Books
I planned my trip almost exclusively via Haunted Castles & Houses of Scotland, by Martin Coventry, which includes Web sites and phone numbers for nearly 300 castles and notes which are open for overnights and which are merely tourist stops. His map was useful for letting me visualize, at a glance, where, roughly, each castle is located—curiously, the highest concentration is in the southeast portion of the country—but it isn't quite to scale, so don't make the mistake I did and think that Gourock is a stone's throw from Oban. As the natives kept reminding me, these are Scottish roads, not American highways.

For more in-depth accounts of the country's various ghost stories, try Scotland's Ghosts and Apparitions, by Terence Whitaker, which breaks the tales into compelling categories, such as "Tenements of Terror" and "Weird Sisters." My personal favorite guide, Scottish Ghost Stories, by James Robertson, categorizes its offerings as well, but it is more widely researched and generally informative than most.

In the Highland and Islands, by John McPhee, is, no surprise, a wonderful read: gorgeously written, thoughtful, and crucial to simply understanding the history of that part of the country and the makeup of its people. Read it even if you're not planning a trip.

Tours
The cities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews offer seemingly countless ghost tours. The most popular is The Real Mary King's Close, in Edinburgh, a warren of underground rooms constructed in the 1600s that is said to be teeming with ghosts. (I was sick the day I planned to visit, so I can't vouch for it myself.) Scotland's national tourism site is very thorough.

Movies
It's definitely worth watching Braveheart for that big, blockbuster feeling—it's riddled with inaccuracies but vividly renders the brutality of Scotland's past.

I Know Where I'm Going, which was recommended to me by a Scottish friend (and has, I came to learn, something of a cult following), is a gorgeous black-and-white evocation. The DVD has lots of good extras, including Nancy Franklin's documentary homage to the film.

Local Hero, another cult favorite, is simply a great movie: wry, strange, sweet, and very 1980s, in the weirdest way. I watched it again with a friend after my return, and we can't stop using the slur craphound. You'll know what I mean when you watch it yourself. (At the very least, try using the term, and maybe, if we all work together, we can edge it into the vernacular.)

Restaurants
Everyone agrees that the food in Scotland is finally good. The pinnacle of my trip was the White House restaurant in Lochaline (not near to any haunted castles, unfortunately), which is devoted to all local foods, simply prepared. You probably won't find any of the conventional staples (haggis, etc.) on the menu, but there are plenty of giant prawns plucked nightly from the ocean just down the street, and they have a specially brewed whisky so delicious that we bought a bottle of our own and polished it off by the end of our trip.