Leith Hall was built by the Leith family in 1650 and remained in the Leith-Hay family until 1945. There were extensions added to Leith Hall in 1738, 1810 and in 1904. It was built on the site of the medieval Peill Castle. In the uprising of 1745 Andrew Hay of Rannes hid at Leith Hall after the Battle of Culloden where he fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie. He was unable to seek refuge at his own estate. He eventually made it to France. In 1780 he was given a pardon by King George. This Jacobite pardon is still at Leith Hall in the Historic Wing and is thought to be the only surviving pardon document. During the First World War Leith Hall, like many large buildings, became a temporary hospital. It housed over 500 patients who returned injured and wounded from fighting in Belgium.

During late 1960s Leith Haliwas the home of an American, Barrie Gaunt, and his wife, the authoress Elizabeth Byrd. While they lived there they encountered many strange things. They heard noises that, although they were recognisable, could not be rationalised. These included footsteps and doors slamming in empty parts of the house, and the sound of chanting and eerie pipe playing. Sometimes, strange smells of incense were encountered in various parts of the house.

Many inexplicable occurrences took place at particular locations in the house. On one occasion, in the room known as the Leith Room, Gaunt saw a woman acting in a furtive manner, dressed in clothes of the Victorian era.

Elizabeth found that she could not get a sound night’s sleep in the master bedroom, which was on the second floor and contained a four- poster bed. One morning she awoke to find a heavily bandaged stranger standing close to the bed, but, after a few seconds, he slowly disap peared. There was a portrait in the house and Elizabeth thought that the bandaged man looked very similar to the person depicted. The portrait was of one John Leith, who had been shot by his wife in 1763, and died as a result of those wounds.