Comments on: The Monster of Glamis

By: Eleni

Eleni — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:31:09 +0000

Preposterous! To think that anyone in the Bowes-Lyonses family would be so ugly to have to be hidden away…..:o)

By: SusanElizabeth

SusanElizabeth — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 20:48:06 +0000

I remember the movie The Maze, I saw it years ago and when I first saw the reference to a ‘toad like’ person, I remembered the ‘rightful Lord’ hopping through a window to his death.

By: Wayne Brasler

Wayne Brasler — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 17:44:59 +0000

The Queen Mother, as recounted in several biographies, did speak of the legend and did comment on how it was a forbidden topic in the family. She also recounted people seeing the Grey Lady. Also, family members told stories of servants bringing dinner trays through the castle but to whom and where they could not determine. The description of the boy was given several times and it is clear he was physically deformed but whether he had mental or speech issues has never been known. The Queen Mother acknowledged hauntings in the Castle but by her accounts it was happy, jolly home and her family loved theatricals and playing pranks. When war came the family did not hesitate to turn their imposing castle into a hospital and care facility for the troops. Many photos survive showing the warmth which accompanied them doing so. And the Queen Mother said many times her mother had a talent for turning the castle into a comfy home, a talent the Queen Mother often received praise for, including from none other than Eleanor Roosevelt, who said homemaking was the Queen Mother’s special genius. All in all, a remarkable family, monster or no monster.

By: orang pendek

orang pendek — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:11:59 +0000

purrl gurrl:
my guess for your old movie that you remember is “Mr Sardonicus”.

By: Dame Em

Dame Em — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:48:11 +0000

In historical medical and hospital journals from the 19th century and certainly the first three decades of the 20th century it can be seen that the birth of ‘monsters’ was rare but not entirely unknown, the accepted course was for the hospital, attending doctor/midwife or family to ‘allow’ the baby to die without intervention, at the time it was considered the most humane thing for all concerned. So if the secret is about a ‘monster-child’ (a term frequently used in historical records) who was allowed to survive and nurtured all kudos to the Strathmore family as I think the nobility would have more reason than most to follow the accepted course of the time particularly if it was the heir to the title. However I somehow feel that if this is the real secret then how would it possibly change those privey to the secret so much on hearing it, it doesn’t make sense.

Now let’s talk Victorian gothic horror and say some misdirected member of the family had a curse placed upon them or was dabbling in the occult and had been possessed by a demonic entity that would be something likely to raise the hackles and account for the doom and gloom within the family. Purely hypothetical on my part but there are several novels and newspaper stories of the era that hint in that direction but do not directly name Glamis or the family.

By: David G Swanger

David G Swanger — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:46:57 +0000

One last comment, Purrl: looking up the Monster of Glamis on Wikipedia, I found it mentioning The Maze being an adaptation of a 1940s novel by Maurice Sandoz “clearly based” on the Glamis legend. I’d say that pretty well nails it, assuming you can trust Wikipedia…

By: David G Swanger

David G Swanger — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:36:59 +0000

Purrl Gurrl, I forgot to mention that The Maze came out in 1953, which fits what you said about it being “from the 1950s or 60s”. There’s a plot summary on Wikipedia if you’d like to check it against your memories.

By: David G Swanger

David G Swanger — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:27:49 +0000

PurrlGurrl, I think you’re remembering a film called The Maze, directed by William Cameron Menzies, in which the hidden lord was rather froglike. Since it states above that someone said the Monster of Glamis was a “human toad”, you may very wel be right about the influence of this story on the film.

By: Mickey Dee

Mickey Dee — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:42:50 +0000

Purrl– Sounds like “Beauty and the Beast”.

By: Pete

Pete — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:42:12 +0000

Such mysteries can drive you insane if you are like me and must know the truth of things! :-) However, I would lean toward it being a deformed or disabled relative, for only a living being would truly require someone to care for his or her needs (i.e the “factor” mentioned, if I understand the story correctly). And there are many fairly horrible secrets in most families, esp nobility, and such things seem unlikely causes for the change of character noted in those who knew. Finally, the fact that it seem to have an end implies death of the unfortunate person, and the later open grounds would imply it’s not a tangible secret that could be uncovered, or at least not one that mattered any longer (and as such could have simply been moved or destroyed or simply not told to anyone had it been the nature of the secret before). But the idea of a person fuly aware of their surroundings, perhaps even able to converse and intellgent and with dreams and wishes to see the world, be loved, etc – doomed to be hidden, shunned and abhorred, yes, that would certainly bring a thinking man down. A less cognizant person would be less depressing – not to sound harsh, but if they weren’t aware they were a horror, then it would be more of a burden I’d think (not that I feel that way, just trying to think how this family might react). So I think that is the most likely explanation, and poignant certainly, that they cared enough not to simply off the person as others mentioned would not be unheard of for the time period. Disturbing and Sad, and I hope the person was able to have some happiness and measure of the life they surely desired. If I had a time machine, I’d go help this person, all people and animals that I could – grant me eternal life and some powers and that time machine and I’d start tonight. Crazy sounding, I know, but as I said, such mysteries can drive a person insane…;-)