Tucked away in the shadow of Ben Alder, a 3,766ft Munro towering between Loch Ericht and Glen Spean in the Scottish Highlands, Ben Alder Cottage is a notoriously haunted homestead with a dark history. Long ago abandoned, this idyllic looking former homestead is used by mountain moochers and hill walkers as a bothy (the name given to free-to-use shelters found scattered through the Scottish hills).
Only the hardiest of hikers are likely to make a temporary home in this particular Highland bothy, however. To get there via the shortest route possible, you must take on an eight-and-a-half-mile hike with two river crossings, and there are no settlements or signs of life for many miles around. But it’s not the remoteness that puts most people off. It’s the chilling stories told by others who have attempted to sleep there.
