Ghosts of Edinburgh:
Hot on the heels of the release of Ghosts of York, the lads' foray into the world of the paranormal continues in bonnie Scotland...
Edinburgh Dungeon
Tom (foreground) and John in the Mary King's Close exhibit
If you've read Ghosts of York, you'll remember that York Dungeon was a surprise highlight of our York adventure. A venue with the occasional whisper of haunting but very little information out there in the public domain, and certainly not a location which springs to mind when you look at shortlisting locations in the most haunted city in the world! With this consideration, our first port of call in Edinburgh was the Edinburgh Dungeon, a building which hit the headlines a little over a decade ago when an exorcism had to be called in to rid the newly opened tourist attraction of unwelcome spirits which were terrifying staff and visitors.
...and what a night it was. When we were least expecting it we were completely caught off guard by something truly so horrifying, something so frightening that it gave us all undoubtedly the biggest scare of our entire lives and had John running back and forth in terror like a headless chicken, dropping the F-bomb over and over and over again like a tourettes-suffering Al Qaeda terrorist!
...and what a night it was. When we were least expecting it we were completely caught off guard by something truly so horrifying, something so frightening that it gave us all undoubtedly the biggest scare of our entire lives and had John running back and forth in terror like a headless chicken, dropping the F-bomb over and over and over again like a tourettes-suffering Al Qaeda terrorist!
Covenanter's Prison
Rob alone in the lair of the Mackenzie Poltergeist
The location which inspired me to choose Edinburgh as the city upon which to base this book, the Covenanter's Prison, the world's first concentration camp, and the home of the powerful, dangerous, evil Mackenzie Poltergeist. The Covenanter's Prison is situated in a quiet corner of Greyfriars Kirkyard and has a padlocked gate due to over 4000 authentic, documented attacks and one death. The Mackenzie Poltergeist has been described by Richard Felix, formerly of Most Haunted as "One of the most convincing supernatural cases of all time".
As guests of Black Hart Entertainment we joined the City of the Dead tour, and then once the paying public had dispersed into the night we had the Covenanter's Prison to ourselves. Did we dare to challenge Mackenzie to do his worst? You better believe it.
As guests of Black Hart Entertainment we joined the City of the Dead tour, and then once the paying public had dispersed into the night we had the Covenanter's Prison to ourselves. Did we dare to challenge Mackenzie to do his worst? You better believe it.
Mary King's Close
Is that actually a ghost at the top of the Close?
The Edinburgh adventure continues in earnest as the Geordie ghost-busting quartet headed north once more, and as guests of Mysteria Paranormal we conducted an investigation into Mary King's Close, famous the world over for the plethora of ghost believed to lurk around every corner of the ancient close. A venue considered by many as not only the most haunted place in Edinburgh, not only the most haunted place in Scotland, but the most haunted place on planet Earth!
What a night it was, with the Mysteria mediums, including Ian Lawman, formerly of Living TV shows such as Most Haunted, picking up on a number of spirits. The atmosphere was electric and it was difficult to keep up with the happenings during the climax of the evening; the final vigil which saw some frenzied activity including a guy called Trevor who just couldn't stop himself from twisting!
What a night it was, with the Mysteria mediums, including Ian Lawman, formerly of Living TV shows such as Most Haunted, picking up on a number of spirits. The atmosphere was electric and it was difficult to keep up with the happenings during the climax of the evening; the final vigil which saw some frenzied activity including a guy called Trevor who just couldn't stop himself from twisting!
Dalhousie Castle Hotel
(L-R) Tom, Rich, and John in the 'Black Corridor'
What a magnificent hotel, and at first glance Dalhousie may not seem an obvious choice to make the cut as one of Edinburgh's most active locations. So it might come as a surprise to read that Celticcastles.com listed it as one of the ten most haunted castle-hotels in Europe, The Herald Sun of Melbourne in Australia described it as one of the most haunted hotels in the world after an Australian journalist was scared witless after an encounter with the ghost of Lady Catherine in the Dungeon Restaurant. The Telegraph newspaper listed it as one of the most haunted hotels in Britain, as did spookystuff.co.uk.
After spending hour after hour stuck in traffic with all roads north of Berwick seemingly closed by the police, we spent a fantastic night at the luxurious four-star hotel and our first inexplicable happening occurred in the hotel grounds before we'd even entered the building.
After spending hour after hour stuck in traffic with all roads north of Berwick seemingly closed by the police, we spent a fantastic night at the luxurious four-star hotel and our first inexplicable happening occurred in the hotel grounds before we'd even entered the building.
Edinburgh Vaults
10:00am on a Saturday morning may not seem the ideal time for a ghost hunt, however if the location in question happens to be the underground South Bridge Vaults which is in absolute darkness 24 hours a day, then it's every bit as likely to produce during the day as it is at night.
