THE ghosts at Culross Palace are trying to get someone's attention it seems – the fire service has been called out a grand total of 23 times already this year.

Villagers in Culross complained of constant disruption and wondered whether ghosts at the historic building had been setting off alarms with their peculiar movements.

However, on a more serious note they questioned how much money was being wasted on unnecessary call-outs. 

A National Trust Scotland spokesperson said: "We don't know what's triggering the alarm but who knows – it could be things going bump in the night.

"We upgraded our fire safety systems at Culross Palace earlier this year and unfortunately there have been some teething problems, resulting in a number of false alarms.

"We're working with suppliers at the moment to resolve these issues and apologise for any inconvenience caused."

The village has a somewhat haunted history; Culross witches were imprisoned and tortured in the Town House, petty criminals were branded for life with the S-shaped courtroom key (S for sinner) and miscreants were dragged to the Mercat Cross to have their ears nailed to the town stocks.

Nick Hoskins, a former head gardener at Culross Palace, stated in 1997 that he saw a wealthy 16th-century man as plain as day walk through the building to the bothy. He said when he got to the bothy there was no-one there and no staff had been dressed up in historic clothing that day. He suspected it to be Sir George Bruce, the first owner of the palace.

Mark Bryce, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service group manager, said: “We have responded to automatic fire alarm calls at Culross Palace. 

“This building is of significant historical value and, following the recent announcement of our partnership with the National Trust for Scotland, we are currently working in close partnership with the organisation and fire alarm system engineers to identify the issues and agree a solution.”