‘Slanje Var’ – A ghost story from North Edinburgh Nightmares
Slanje Var [Slàinte mhath] by John Tantalon
My grandfather was a great storyteller. As a youngster, I spent much time with my grandparents and was fortunate enough to hear stories from various parts of the world. He served in the Royal Navy achieving the rank of chief petty officer. During World War II he partook in mine-sweeping duties across the Forth Estuary. When the war ended, he had a career as a trawlerman. It is here, that this story begins.
During his time, my granddad sailed on many ships out of Granton harbour. The routes would take him as far as Iceland and the Faroe Islands; in his words, the fish in those seas were monsters of the deep. During one voyage, the crew of the vessel Alma witnessed something very unusual.
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Hide AdA trawler crew could number as many 13 men, dependent on distance. One of the crew, Geordie Walker, was working on maintenance near the rear of the trawler when, from nowhere, a substantial wave hit, sending the trawlerman over the side of the boat and into the icy depths.
The other crew members immediately ran to his aid, but before they reached the spot he had been, Walker was catapulted from the water, launched back onto the deck... only on the opposite side of the trawler. He had traveled beneath the boat and been returned back on deck in some miraculous twist of fate.
Taking him below deck, the crew revived the shivering man. After a while, he regained his composure and began to talk about the incident. The Captain could not comprehend how Geordie came to go overboard as he was a hardened naval man – a wave that size should not have caught such a crew member off guard.
Walker claimed that when the wave hit, another crew member, one he did not recognise and had either attempted to push him overboard or tried to grab him to save him.
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Hide AdThe captain stated this was impossible. He must have imagined it, the shock of the icy water perhaps. However, Walker was adamant. The man had stood before him and he described him right down to his tattoo, the mysterious fourteenth man had 'Slange Var’ with a harp below it on his left hand. He remembered the design as clear as day.
At this point my grandfather returned to his duties. The rest of the trip went without incident. The crew landed a successful catch and returned to Granton where the Alma docked at the middle pier - the crew made their way to the nearby Granton Tap pub. There, my granddad took Walker aside and told him a story.
The previous year, the crew of the Alma returned from a successful trip to the waters around the Shetland Isles. They were preparing to unload the catch when tragedy struck. A local man, one Mr Ross, lost his footing on the steep metal ladder that ascended the middle pier. He crashed headfirst onto the Alma’s stern wooden deck.
The force of the impact was so severe it split his head in two. My grandfather attempted to hold the terrible wound together as he called out for help as Ross slowly passed away as life drained from his fractured body.
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Hide AdWhen help arrived, they attempted to feel for a pulse on the dead man's hand - an already cold hand tattooed with the words 'Slanje Var’.
For more local tales of terror, read North Edinburgh Nightmares, By John Tantalon, £10, available here
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