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Mary King's Close

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Has anyone been down there or even experienced anything while having a look round? Interested to hear thoughts and opinions on this as im thinking of trying to get a group together to go there.
 
Unfortunately I can't say I saw anything odd whilst looking around Mary Kings Close, but I can definately say it is one of the weirdest places I have ever been to & the atmosphere is extremely odd (although that may have something to do with our tour guide hamming it up in a Vincent Price stylleeee).
Just such a weird history to the place.
Eeerie.
Consider it thoroughly recommended.
 
Yeah, i've been there on one of the terror tours that start in the royal mile. It was on halloween as well, with my girlfriend. I didnt find it spooky. It was nice and cool and didnt seem threatening at all. There is another thread somewhere about walling up people that needed help and i included the fact that MKC was walled up to contain a plaque by the wise folks that ran Auld reekie at that time
 
I've been down Mary King's Close and the vaults under George IV bridge (on both sides of the lawnmarket), but sadly no unusual experiences. The guide at Mary King's said that there was either video or photographic "ghost" footage that had appeared on BBC Scotland a few years ago. I did ask (in the spirit of fortean enquiry) if he had a copy, but sadly not.
 
I visited Mary Kings Close many years ago before it became generally open to the public & you could only book private tours. I can't say it was spooky but I can say it was *%*&($# freezing especially in Jan.

If you want to get a group together it might be better to try to arrange an overnight ghost watch or something. I was told by the guide that some people had done this is a room that used to be a pub and heard the sounds of voices & people drinking.

The main thing I remember iof the tour s going into a small room and feeling instantly that it was cosy & couldn't possibly have a ghost in it. The guide then said "now, some people have come in here and gone this room is haunted" in a spooky voice, then he said that the body of a child, presumably a chimney sweep, had been found in the chimney. I believe this is the same room where people now leave dolls & believe they have seen the ghost of a small girl. But I have not heard the chimney story repeated (or the pub story either). I can only say that I do not personally believe there is any ghost in this room.

The guide also said that he had once taken a tour round and when they came out there was one more person than when they had gone in. Brilliant story! (even if he probably just miscounted). I can't think of Mary Kings Close without imagining a load of tourists suspecting each other of being the ghost and going "no I was here this morning, I've go t a camera, it must be you". However I have never heard this story repeated. Shame.
 
I heard a similar tale...

I have been quite lucky in the attending ghost tours stakes (having a girlfriend that works in TEFL helps). One of the guides at the vaults, on the other side of the Cowgate, just opposite Bannermans*. (Not Mary king's Close, but nearby) claimed that one of the tour guides had been followed home by a "figure" that had stood at the end of her bed all night. She was too scared to come back to work, apparently.

* For those that know Edinburgh
 
Well, in lieu of actual supernatural activity they have installed hidden speakers now in one or two locations (as of February last year).

The one that I recall clearly was the site of an old cattle shed, where there is very, very quietly played moo-ing in one corner.

A bit lame.

That said, I enjoyed going down there as I have a general underground fixation.

The scariest thing by far were the mannequins and costumed chaps in 'plague doctor' garb.

They have all over black leather outfits, complete with capes, boots, gloves, hats, masks, googles and foot-long long curved, beak-like noses/mouths coverings, supposedly filled with sweet smells to combat the plague-bearing miasma.

They looked truly freakish.

I can well imagine the dread realisation of my impending death being hammered home as one of these faceless figures looms over me in the half-light to lance a bubo.

Edit: as depicted here: http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/assets ... dicow1.jpg
 
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The thing that struck me when I went was that several times as we were going round I definitely heard people walking in the main corridor that runs down the middle.
At the time I put it down to other parties being shown round or members of staff wandering about, but I remembered afterwards that we had had to wait around until the last tour had finished so there wasn't another tour down there.
Made me think it could have been ghostly voices and people from the past I was hearing but more likely staff members. The house that is all boarded up because of asbestos or something deadly and rotten floorboards was intriguing.
I got the feeling that if you'd been told it was the most haunted place in Edinburgh and not the Vaults then it would have been spookier. As it was I found it quite a calm, nice place. The Vaults weren't scary either IMO, in too big a group for Mister Boots to make himself known. Although the noise of stuff being dragged about above us happened a few times.
 
Don't some of the houses have wall paper with arsnic in the colouring?
 
I was down in Mary King's Close last week and can also state that there was nothing odd or supernatural about it at all, although it certainly feels like the kind of place that should be haunted. I asked our guide whether she had had any odd experiences doing the tours and she said she hadn't, although the other guides had had queer, none-specified events occur.

There is indeed a room, currently shut off to the public, with arsenic-ridden wallpaper and dodgy floors. I was told they are planning to make the room safe in order to incorporate it into the tour.
 
