Robertson tells the tale in 'The Wraith of Lord Lyne', and says the Lynes were vassals of the De Morvilles, who lived near a natural waterfall on the Caaf Water until about the beginning of the seventeenth century. He says the family was said to be warned of death by the wraith of the person concerned, and that Dalry parish was a favourite haunt of fairies, witches and warlocks. He also gives a story of a man called Willie Mackie who was surrounded by hundreds of white-clad figures on the Ward Farm. A short version is given on Wikipedia's page for the Caaf Water, with the same detail of the stag and the dogs of hell.
Curses & omens
The Wraith of Lord Lyne
Lynn Glen and the Lynn falls, near Dalry
Legend; family extinct by the early 17th century
- Evidence
- Long-standing local tradition
- Access
- Open ground
- Location
- 55.699, -4.734 (Parish-level only, treat as an area)
Sources: William Robertson, Historical Tales and Legends of Ayrshire (1889), chapter 'The Wraith of Lord Lyne' [public-domain]; Wikipedia, "Caaf Water" [other]
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