James Stuart built Gracehill House in c.1775 and named it after his wife, Grace Lynd.  The house was originally surrounded by a large estate which has recently been developed into a golf course and popular restaurant.  The former entrance to the estate is now a public road lined with beech trees and is a popular tourist attraction known as ‘the Dark Hedges’.

The estate has a royal heritage dating back to the early 17th century. 
James I granted the land to a cousin who drowned on his way to Ireland before he could take possession of his new home. The estate then passed to his grandson, William Stuart, and remained in the Stuart family for many generations.

A favourite local ghost story features the grey lady, a spectre that glides along the Bregagh Road, sashaying between the gnarled trees. She vanishes from sight when she passes the last tree.

Whilst some local people believe she is the ghost of a maid from the nearby house who died in mysterious circumstances centuries ago, or perhaps the daughter of James Stuart, referred to in some genealogy lists as ‘Cross Peggy’, others believe that she is a lost spirit from an old, deserted graveyard that is thought to lie hidden in the fields nearby. On Halloween night, the forgotten graves are said to open and the Grey Lady is joined on her walk by the tormented souls of those who were buried beside her.