The Vaults are renowned as a 'must-see' visitor attraction in the city, and one of the scariest, most active sites which we simply had to investigate.
A warren of dark, damp, eerie chambers, and it was quickly apparent that we weren't welcome as an angry, foul-mouthed spirit in the 'White Room' spoke to us through my Frank's Box, a new gadget to our investigations which we first used on our recent ghost hunt at the Victoria Tunnel. It seemed he may have followed us to the next room, as we experienced stones being thrown around, and whats more it seems Rich may well have captured one of these stones actually in flight in a series of photos he took in quick succession as it was kicking off all around us.
The Vaults are renowned as a 'must-see' visitor attraction in the city, and one of the scariest, most active sites which we simply had to investigate.
A warren of dark, damp, eerie chambers, and it was quickly apparent that we weren't welcome as an angry, foul-mouthed spirit in the 'White Room' spoke to us through my Frank's Box, a new gadget to our investigations which we first used on our recent ghost hunt at the Victoria Tunnel. It seemed he may have followed us to the next room, as we experienced stones being thrown around, and whats more it seems Rich may well have captured one of these stones actually in flight in a series of photos he took in quick succession as it was kicking off all around us.
Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre is the oldest student-run theatre in Britain and is housed in the former New North Free Church at the foot of the George IV Bridge.
1:00am on a freezing cold Saturday evening/Sunday morning the city centre of Edinburgh was chock-a-block with revelers out on a big night out, most of them off their heeds with the drink, but not the four of us. We were stone-cold sober and we were bobbing, weaving and dodging through them; our destination the neogothic church which is home to the 90-seater theatre.
Julien and Carolyn were waiting to meet us, and as they gave us a tour of their theatre we asked about spooky going-ons and were told that there's long been talk of the 'Bedlam Ghost'. Would be encounter it? We sure hoped so.
1:00am on a freezing cold Saturday evening/Sunday morning the city centre of Edinburgh was chock-a-block with revelers out on a big night out, most of them off their heeds with the drink, but not the four of us. We were stone-cold sober and we were bobbing, weaving and dodging through them; our destination the neogothic church which is home to the 90-seater theatre.
Julien and Carolyn were waiting to meet us, and as they gave us a tour of their theatre we asked about spooky going-ons and were told that there's long been talk of the 'Bedlam Ghost'. Would be encounter it? We sure hoped so.
Return to Mary King's Close
With the bombshell of Rich leaving the team for the remaining Edinburgh investigations due to work commitments still ringing in our ears, the remaining trio of fearless spook-botherers had to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and head north once more with the mouth watering prospect of a return to the infamous Mary King's Close.
We had investigated the ancient close only a few months earlier as part of a much larger investigation organised by Mysteria Paranormal. It was a entertaining evening with the Mysteria trio of mediums picking up on all manner of ghostly inhabitants, however I couldn't help but wonder what we may experience if we could get our small group in there alone, and do our own thing. This was that chance. We grabbed it firmly with both hands, and we had one hell of an evening!
We had investigated the ancient close only a few months earlier as part of a much larger investigation organised by Mysteria Paranormal. It was a entertaining evening with the Mysteria trio of mediums picking up on all manner of ghostly inhabitants, however I couldn't help but wonder what we may experience if we could get our small group in there alone, and do our own thing. This was that chance. We grabbed it firmly with both hands, and we had one hell of an evening!
The Cammo Estate
With spring finally making a belated appearance your fearless ghost hunting trio decided the time might be right for us to tackle an outdoor location which probably doesn't even feature in any of the dozens, possibly even hundreds of books that already exist on the ghosts of Edinburgh.
The Cammo Estate was once the estate of the majestic Cammo House which was built in 1693 but it now nothing more than a shell. There are a number of fascinating ruins within the estate including a stable block (pictured above), a lodge, and the Cammo Tower.
We popped along during the day for a recce and it was really pleasant, the sun beating down on us as we talked and laughed without a care in the world, exchanging cheery greetings with dog walkers and families enjoying the warm weather.
However when we returned after dark it was a completely different prospect.....
The Cammo Estate was once the estate of the majestic Cammo House which was built in 1693 but it now nothing more than a shell. There are a number of fascinating ruins within the estate including a stable block (pictured above), a lodge, and the Cammo Tower.
We popped along during the day for a recce and it was really pleasant, the sun beating down on us as we talked and laughed without a care in the world, exchanging cheery greetings with dog walkers and families enjoying the warm weather.
However when we returned after dark it was a completely different prospect.....
Ghosts of Edinburgh is now on sale. Why not head on over to Amazon and purchase your copy?