Mysterious Kellie's Castle

Kellie's Castle is located near Batu Gajah, and is about 20 minutes' drive from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. Born in Dallas, North-Eastern Scotland on 1 March 1870, William Kellie-Smith travelled to Malaya, at the age of 20 to seek his fortune. With the profits he get from the venturing with an estate owner named Alma Baker in construction of public roads in Perak, he bought 1,000 acres of jungle land in the Kinta District, and cleared it to plant rubber.
the elevator shaft	In 1909, Smith built his first mansion, Kellas House near the estate. Five (5) years later, he hired workers from Madras, bricks and marble were imported from India to built his second mansion, The Killie's Castle. The Castle was built as the hub of social life for the area's wealthy colonial planters and administrators. It comes with a six-storey tower, wine cellar, moorish arches and walls embellished with Greco-Roman designs. While the rooftop courtyard is for parties and even an elevator, the first of its kind in the country at that time. However the castle was never completes because the sudden demise of Mr. Smith in December 1926.
Even during the construction, tragedy stuck. A mysterious illness broke out, killing many of Smith's workers. He was told that a temple must be built to appease the gods, which he did. Work resumed after the temple was completed. However the castle was never to be realised. Mr. Smith died of pneumonia at the age of 56 on a visit to Lisbon and his wife, Agnes sold the estate and the castle faded into memory.
Today's Kellie's Castle
Over the years, the castle was abondoned and fill with over-grown grass, trees root, spiders web and other insects until the Department of Museum and Antiquities took steps to restore the building. Located on a ridge beside Kinta River near the town of Batu Gajah, Kellie's Castle is just beside the Batu Gajah - Jalan Gopeng. Presently, the castle is one of the attraction in the area and is an object for many photographers, such as wedding photograph, scenery and building structure.	the roof for party
As you walk across the bridge to the castle, you ask yourself a question. Is the castle haunted?. While moving from one room to another, there is a eerie feeling of being watched. When sunlight streams through the arches of the main floors it cast a spirits shadows on the verandah. There are even two (2) corridors, believe can see the spirit of Mr. Smith. If you entered the Wine Chiller Room, the spiralling stair case down lead to a tunnel, and where was it supposed to lead to or what is the purposed of it? However the tunnel was seal by authorities for safety reason. There are also many passage in the castle, leading to other rooms or exit the castle. Could this built for emergency?. It also said that one of the dark dungeon has Mr. Smith's Car inside it.
spirit of Mr. Smith was wandering here	one of the spiralling stair case leading to a tunnel
There are so many mysteries in this mansion that nobody knows the answer, perhaps, is true that "the spirit of Old Man Kellie still wanders along the corridors..."
Photos by Wai Kong \| Writeup by Wai Kong