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1Booksloth
I wonder if anyone can help me identify a short story I read in a collection around 30 years ago: for all I know it could have been much older than that. It was set in Scotland and was probably based on the legend that Glamis castle in Scotland has a secret chamber that holds a terrible secret known only to the British royal family. In the story there is a room in a castle holding a secret that turns out to be an imprisoned man who was granted the 'gift' of immortality - only to find, of course, that although he cannot die, he simply keeps ageing forever. I remember it being quite creepy. There was a verse recited by someone, maybe the villagers, that went "(Name - more about this is a minute) will nae die; (name) can nae die".
The title of the story was the old man's name which may have been Robbie Lawry; I'm fairly sure about the Lawry bit but less sure about his first name. Many thanks for any help.
ETA - For anyone interested, the story of Glamis (pronounced Glaams) is here - http://mosthauntedcastles.com/glamis-castle-part-two
The title of the story was the old man's name which may have been Robbie Lawry; I'm fairly sure about the Lawry bit but less sure about his first name. Many thanks for any help.
ETA - For anyone interested, the story of Glamis (pronounced Glaams) is here - http://mosthauntedcastles.com/glamis-castle-part-two
2pgmcc
Booksloth, I've not idea what the title of the story is but I'll be waiting to read it when you discover what it is. By the way, thank you for th link to the story of the castle.
Would it be something John Buchan wrote? I have two volumes of his short stories, so I will have a look when I get home.
Would it be something John Buchan wrote? I have two volumes of his short stories, so I will have a look when I get home.
3Booksloth
I think I'd have noticed if it had been by somebody well-known but it was a very long time ago so anything's possible. Thanks for looking!
4lilithcat
This sounds familiar. I seem to recall something about the family secret being revealed to the heir on his 21st birthday.
5pgmcc
Could it be:
In M. J. Trow's Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince, "John", Earl Beardie, is the bastard son of Queen Victoria and her ghillie John Brown.
or
In the 1940s, French surrealist author Maurice Sandoz wrote "The Maze," a novel clearly based on the legend of the Glamis monster. In this story, however, the "monster" is a kindly, long-lived Scottish nobleman who had the misfortune to be born in the shape of a toad (or frog). His existence is kept secret, and he manages his affairs and property through a series of nephews. In 1953, the novel was filmed by director William Cameron Menzies as The Maze.
?
(Found as references in Wikipedia.)
In M. J. Trow's Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince, "John", Earl Beardie, is the bastard son of Queen Victoria and her ghillie John Brown.
or
In the 1940s, French surrealist author Maurice Sandoz wrote "The Maze," a novel clearly based on the legend of the Glamis monster. In this story, however, the "monster" is a kindly, long-lived Scottish nobleman who had the misfortune to be born in the shape of a toad (or frog). His existence is kept secret, and he manages his affairs and property through a series of nephews. In 1953, the novel was filmed by director William Cameron Menzies as The Maze.
?
(Found as references in Wikipedia.)
6pgmcc
or
The short story The Horror at Chilton Castle by Joseph Payne Brennan also has striking similarities to the tale of the Monster.?
The short story The Horror at Chilton Castle by Joseph Payne Brennan also has striking similarities to the tale of the Monster.?
7Booksloth
#5/6 No, definitely none of those. The story I'm looking for was only loosely based on the Glamis legend (sorry - I probably muddied the waters by bring that up at all). It had as its protagonist a male traveller who, for reasons I can't remember, had decided to investigate (I think) local rumours. There may have been some notes that suggested it was based on the Glamis story or I may have read that elsewhere.
8varielle
There is an earlier, similar Greek myth about a goddess who asked Zeus to give her mortal lover immortality, but forgot to ask for eternal youth.
9EveleenM
I know this one! It's 'The House of Balfother' by William Croft Dickinson
The frame is set with a discussion of the legend of Glamis, where one of the speakers then goes on to describe how he came to the House of Balfother when on a walking tour as a student at St. Andrews. In the middle of the night, the creature comes pawing around the room, mumbling 'Robbie Norrie canna die. Robbie Norrie wilna die'.
The speaker runs off, and a week or two later finds a reference to a Robert Norrie in the reign of James IV; when he goes looking for the House of Balfother again, it turns out to have been burnt in the witch-hunts of the 1640s, because of a familiar in the shape of an old man.
The story is in a collection of Dickinson's ghost stories, Dark Encounters, and probably in various anthologies as well.
Dickinson's other stories are very good, as well: he wrote very much in the style of M.R. James, but with a deliberate use of Scottish themes, and with Presbyterianism as the religion of reference rather than James' Anglicanism.
If you like ghost stories, that collection is well worth seeking out.
The frame is set with a discussion of the legend of Glamis, where one of the speakers then goes on to describe how he came to the House of Balfother when on a walking tour as a student at St. Andrews. In the middle of the night, the creature comes pawing around the room, mumbling 'Robbie Norrie canna die. Robbie Norrie wilna die'.
The speaker runs off, and a week or two later finds a reference to a Robert Norrie in the reign of James IV; when he goes looking for the House of Balfother again, it turns out to have been burnt in the witch-hunts of the 1640s, because of a familiar in the shape of an old man.
The story is in a collection of Dickinson's ghost stories, Dark Encounters, and probably in various anthologies as well.
Dickinson's other stories are very good, as well: he wrote very much in the style of M.R. James, but with a deliberate use of Scottish themes, and with Presbyterianism as the religion of reference rather than James' Anglicanism.
If you like ghost stories, that collection is well worth seeking out.
10lilithcat
> 9
Ah, then I was thinking of a different story, because I know I haven't read that one! Now I'm going to be wondering which story I wasthinking of in message 4!
Ah, then I was thinking of a different story, because I know I haven't read that one! Now I'm going to be wondering which story I wasthinking of in message 4!
11Booksloth
#9 EveleenM, you are nothing short of a genius! I don't recognise that title but it's undoubtedly the same story. I most vividly remember the description of extreme agonised old-age as being incredibly effective and it really brought home to me how terrible immortality would actually be. I truly didn't think anyone was going to get this so I'm hugely impressed and grateful. I'm now off to see if I can get the book. Thank you!
ETA - #10 That thing about the eldest son being told the secret on his 21st birthday is part of the Glamis legend - maybe that's what you were thinking of?
ETA - #10 That thing about the eldest son being told the secret on his 21st birthday is part of the Glamis legend - maybe that's what you were thinking of?
12lilithcat
> 11
No, I definitely read a short story that included that as an element, though no doubt it was based on the Glamis legend.
No, I definitely read a short story that included that as an element, though no doubt it was based on the Glamis legend.
13camillahoel
The Glamis connection made me think of a short story where Macbeth laughs off MacDuff, saying that while he was delivered by a caesarian he was still born, and so he does not qualify for the ``not born'' thing; and so Macbeth lives forever. For some reason I remember it as being scary, but I am not sure why.
