angus could not of imagined to see something so hellish, and yet Angus was fascinated of this girl so fair, so wickedly fair and shapely.

After this act of evil was over, she grabbed his rings, epaulets, buttons, and gold lace, she daintily put these in her basket. Then she proceeded to others, in some cases, she couldn't remove the rings off the fingers so she's just chop them off and throw them in the basket. She dipatched her dying victims differently, some she's slit their throats, others were repeatedly stabbed. She did this very non chalantly, as if she was killing chickens. Some she'd settle with pistol butts to the head of some. She must of murdered a good two dozen, and was admiring all the plunder she had when her gloating eye suddenly met Angus' and with a shrill scream of rage that pierced his ears, she rushed toward him. Angus was an easy target, he could not move an inch, he was frozen in sheer horror. Raising her blade over her head, an expression of maniacle, fiendish glee on her face, she made ready to plunge the blood soaked knife into Angus' chest. Angus couldn't take it any more and his nerves collapsed and he fainted into darkness.

When he recovered, every phantom had vanished, including the hellish Highland girl, and the Pass glowed with all the cheerful freshnesss of the early morning sun. Angus quickly mounted his bike and proceeded away from the spirited place, a changed man no doubt!

Next you go out camping or go into the Highland night, remember you might not be the only one out there but you, just might get a glimpse of the phantom regiment and the Highland girl, and you might not be has lucky as Angus was. You are warned.



[Edited on 10-29-2003 by Cearbhall]

Hey,hey.

Our first entry.

Well done Cearbhall.Your in the lead at the moment.

NP mate, Glad to help out, I like scary stuff! I'll post another story tmw!

Originally posted by John bull 1
Hey,hey.

Our first entry.

Well done Cearbhall.Your in the lead at the moment.

Forgive me if I've missed something in a previous thread, but first entry for what? Is there a competition running?

Apologies, ignore me, I found it