Notes:

In the churchyard of Marnoch, Banffshire, there is a vault, almost entirely underground, over which a second story has been built like that at Culsalmond. A flight of ten steps leads down to the entrance, just above which a stone tablet has been built in to the wall, bearing the words “Built by Subscription in the year 1832. Addition 1877.” The front wall is 4 feet 9 inches thick, and is pierced by the entrance passage, which is protected by an outer and an inner door similar to those at the Culsalmond vault. The interior is an arched chamber now used as a storeroom for the implements used in the graveyard, and the upper room now forms part of the dwelling-house occupied by the keeper of the graveyard. The chamber above the vault was at one time put to a very peculiar use, for it was occupied as a schoolroom. Many of the old-time Scottish schools were held in small and in many ways unsuitable buildings, but surely no stranger place was ever chosen than just above a vault built for the safe-keeping of corpses till they were ready for burial in the graveyard! A strange and somewhat improbable story is associated with this place: Late one evening many years ago three men were passing along the road near the churchyard when their suspicions were aroused by some sounds proceeding from within it. Approaching cautiously, they discovered some body-snatchers at work opening a grave. They saw them raise the coffin, unscrew the lid, and then go to a conveyance they had in waiting outside the churchyard for the purpose of getting the cloths in which to wrap up the body. While they were away, the three men, it is said, removed the corpse, and one of them, in a spirit of mischief, lay down in its place while the others again concealed themselves. On their return the body-snatchers proceeded to lift up the supposed corpse, when it cried out, “Let be, and I’ll rise mysel!”.  Needless to say they did not wait for that event, but at once fled in terror and escaped. At several other places in Aberdeenshire, such as New Deer and Slains, there are watch-houses, etc., but as they are similar to those already described, it seems unnecessary to refer to them more particularly.

From: Ritchie, J. (1920). Relics of the body-snatchers: Supplementary notes on mortsafe tackle, mortsafes, watch-houses, and public vaults, mostly in Aberdeenshire. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 55: 221-229