Kellie’s Castle is a curious relic of an era long past, with a timeless and tragic story retold for many generations now.
As though its colourful story is not intriguing enough, there are also dark tales of things that lurk in the ruined halls of this once-lavish mansion.
But before delving into tales of the macabre, it would be better to explain the verified facts that are available about Kellie’s Castle.
Built in 1910, the mansion was the residence of one William Kellie-Smith, a Scottish man who made a fortune as a plantation owner in Malaya.
Kellie-Smith had arrived in Malaya some 20 years earlier, working as a civil engineer on road projects in Batu Gajah.
Eager to make a fortune, Kellie-Smith struck out into many different industries, only to meet varying levels of failure in each one.
Thankfully for him, investing in rubber plantations proved to be his saving grace and he would go on to accrue a fortune.
It was during this time that he had Kellas House built, the predecessor to Kellie’s Castle which still stands next to the ruined mansion.
In 1903, Kellie-Smith returned to Scotland to bring his sweetheart, Agnes, to Malaya, where they had two children, Helen and Anthony.
Anthony’s birth in 1915 heralded the beginning of Kellie’s Castle, and it was to be quite the impressive project.
Kellie brought in 70 workers from Chennai, India to work on the mansion which boasted four floors and 14 rooms.
It was also meant to be the site of Malaya’s first-ever lift, with the shaft still visible to this day.
In addition to the lift, the mansion was home to several underground tunnels, secret rooms and hidden stairways, some of which are accessible to tourists today.
Aside from its astounding dimensions, its architecture was also unique, being inspired by Moorish, Indo-Saracenic and Roman designs.
One might wonder what drove Kellie-Smith to go all out with Kellie’s Castle, and here’s why.
Before he had built his fortune, Kellie-Smith was often looked down on and ridiculed by other British landowners in Malaya.
Now that he had wealth in hand, the prideful Kellie-Smith wished to prove his detractors wrong with his opulent building project.
Unfortunately, his critics ended up having the last laugh as Kellie-Smith’s luck took a downturn once more.
Construction of Kellie’s Castle was delayed with many of the construction workers falling ill courtesy of the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Misplaced investments also ended up costing him financially and more tragically, his health began to fail him.
In 1926, while in Lisbon to pick up the lift, he contracted pneumonia and died of his illness at the age of 56.
Grieving over his loss, Agnes and her children returned to Britain, leaving behind their Malayan estate forever.
His plantations and estates were sold off to a British company, which had little interest in the half-completed Kellie’s Castle.
Hence, for decades afterwards, the mansion was left to rot and crumble amidst the ever-encroaching jungle.
Despite its owner’s unfortunate end, the story of Kellie’s Castle does not end there as it continues to be the centre of many supernatural stories.
Placards located around Kellie’s Castle today tell of unexplained sightings of ghostly figures on the mansion’s grounds.
One story tells of how a pair of tourists spotted a ghostly figure in one of the mansion’s windows, supposedly belonging to that of Kellie-Smith himself!
There have also been reports of a ghostly child playing in the bedroom that formerly belonged to Kellie-Smith’s daughter, Helen.
These stories have landed Kellie’s Castle in many lists of haunted places in Malaysia, though one must wonder if they are simply products of overactive imaginations.
After all, Kellie-Smith died in Lisbon, so his spirit would have had to travel far to haunt the halls of his abandoned mansion.
And Helen, whose writings were important in understanding Kellie’s Castle, never had much of a personal attachment to the place either.
Today, the immediate area around Kellie’s Castle has been developed for tourism purposes, with modern facilities catering to hordes of tourists.
After years of abandonment, it seems that Kellie’s Castle has finally gained the recognition its owner desired, albeit not so much for its opulence as for its tragic history.
Kompleks Pelancongan Kellie’s Castle
Lot 48436, KM 5
5, Jalan Gopeng
31000 Batu Gajah
Perak Darul Ridzuan
Operating hours: 9.00am-5.00pm daily
Contact: 05-365 3381