Poet and writer Ian Blake, of Aultgrishan near Gairloch, will be entertaining expectant listeners in the haunted drawing room of Castle Leod on August 10.

The current castle is a result of work carried out by the clan MacKenzie around 1606.

But the castle is believed to have been built on the site of an ancient Pictish fort dating as far back as the 12th century.

“They’ll have to come along if they want to find out more about the haunting, but it is a very benign ghost,” said Mr Blake, whose latest collection, Waiting for Ginger Rogers at Loch Oich, was published in autumn 2007.

This is not the first haunted room Mr Blake will have read in. He has based some of his works around the suspected supernatural tales which surrounded a castle in England. He said, “Three years ago I was invited down on Hallowe’en to read about a Roundhead helmet they had in the castle in Cumbria — which is supposed to be one of the most haunted castles in Britain.

“So I did that and read it to the people in there beside a great log fire at one o’clock in the morning. It may have been haunted by a number of ghosts, but they thankfully didn’t interfere with us!”

The event will start at 3pm and will include extracts from Mr Blake’s work, as well as readings from other well-known prose writers and poets. There will also be an afternoon tea with sandwiches and scones, which will be served out on the terrace providing the weather is good.

All money raised will go towards funding the Clan Mackenzie Society’s (CMS) next gathering in 2010 — which is held in Strathpeffer every five years. Tickets cost £10.

Seating for the event is limited to 50 people and tickets must be booked in advance through Mary Mackenzie, CMS treasurer, by telephone 01862 893293 or by e-mail Kingscott113@aol.com

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