Aberdeen's Tolbooth Museum has a history of spooky presences And, as Halloween approaches, STV thought it would be a wizard wheeze to highlight some of the country's most haunted castles and houses. Whatever one's beliefs, these mysteries have endured throughout the centuries and, even now, strike a chord with many otherwise rational people. The Tolbooth Museum in Aberdeen is one of the city's oldest edifices and a variety of ghostly apparitions have manifested themselves to staff and visitors alike on a frequent basis, both before and after the building was used as a gaol in the 17th century. The most famous or notorious inmate was Janet Walker, who was known as the Fittie Witch and was eventually convicted of witchcraft, as the prelude to suffering a gruesome fate, when she was first strangled and subsequently burnt. Haunted These punishments were rare in Aberdeen, apart from in 1597 when King James VI encouraged a witch hunt and 20 people were executed for the offence in the course of the year. The Tolbooth has a grisly history; there have been a litany of deaths on the premises, including executions, murders and fatal acts of torture. So, perhaps it is understandable that so many tales have developed of restless souls pacing the corridors, leading to the situation where the Tolbooth Museum is considered to be one of the most haunted buildings in Scotland. The Museum has recently opened its doors to a number of paranormal investigators, enabling them to indulge in ghost hunting in the Granite City throughout the year. TV's "Most Haunted" carried out an investigation into the myriad sightings of spooks, and staff have grown used to giving training workshops. Who knows what the truth is in these places? But plenty of people are ready to believe in the supernatural.