Nestled between the Scottish Highlands and Loch Leven sits the hamlet of Ballachulish. The area is steeped in folklore and legends of spirits and fairies, though none more prominent than the story of The Ghost Island. This tale hails from the 17th Century, during a time of clan feuding and rebellion. The Macdonalds of Glencoe, a powerful Highland clan, were embroiled in a bloody feud with the neighbouring Campbell clan. The source of their contentions was an Island located within Loch Leven, both clans believing this fertile ground rightly belonged to them. One night, a young Macdonald was sent to the island to guard their shared livestock. A dreadfully thick fog descended, cloaking the shores and the path home. The next day, clansmen found the shepherd gone, his flock scattered. They searched all corners of the island, to no avail. In his place, they found an ominously twisted branch from a rowan tree, a marker of fairy presence. Tales began to spring up then, of the island being inhabited by a malevolent spirit that lured the young shepherd to his doom. Over time, sightings of phantom figures in the fog and the whispers of the lost shepherd’s name rippling across the water kept the legend alive. Fearful of this spirit’s wrath, the clans abandoned the contested island, and it became known as The Ghost Island. Whenever the island is shrouded in fog, it is said the spirit is near, serving as a ghostly reminder of the feuding past for the clans of Ballachulish and testament to the powerful forces of Scottish folklore.