The Scott Monument
It would honestly not surprise us to learn that this monument is cursed.
You know you've reached Edinburgh when you encounter the unmistakable Scott Monument, but do you know its history? Well let us enlighten you and to why we reckon that this monument might actually be cursed after all.
The monument itself is of Victorian times, a gothic ode to the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott who died in 1832. The area is quite inspired by the author, the nearby railway station having been named after his Waverley novels. But it was following the authors death that a competition was held in order to submit a design of a monument to him.
It was a self taught architect that won. George Meikle Kemp. He'd entered under the name of John Morvo, the architect of Melrose Abbey as he was concerned that his lack of 'professional' architect skills would hinder his entering of the competition. As it was, the judges liked his design and awarded him the contract to construct it in 1838.
Construction began in 1841 once Parliament had passed an act to do so and it ran on for the next 3 years. The structure was completed in late 1844 and Kemp's son, who was 10 at the time, placed the Finial in the August.
Kemp's brother in law took over supervising the monument's construction and this change influenced it massively. The monument was made more elegant through increasing its height and ended up as the gothic piece we see today, but that wasn't quite the intention.
The tower is 61.11m high and can be climbed (we did not) and built from Binny Sandstone which was sourced from a quarry in West Lothian. The statue of Scott and his dog Maida is made from white Carrara marble and was designed by John Steell. Scott is depicted as resting from writing with a quill, his faithful dog beside him. The monument is then packed of 64 characters from his novels sculpted by various Scottish sculptors both well known and not. In addition to this there are 16 heads of Scottish poets and authors who adorn the monument:
James Hogg
Robert Burns
Robert Fergusson
Allan Ramsay
George Buchanan
Sir David Linday
Robert Tannahill
Lord Byron
Tobias Smollett
James Beattie
James Thompson
John Holme
Mary, Queen of Scots
King James I of Scotland
King James V of Scotland
William Drummond
It is interesting to note that only the face of one woman is included here, especially with her difficult relationship with Scotland. But we'll cover that another time.
Now to the crux of the matter, why we think this monument is cursed. At least 23 people died when constructing it. There were several types of stone mason who worked on this monument, some worked outside, some inside, but ultimately the sandstone used exposed them to large quantities of dangerous fine dust which in turn caused lung disease. It is claimed that one half of the whole number of masons taken on board this project were killed, but that's not all!
The finished monument was unveiled in an inauguration ceremony on 15th August 1846, but Kemp was not in attendance. Why you ask? The same reason why his son put the icing on the proverbial cake and why his brother in law took over his post.
On the 6th of March 1844 George Meikle Kemp drowned in the Union River when walking back from his beloved project site. The circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery, but the public of Edinburgh felt his loss and mourned him. He was on the site every day and remained dedicated to his design and the construction, this is how he became known. Suddenly he was gone, never to see the completed monument. A tragic end, and a suspicious one.
Considering the monument had already killed at least 23 people, a 24th through indirect contact seems odd. But he was the man responsible for all this, the creator was lost, targeted almost. This is why we believe that it may have been a curse. Anything that kills so many people being built obviously should not have been built. There's a reason for everything and a suspicious drowning having been a result of designing this monument certainly raises eyebrows. This is of course all speculation and no evidence to support this, but it's food for thought for our wacko minds.
Haunted? The internet says no, but it would say that wouldn't it. We say different, not through experience, but because over 23 people died working on it and there is no bloody way that the thing isn't haunted as a result. The site is a protected one so no tests have been done to prove whether there is paranormal activity or not, but look at it when you are there. Sheer power radiates from this landmark. It's huge, gothic, almost aggressive in its upkeep of this patch of Edinburgh. You can look nowhere but the Scott Monument, it blocks out Old Town, it takes up space, it leers over you.
Charles Dickens was not a fan, having noted in 1847 'it is like the spire of a Gothic church taken off and stuck to the ground'. He recorded it as a failure, but perhaps it inspired in him the same sort of unsettled feeling it does in us. It seems out of place, too grand for a hustle and bustle city that takes no prisoners. It looks as though it has a story to tell, and it does, but no one stops to listen. It's a story of an ode to a man people looked up to, carried out by a man who never got to see it through to the end. The Scott Monument is haunted by its own tragic tale of construction and in all these years no one really knew.
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