Anyone here taking part in this?

Ghost reports are put to the test

Ghost hunters are taking part in a scientific experiment at what is claimed to be one of the UK's most haunted locations.
Mary King's Close is a warren of underground streets in Edinburgh, sealed off from the outside world more than two centuries ago.

About 200 volunteers will take part in research led by Prof Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire.

Prof Wiseman believes ghosts are literally all in the mind.

Phenomena experienced

The psychologist has carried out research suggesting people react to environmental cues, such as subtle drafts, and, in particular, visual factors, like low lighting.

A strange feature of Mary King's Close is striking similarities between many of the reports of phenomena experienced there.

Its most famous ghost is Annie, a playful child spirit who has been known to tug at the skirts of female visitors.

The volunteers will be asked to walk in small groups through the streets and the remains of their old houses, and report anything unusual.


The idea is to see which ghosts people think are most likely to be seen in a particular room, and whether they coincide with genuine reports
Professor Wiseman
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Previous visitors are said to have experienced apparitions, phantom footsteps, eerie sensations and feelings of sickness.

Hidden temperature and humidity sensors will monitor "cold spots" - commonly found in supposedly haunted locations - while other instruments will record magnetic activity and low frequency sound waves.

Prof Wiseman said: "One of the things I'm most interested in is the idea that certain rooms are perceived as having personalities, which might elicit stereotypes of ghosts.

"We'll be asking volunteers not only whether they've experienced a ghost, but what kind of ghost it is.

"We've also made photofits of mock ghosts, and ones that have been reported, and we'll be showing them to volunteers in different rooms.

"The idea is to see which ghosts people think are most likely to be seen in a particular room, and whether they coincide with genuine reports."

Prof Wiseman suspects that feelings of sickness and uneasiness could be caused by "infrasound" - low frequency sound waves that might be generated by traffic rumbling overhead.

Mary King's Close, off the Royal Mile, was bricked up in the 17th Century and was only reopened in 2003.

The "ghost experiment" is part of a 10-day Mary King's Close Ghost Festival.

Prof Wiseman hopes to announce initial results from the investigation towards the end of the festival on 22 May.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 541593.stm
Published: 2005/05/12 23:01:41 GMT

© BBC MMV
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I am hoping to go to this and maybe Colin as well. I'll report back if we do. :) Gordon Rutter should be going and will be writing it up. Though I have to say I have been in Mary Kings close before and actually found it rather nice!

Edited for repetition
 
Yep I will indeed be there tomrrow in fact and as Min says I'll be writing it up

Gordon
 
Report in the Edinburgh Evening News (needs registration)

SCIENTISTS believe they have finally discovered the truth behind the stories of ghostly visitations to the streets below Edinburgh's Royal Mile - dampness.

A ghost hunt in Mary King's Close has yielded reports of apparitions, phantom footsteps, unexplained cold spots and unseen hands. Although study leader Professor Richard Wiseman was surprised by the number of events that could not immediately be explained, he believes there is a more mundane reason than hauntings.

"Something quite odd was going on," he admitted. However, the academic is convinced none of the experiences of 200 members of the public were paranormal, believing instead they were caused by environmental factors and tricks of the mind.

The researchers' most striking finding was the particularly low level of humidity at the spots where by far the most "paranormal" experiences were reported.

The investigation focused on Mary King's Close - a warren of streets that were sealed off from the outside world more than 200 years ago. Today, the site is a maze of narrow alleys and remains of houses. Mary King's Close became entombed when Edinburgh's Royal Exchange - now the City Chambers - was built in 1753. The top floors of the houses were demolished and the lower floors incorporated into its foundations. The rooms of many houses still exist and, according to some reports, so do a number of their former residents.

Professor Wisemen sent groups of volunteers to four locations, without telling them that only two sites had a strong reputation for being haunted. The aim was to compare reports from the sites.

About 70 per cent of those visiting the haunted locations reported unusual phenomena. In contrast, only 48 per cent of people exploring the locations not reputed to be haunted had spooky experiences.

At the most haunted site, where a sinister figure in black has repeatedly been seen, more than 80 per cent of the volunteers claimed something strange had happened to them.

"There was a massive difference between the locations," said Professor Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire.

"Sometimes people just felt very cold, but there were some quite extreme experiences - feelings of being watched, being touched and having clothing pulled, apparitions of people and animals, and the sound of footsteps. I was surprised at the extent of the experiences."

Probably the strangest report was from a volunteer who complained about being stared at by a member of Professor Wiseman's team from the end of a corridor, only to find no-one was there.

Experiments by the researchers showed that the two "haunted" locations were significantly less humid than the other sites. This can generate a feeling of coldness, said Professor Wiseman.

