Slains Castle was originally built by Francis Hay, Earl of Erroll from 1597 onwards. Some years earlier he had converted to Catholicism and subsequently supported the rebellion of George Gordon, Earl (and later Marquis) of Huntly, which attempted to reverse the Scottish Reformation.

The uprising was defeated and in 1594 the family’s original residence, Old Slains Castle, was destroyed by King James VI in retaliation. Hay fled the country but returned in 1597 and made peace with the King. He recovered his estates but opted not to rebuild his former family seat and instead replaced it with (new) Slains Castle.

The castle was still an impressive structure in the late nineteenth century and it is thought to have influenced the author Bram Stoker at the time he was writing Dracula whilst he was staying at a cottage in Cruden Bay in 1895.

Slains remained in use until 1916 when it was sold to Sir John Ellerman, a ship-owner, who subsequently dismantled parts of the site. By 1925 the roof had been removed to avoid paying roof tax. A plan devised in the 1980s to convert the site into tourist accommodation has, to date, come to nothing.

Today visitors can wander through the castle ruins which include reasonably well preserved elements of three and four story buildings and a basement course over some of the range, especially at the eastern side. There are well preserved basement kitchen works with numerous firepits and masonry indented storage spaces. The interior of the ground level is a maze of passageways and smaller rooms, reflecting a high state of occupancy in 17th century times.