Edinburgh Vaults

[taras]

http://www.edinburghnews.com/index.cfm?id=57392003

Sounds like vaults are haunted after all

BY LYNN DAVIDSON


EDINBURGH’S underground vaults have been described as one of the most haunted places in the world.

Unsubstantiated stories and myths abound about mysterious spectres and mad monks lurking in the cavernous bowels of the city’s Old Town.

Despite the popularity of these spooky tales, little evidence has ever been produced to prove the presence of the paranormal.

But now a radio producer believes she may have recorded proof of the existence of ghostly beings in the Capital.

Debbie McPhail unwittingly recorded a mysterious voice while making a programme in an underground vault when it was supposedly empty.

Mrs McPhail, a features producer for BBC Radio Scotland, took former rugby international Norrie Rowan into some of the reputedly haunted vaults, which he now owns.

The interview they recorded turned out to be unusable because of a sound that could be heard over it, which was later judged to be a mysterious voice speaking in Gaelic.

The radio producer said: "I am a cynical person by nature, especially about this sort of thing, but I just don’t have any explanation for this."

The team used the vault beneath South Bridge as the location for recording a historical programme called Underground Lives, which had nothing to do with ghosts. It was when Mrs McPhail played the tape back that the spooky voice became apparent.

Colleagues who also heard it reckoned the voice could have been in Gaelic, repeatedly saying "get out" or "go away".

Mrs McPhail explained: "I found the place so creepy, I let the presenter go down to do the interview himself.

"When I was listening back to it, I could hear Norrie Rowan [the vault owner] chatting and then I heard another voice.

"It was close by to the microphone because you can tell if voices are far away or not." The 38-year-old added: "I knew it wasn’t the presenter or Norrie because the voice had a slightly Irish accent. But I couldn’t understand why no-one responded to it.

"When the presenter came back up I asked him who they had met in the vault and he said nobody. My husband thought it could be Gaelic and I asked a colleague who spoke the language and she said they could be saying ‘get out’ or ‘go away’.

"I have no reason to doubt it. You could sit forever and make explanations for it, but it’s there on the disc and that’s good enough for me."

Mr Rowan, 51, insisted it would not put him off going back underground.

"The place is supposed to be haunted but I’ve never seen anything down there or heard any strange voices.

"In all the time I’ve spent there I have never seen what you might call a ghost. " And he joked: "I am probably the most scary thing down there ."

Gordon Stewart, assistant director at Mercat Tours, which conducts visits around the vaults by university-trained historians, said there was a high level of unexplained activity.

"It is an unusual story and quite chilling. I think it could be the first time anything like this has been recorded in Edinburgh.

" I’m not saying this proves the existence of ghosts but it is intriguing."

Of the hundreds of reported sightings , the most popular is of the boy who pulls the leg or sleeve of visitors, and Mr Boots, a "nasty piece of work" who has been said to push people, whisper obscenities in their ears and stomp around the vaults’ corridors.

Mr Stewart added: "Psychics have reported a nasty individual occurring there. That would tie in with the voices appearing to shout ‘get out’.

"People who come on our tours have been scratched, had their hands jostled and come into contact with unknown things.

"They often think we have hidden effects or people around who touch them, but that is not the case at all. "

Dr Paul Stevens, a research fellow at Edinburgh University’s Koestler Parapsychology unit, said: " One explanation may be that it’s been picked up by the equipment being used when the man was being interviewed."

He added: "The other explanation is someone could be playing a prank. In addition to that, the vaults are not mapped in places and you don’t know what walls are backing on to.

"At one time someone there thought they were hearing strange sounds, but the wall actually backed on to a massage parlour and that was where the funny noises were coming from.

"It is very creepy down there, so even water dripping can sound like footsteps."

Right, I am DEFINETELY going down there next month!

 

[Spookyangel]

And I'm definitely not!
I think if a voice told me to get out, I'd be gone before I had a chance to see anything! lol
If you do go though, be sure to tell us what happens, and I'll try not to read it just before bed time! :eek!!!!:

 

[Yithian]

The thing is Spooky, it seems as though they didn't hear anything whilst down there.

 

[Anonymous]

if i rember correctly fom my wonderful scottish society unit at uni it would seem strange for the ghost to speak gaelic. i would have thought that edinburgh has been quite anglo-ised for centuries and folks in the lowlands didn't like their gaelic speaking conunter parts.
if my half remembered history is wrong please tell me!

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/cgde/

Heh...

They teach Gaelic at Edinburgh University.

 

[Anonymous]

The gaelic of Scotland (at least the period you may be refering to) were mainly roman catholic and supporters of Prince Charles and the restoration of the stewarts to the throne. The lowlanders were invariably Scots in their language which is derived from old english and countless other regional...blah..blah.....

The lowlanders were supporters of King George and were protestant in their vision.

This is perhaps the rift between the two that you refer.

edinburgh indeed has been subjected to tougher anglicanisation (?) than the west coast.

The above is not a rule by the way. There were many catholic jacobites living in the lowlands and plenty protestants in the highlands.

Today there is still a strange rift between the east coast and west coast.

Salt and Sauce?
Salt and Vinigar?

