“Mysterious sightings and spooky goings on have been part and parcel of Montrose’s history since before World War I.”
Since Lt Desmond Arthur’s fatal crash on 27th May 1913 many sightings of ‘ghostly apparitions’ have been attributed to him. The controversy surrounding the official findings of the crash, initially put down to a shoddy repair then overturned and stating ’stunt flying’ as the cause, was thought to be the reason behind the visitations.
There are several accounts from a Major Foggin, a rational type of man, giving detailed accounts on numerous occasions. Shortly after a report published just before Christmas of 1916 exonerating Lt Arthur, another appearance was recorded and then everything seemed to go quiet until the onset of the Second World War.

With the advent of war, there came a whole new batch of mysterious happenings at Montrose.

• Sightings of mysterious ‘bi-plane’ flights when no such aircraft was stationed at Montrose
• Ghostly airmen adorned in flying suit & goggles
• Ghost riders in the sky (reported in the Scottish Daily Express May 1963)
• A black Labrador has been seen following members around the museum

As with any good ghost story, there are always instances of sightings and unusual happenings, many are eyewitness accounts, some are spooky encounters or drawn coincidences while some the stuff of modern urban myths and legends.

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