Glencoe Massacre: Hell in the Scottish Highlands

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

Myths, Folklore, Mystery, History, Ghosts, Society & Culture, Murder, Ufos, True Crime, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On the 13 February 1692, Scottish government troops slaughtered between 30-40 members of Clan MacDonald in their home in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. They fell upon them without warning, killing indiscriminately. Who were the MacDonalds? Why did this atrocity happen?

Maddy and Anthony's guests today are Dr Allan Kennedy whose new book 'Serious Crime in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland' is out now and Lucy Doogan from the Nation Trust for Scotland's Visitor Centre in Glencoe.

Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, we're your host's Anthony Delaney and Maddie Pelling.
0:03.7	And if you would like After Dark myths, misdeeds and the paranormal, ad free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:11.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries with top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:20.7	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:24.8	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:43.3	Alistair MacDonald, or McKeon, as he was known to his friends, the old fox to his enemies, stood on the threshold of his home. In front of him were the snow-spattered, heath-strewn mountains and black winding river of Glencoe.
0:51.3	The houses of his clan were made of turf, heather, ferns, and merged into the landscape,
0:58.0	cowls huddling round them as wintry clouds rolled down the craggy hills. He breathed the
1:05.6	lungful of frosty air and sighed. He'd better set off. The deadline was near, and he had an unpleasant but
1:14.4	necessary journey ahead of him. He must go to swear his allegiance to King William before the
1:21.4	year was out, and the low light told him that was not far off. Mist descends now, hiding our view of these ancient, deep glens as we follow him.
1:33.2	When it finally clears, we're 15 miles north, a McKeon is arriving at his destination, the military
1:40.4	outpost of Fort William. Built by Oliver Cromwell's men to control the wild
1:45.9	land, it's now full of William's troops. It's New Year's Eve. McKeon is just in the nick of time
1:54.2	to take the oath. Except he's come to the wrong place. No one here, they tell him, has the authority to take his allegiance.
2:03.6	He should have gone to a place called Inverary, several days' journey south of here.
2:09.6	Administrative errors can be costly, but few have consequences like those that will unfold from this missed deadline. As the old fox wraps his
2:21.1	plaid around him and sets off across the frozen land, we can only guess at the panic running through
2:27.7	his mind. Does he think of home in his loved ones? What will this mistake cost him?
2:38.7	This is After Dark, and today is the first of two episodes about one of the most notorious moments in Scottish history.
2:43.4	This is the massacre of Glencoe.
2:46.1	Thank you. Hello? Hello and welcome to After Dark, I'm Anthony.
	...

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