Built in 1915, Kellie’s Castle is an unfinished mansion in Perak, Malaysia believed to be haunted

The state of Perak, few hours north of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, is best known for its historic landmarks and tin mining heritage set amidst dramatic limestone hills. One such example is Kellie’s Castle (sometimes also called Kellie’s Folly), located near Batu Gajah and about 20 minutes’ drive from the city of Ipoh. The unfinished, ruined Moorish Revival-style mansion, was built by a Scottish rubber planter named William Kellie Smith. Construction began in 1915, but came to an abrupt halt in 1926, when Mr. Smith abruptly died of pneumonia on a short trip to Lisbon. William’s wife was devastated, and moved back to Scotland, selling the mansion to a British company.

It is believed that the spirit of Smith and the many workers who died of the Spanish flu haunt the castle. The creepiest part of the tour was when the guide led us down to the wine cellar and linen room, where he recounted how a paranormal expert was allegedly possessed by the spirit of an Indian laundryman who once worked for Smith. Another part of the mansion not to be missed is climbing up to the towers for incredible views of the surrounding palm plantations and karst mountains.

The 4,500 ton Tin Dredge No. 5 in Tanjung Tualang is the last of its kind in Malaysia

Another rather spooky heritage site not far away is the Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge. Tin dredges work by scooping up bucket loads of tin-bearing soil at the front end, which then passes through an oscillating drum and a system of jigs and screens to extract the tin. The ship-like dredge floats on a pontoon in a mining pool. The last of its kind in Malaysia, this 4,500 ton dredge – believed to be the largest of five – was built for the Southern Malayan Tin Dredging Ltd, a company formed in 1926 which operated in the Batu Gajah-Tanjung Tualang area. It operated for many decades until the early 1990s when the Malaysian tin industry experienced a rapid decline due to a combination of exhausted tin deposits, low tin prices and high operating costs. 

Aside from showing us around the small, dusty museum near the entrance, and the ground level of the dredge, the tour guide permitted us an exclusive tour of the upper levels of the ship, where we got a close-up inspection of the enormous buckets used to extract the soil, and admire the view of the nearby mining pools, many of which have been converted to prawn farms, from the roof.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Kellie’s Castle
Address: Chalet Mdkb Kellies Castle, Jalan Gopeng, Batu Gajah,Perak, 31000, Malaysia
Entrance Ticket: MYR 5
Tel: +60 5-255 2772

Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge Ship
Address : Warisan Kapal Korek (Tin Dredge Heritage), 9th Km, Jalan Tanjung Tualang, 31000, Batu Gajah, Perak. Location Map.
Open Time : Open Daily 8.30am to 6.00pm
Entrance Ticket : MYR 6 for adult and MYR 3 for children
Tel: +60 53702253

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