 

[Anonymous]

Today there is still a strange rift between the east coast and west coast.

just like hip hop!
i love it when my glasgow mates start on a rant about edinburgh, it makes us scouses seem normal with our rabid hatred of manchester.

 

[taras]

just like hip hop!
i love it when my glasgow mates start on a rant about edinburgh, it makes us scouses seem normal with our rabid hatred of manchester.

They're just jealous

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, but the voice had an Irish accent......

 

[minordrag]

Marvellous!

A canonical, garden-variety EVP. I hope they make it available for our listening pleasure.

 

[Anonymous]

Pogue Mahon!

if i rember correctly fom my wonderful scottish society unit at uni it would seem strange for the ghost to speak gaelic. i would have thought that edinburgh has been quite anglo-ised for centuries and folks in the lowlands didn't like their gaelic speaking conunter parts.
if my half remembered history is wrong please tell me!

Plenty of dispossessed, Gaelic speaking, Highlanders passed through Edinburgh after the '45 and during the Clearances.

Plenty of Irish in Edinburgh, back around then, too. Burke and Hare were Irish ex-navvies and some of their victims were Irish as well.

Quite a cosmopolitan place, Edinburgh. So close to England too.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Pogue Mahon!

.....So close to England too.

Christ, you would never have guessed!

...snigger!

P.S I dont really believe in this sort of divisional psychology. I hate it in fact and all my references are mere jests.

My country very much needs to get its thumb out.......

 

[lostcat2]

Re: Sounds like Edinburgh vaults are haunted

At the last Edinburgh International Science Festival in there were numerious experiments conducted in those vaults.

They sent volunteers down there (plus some recording equipment) and asked them to record their experiences. As i recall the person in the vault where the voice was heard felt an oppressive presence.

One of the explainations put forward for this is that the rocks that make up the vaults are slow grinding against each other and generating infra-sound waves. These waves casue feelings of fear and oppession.

I've been meaning to go on the vaults tour for a while but I never seem to get around to it, oh well.

Cheers

lostcat

 

[hexkitten]

At the last Edinburgh International Science Festival in there were numerious experiments conducted in those vaults.

They sent volunteers down there (plus some recording equipment) and asked them to record their experiences. As i recall the person in the vault where the voice was heard felt an oppressive presence.

One of the explainations put forward for this is that the rocks that make up the vaults are slow grinding against each other and generating infra-sound waves. These waves casue feelings of fear and oppession.

I heard this too. The low/high frequency sound waves were thought to cause the feeling that someone was behind you or thinking that you can see something out of the corner of your eye. I don't think they were ever used to explain voices heard in the vaults though.

I went down into the vaults a few years back on one of the ghost tours and it was excellent. The lighting down there is very spooky and there are many different rooms, not all of which you were allowed to enter.

I'm quite glad that I didn't hear or see anything, because I think I would have run a mile.

 

[McAvennie]

I was in Edinburgh recently and went down the vaults. The group was about 25 strong and I think that kind of stifled amy real fear. Had it been about 12 I think it would have been more fearsome.

We were told about the 'Get out' incident and about Mr.Boots but didn't see anything. If you have been in the vaults you'll know they are kind of a U shape. You basically go round in a circle and in and out the same entrance.

In the second room we stopped in at the bottom point of the left hand line of the U we heard scraping noises several times, first quietly then quite loudly. It sounded likesomeone in an upstairs room dragging furniture around.

I didn't think there would be any rooms above that point but surmised that if there was it was just furniture being moved or a flunky of Mercat tours making the noises.

Has anyone else heard similar noises down there.

Having read the websites beforehand I was actually quite apprehensive about going down but I didn't find my visit very scary. Had it been a smaller group I'm sure it would have been worse and I certainly would not like to be down there alone.

 

[taras]

I can assure you, Mercat don't set stuff up or have flunkeys

However, the sounds of traffic going over the bridge can sound strange. I know some of the tour guides, and they get as annoyed as the customers do about large groups - it's more difficult to set the right atmosphere and is less personal when there's a large group I guess.

I can tell you that going down in a group of three is very, very scary :eek!!!!:

And... I am writing my FT article about the vaults... honest Not much uni work now so I am working more on it.

 

[McAvennie]

I didn't think it was a set up because nothing else happened. I think it was just a case of someone above moving something, or traffic.
I took a photo down there so hopefully it will come back with a ghostly image of Mr.Boots

Interestingly I also visited Mary Kings Close and thought this: if you took people into the vaults and told them it was where olde world people lived and told them the usual tales it wouldn't be very scary.
If you took people into Mary Kings Close and toldthem all kinda gruesome tales and that it was haunted it would probably be scare city. It's all about how it is presented.

Our tour guide was called Adam I think. He had long hair and said 'Jeekil and Hyde' instaed of Jekil and Hyde'.

 

[mah_magic]

didn't derek ackorah on most haunted come out with the same 'GET OUT' in gaelic in those vaults.

was the recording before or after that episode aired.

also is Norrie Rowan planning to use the vaults in some way that could do with the publicity.

