Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, Scotland, has been owned by the St. Clair or Sinclair family since 1446 and is shrouded in legends and mystery.
The Knights Templar’s pursuit of the Holy Grail, which was the chalice Christ drank from at the Last Supper, is the subject of the most well-known legend associated with Rosslyn.
This chalice is purportedly concealed within the church, according to one urban legend.
A Christian military organisation that was well-known for its strength in combat and wealth, the Knights Templar was a key player in the early Crusades. But in 1307, stories about the order’s mysterious rites began to circulate, which ultimately brought about its dissolution.
The Templars were conveniently accused of heresy and fraud by Philip lV of France, who was heavily indebted to them. He also had some of its leaders burnt at the stake.
The Rosslyn Chapel was constructed in the 15th century for Sir William St. Clair, the Prince of Orkney. He most likely participated in the Knights Templar Order.
The church is renowned for its enigmatic and complex carvings, which have baffled scholars for decades. They feature Knights Templar, Masonic, Pagan, and Biblical motifs.
These sculptures were made in the chapel 200 years before Christopher Columbus discovered America, therefore some of them are out of place and time. They show Native American sweet corn and American cactus, both of which are unique to the New World.
According to one version, a stonemason Apprentice was killed in the church. While his master was abroad in Rome seeking inspiration, it is believed that this young guy had been busy carving a lovely pillar. When his master came back, he saw that the pillar had superior talent. The Apprentice was then murdered by him in a jealous rage.
Male members of the St. Clair line were buried in vaults under the church without coffins and instead in full knight regalia until the 1700s following the Prince of Orkney’s death.
Visitors have long reported a weird, black breeze without a clear source in the chapel’s basement crypt.
According to another tale, the entire chapel appears to be on fire whenever a Prince of Orkney ancestor passes away. This phenomena was discussed in Sir Walter Scott’s narrative poem Lay of the Last Minstrel.
Because the chapel was a Catholic church and its altars had been destroyed after the Reformation in 1592, it was abandoned and fell into ruin until the 18th century. The flooring and ceiling were repaired in 1736, preventing total disintegration and preserving the structure. The architect David Bryce was hired in 1861 to renovate Rosslyn.
The Da Vinci Code, a best-selling book by Dan Brown, has made the chapel famous today. However, it has been well-known for much longer than this, in part because to the ghosts reported at the church.
Numerous reports of ghostly monks in and around the church go back many years.
One of the curators saw a spectral monk offering prayers at an altar in the crypt. Four guardian knights could be seen surrounding this monk.
In other sightings, witnesses have come forward to report seeing monks inside and outside the chapel at night, clad in black or grey.
Other curators have mentioned hearing eerie noises while nobody else is there.
One cast member of a play being performed at the chapel in 2006 reported seeing a bizarre, “fairy-like” apparition wandering the grounds, while another actor claimed to have seen a ghostly figure within the church.
A child’s voice was heard in the tomb the year before by another actor who was practising for a play inside the church. “I’m locking up,” he yelled. However, nobody was present when he went down.
Strange lights have been seen in the chapel recently.