There was also evidence of "infrasound" - low frequency sound waves which are too deep for the human ear to pick up, but are known to produce feelings of unease. In the most haunted site, there was a continuous infrasound rumble, which may have been due to traffic overhead.

A psychological test also found that people rated photos of the haunted locations as significantly more "ghostly" and sinister than the other sites, without knowing their reputation. This suggested that subtle features, such as shape, lighting, or the presence of doorways, may elicit a sense of fear.

Professor Wiseman said: "It could be that ghosts were down there, but I think the explanation is primarily psychological."

He added that the findings from this and other ghost investigations may shed light on "sick building" syndrome - unexplained feelings of uneasiness or sickness associated with certain buildings.

The results of Professor Wiseman's research will be submitted to the British Journal of Psychology.
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I'm going tonight to tune in with the spirits maaaan. 8)
 
Well I survived the experience! Again I felt it to be quite pleasant though there was one very small room where I felt my arms and back prickling. I didn't mention it to the mediums as I didn't want them to tell me some scary spirit was trying to contact me (I'm a pure coward). :( Oh and someone managed to photograph some orbs! :lol: It was quite amusing as they were talking about how dusty it was etc, then this guy photographs orbs...hmmm!

I wasn't terribly convinced by the mediums though they were really nice and I quite enjoyed the visualisation techniques we did (to contact our spirit guides!) The figure I visualised was scary and I declined to ask it to come closer (it would have stood on my feet) or ask it to speak (I did mention I was a coward didn't I?) We also held a seance which was a bit hard as there was another group down there and it was hard to concentrate or listen out for anything. The mediums were asking any spirits present to touch one of the group to make themselves known. I was thinking very strongly NO DON'T TOUCH ME! When I spoke to the woman next to me she was thinking the same thing. So it may have put them off. ;)

So in short it was an interesting experience though I didn't feel it was a "bad" place at all. Though I may have felt quite differently had I been down there by myself. ;)
 
Min Bannister said:
Oh and someone managed to photograph some orbs! :lol: It was quite amusing as they were talking about how dusty it was etc, then this guy photographs orbs...hmmm!
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What are you suggesting!

Well one more trip to go - an overnight vigil in the vaults - if I don't experience ghosties there I'll at least be able to say I spent a night in a haunted spot!

Lots of photos and FT write up coming soon.

Gordon
 
Min Bannister said:
gordonrutter said:
What are you suggesting!
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Why that orbs must be attracted to dust of course. ;)
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A sensible hypothesis Professor Bannister. I shall kick up lots of dust tonight and see if there are orbs aplenty and if they are I feel your hypothesis will have been proven correct and you should get the Nobel prize for parapsychology

Gordon
 
gordonrutter said:
Lots of photos and FT write up coming soon.

Gordon
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Gordon. We wait with baited badgers.
 
The Yithian said:
gordonrutter said:
Lots of photos and FT write up coming soon.

Gordon
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Gordon. We wait with baited badgers.
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Well the web piece should be appearing before the end of the week -perhaps on Wednesday if we're lucky. The magazine is an FBI piece and I don't know when that will be in.

Gordon
 
the most haunted team visited the close in series four, which i have to say was one of their blander episodes, although they did catch the sound of a cow lowing quite clearly on the audio. whether this was before or after the aforementioned audio speakers were put in i cant say although del boy did pick up on the energy of cattle that had been stationed there.
 
sequanasapphire said:
the most haunted team visited the close in series four, which i have to say was one of their blander episodes, although they did catch the sound of a cow lowing quite clearly on the audio. whether this was before or after the aforementioned audio speakers were put in i cant say although del boy did pick up on the energy of cattle that had been stationed there.
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They or a similar bunch also visited the Blair Street Vaults and the guides there saw an instant shift in the type and description of events that were witnessed

Gordon
 
Hi, I'm new! This is a really interesting topic and reminds me of a story about a Victorian street that supposedly runs underneath Oxford Street in London. Does anyone know anymore info about this?
 
I have also been down to Mary Kings Close and seen all the toys that are piling up in the room where the ghost of the little girl is supposed to be, but I could not see her, but I did get some good orb photos on my digital camera, I will try to load these up at some point.

one was a room we walked past (I stayed at the back of the group so I could take lots of photos) and it was dark so I just pointed and took the pic –probably about 30 orbs and if you zoom in you can see faces, and another with one big orb but the strange thing about this one is that it is not round as it moulds its self to the edge of a door frame I will load these up soon so you can view at your leisure ! :shock:
 
Those going to Not the Uncon, on the 22nd of September, might want to think about getting a group together, to visit the Close.

I wouldn't going. :)
 
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