 

[Anonymous]

I live in Edinburgh now, and one of the first things I did was take in the Auld Reeks tour of the vaults under Niddry Street. Between Bannermans bar and Nicol Edwards.

It was excellent, I went with two drunk mates. I'd opted out of the drinking that night . As soon as we entered the Vaults my two friends sobered up instantly. We went into the Vault that is said to hold the cobblers ghost and while everone else took their jackets off because they were warm I stood there shivering, the tour guide even stopped her talk to check I was okay because I was shivering so much and she decided at that point to leave that vault and go back in to the "lost street". We got a chance to look at an active wiccan temple in one of the vaults and then moved up to the vault the coven had previously occupied, there was a stone ring in the centre and an "evil" spirit was said to be trapped there after the Wiccans accidently let it in.

We left after hearing scraping sounds coming from the wall to our left. We then went into the middle vault and not much happened in there till we were leaving. A girl on the right hand side of me began to fall over on her way out and so did my mate behind me, right in the entrance to the vault. I was in the middle and wasn't exactly happy about two people falling over into me. Once we had managed to get out into the light we found their shoe laces had been tied to each other in a knot. I was stood in between them and there was no one behind us as the tour guide ended her talk.

I honestly can't explain how their laces got tied together.

I recommend a visit

 

[ArthurASCII]

I went on a tour of the vaults about three years ago.

Ever the sceptic, I detached myself from the main party and waited in the dark by the "coven chamber" in order to tune-in to the ambience of the place.

There are definitely spots where the temperature drops, but my cigarette lighter showed strong draughts in such places, so I'm not surprised.

After blundering around in the dark for a while, poking my nose into every room I encountered, I eventually found my way to the exit. no-one except my wife had noticed my disappearance (and she'd said nothing because she knows how inquisitive I am).

It's just another tourist trap as far as I'm concerned. I wish it had been a historical tour rather than a ghostly one - I'd have enjoyed it more.

 

[McAvennie]

It's just another tourist trap as far as I'm concerned. I wish it had been a historical tour rather than a ghostly one - I'd have enjoyed it more.

Next time you are in Edinburgh visit Mary King's Close on the Royal Mile if you haven't already. Similar thing to the vaults but it tells you the real stories of what life would have been like living in places like that in that era. Very interesting place.

 

[ArthurASCII]

Next time you are in Edinburgh visit Mary King's Close on the Royal Mile if you haven't already. Similar thing to the vaults but it tells you the real stories of what life would have been like living in places like that in that era. Very interesting place.

Thank you. Mary King's Close will definitely be on my itinerary next time I visit Edinburgh.

 

[Anonymous]

Why is Scotland so rich in ghosts ?

Here is the problem that many15th/19th century dead people in Scotland have. Including those from 15th Century to 19th Century who had Catholic or Episcopalian sympathies.

Their religious belief system includes Purgatory, and therefore Masses for the dead are needed to make them go on their way.

16th Century John Knox led Presbyterians to forbid Masses, and anything else that smacked of prayers for the dead .

Therefore these dead people are stuck in time, because of their belief system. They await the release that is prayed for by those who are still on this Earth and who pray for them.

The only thing that will help these people is to have Mass/HolyService said for them. This can be done at your local Catholic/Anglican Church by going up to the priest and asking him to say Mass for the "Holy Souls". If you leave him a little recompense he will be grateful - but it is not necessary. Forghost freaks, this will reduce the number of active ghosts.

 

[ArthurASCII]

You have to believe that they're there in the first place of course!

Sounds like a good way to drum up a bit more church attendance IMHO.

 

[Anonymous]

Well - they were there when they died. Where did they go since ? To see Partick Thistle playing away. Now that is another plane...

 

[Alexius4]

I visited the vaults in the mid-nineties with a couple of friends who knew one of the managers at the time...I had to leave, having felt something very unpleasent down there - sensed that the place would rather be left alone to brood, and resented being disturbed.

I was told that a Wiccan group was periodically meeting down there, which was probably not particularly wise given the vibe of the place. But hey, it takes all sorts...

 

[Anonymous]

City of te Dead tour

Anyone been on the City of the Dead tour to the Covenanter's Prison in Greyfriar's Kirkyard? We tried to on it last night, but it was fully booked. I was gutted. Next time we'll book in advance before we go.

 

[taras]

Yes. The stories were good, and the tension was good... but once we got inside the infamous tomb it wasn't that scary (one woman burst into tears and started screaming, which was followed by a drunk american at the back saying "I didn't mean to scare her...".) The Mercat Tours vaults one is the best tour I have been on, with this a close second.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: City of te Dead tour

Anyone been on the City of the Dead tour to the Covenanter's Prison in Greyfriar's Kirkyard? We tried to on it last night, but it was fully booked. I was gutted. Next time we'll book in advance before we go.

I've read the book and it billed it as been quite scary, but to be honest it was pants.

The tour of the vaults on Niddry Street were much more scary.

 

[stonedog3]

Marianina.... do you have references for your episcopalian=belief in purgatory statement?

The whole thing is an interesting theory but as a long time anglo-catholic episcopalian family we've never heard of the connection.

We were some of the people drowning covenanters by the way!

Kath