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Mary King's Close

Pietro_Mercurios said:
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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Hmm, mysterious.
Do you mean
I wouldn't BE going
I wouldn't EXPECT TO BE going
I wouldn't BE SEEN DEAD going
I wouldn't BE going THERE IN A MILLION YEARS
or
I wouldn't NOT BE going
I wouldn't HAVE BOUGHT THIS SUIT/WIG IF I WASN'T going

etc

:lol:
 
I'm afraid that I lost my mind there. :(

As in: I wouldn't mind going.

Jon Ronson may be right, about spending too much time with Conspiracy Theories on the Internet. :shock:
 
Yup. That's what I thought you meant. ;)
 
Tickets will start going on sale next week, juts one final thing to organise before we start selling. With things like ghost walks if we can get enough people together it would be possible to organise a private one for ourselves rather than joining a public walk (the price would be exactlyt he same).

Gordon
 
If you right click it and save and open it in windows picture and fax viewer you can then zoom in on the orbs and see what your imagination can make out ! :shock:

Oh and the strange green light is a 17th century fire exit sign (they were big on Health & Safety back then you know!) :lol:
 
I've just come back from a couple of days in Edinburgh and did the Mary King's Close tour. We were in Annie's room and it was weird as three of us in one corner felt intensely cold, only it wasn't the corner where most phenomena occur. Comparing notes, we all felt a very particular type of chill - a tingly cold in specific areas of limb, rather than a general cold. We'd been in the adjoining room previously which didn't have any drafts and was generally pretty cosy (walls of human ash aside).

I also felt incredibly claustrophobic down there, whereas when I went on the vaults tour the next day I didn't feel it at all.

I know the cow mooing has been mentioned, but I was wondering if anyone knows whether smells are put on as part of the show - there were a couple of strong odours that my friend experienced.
 
'Haunted house' in £1000 charity challenge to Sir Sean
Published Date: 23 August 2008
By Gareth Edwards

SIR SEAN CONNERY has been challenged to put his money where his mouth is after criticising one of Edinburgh's top visitor attractions.
Staff at The Real Mary King's Close were left stunned after the legendary Scottish film icon made some scathing comments on the attraction in his new book, Being a Scot.

Owners were bemused at his description of the Royal Mile attraction, which has around 170,000 visitors a year, as "a Disneyfied haunted-house experience".

They have now challenged Sir Sean, who is in Edinburgh to launch his book at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, to visit them and see for himself.

As an incentive they have promised to pay out £1000 to a charity of his choice if he is still unimpressed with what they offer visitors.

In return they have asked him to agree to pledge the same amount to their nominated charity, the Sick Children's Foundation at the Royal Hospital in Edinburgh, if he does change his mind about the attraction.

A copy of the challenge will be delivered to Sir Sean's hotel suite, while another will be delivered personally to the actor when he appears at the Book Festival on Monday.

The book, which covers Sir Sean's early life in Edinburgh as well as his current impressions of the city, was co-written by author Murray Grigor and includes a segment in which he raises concerns about the growth of 'dark tourism' in the Capital.

In it, he wrote of The Real Mary King's Close: "When what became the City Chambers were built in the 18th century, the closes were all levelled off and sealed from above, leaving shops and rooms below intact. The public is now able to visit this subterranean part of the city. But instead of being able to appreciate how people then lived, they have to go along with a Disneyfied haunted-house experience."

Stephen Spencer, General Manager of The Real Mary King's Close, said: "In response to Sir Sean's comments, we challenge him to put his money where his mouth is.

"We invite him to visit The Real Mary King's Close and if he is still unimpressed we will donate £1000 to his chosen charity, providing he is prepared to match or better this amount to our chosen charity, the Sick Kids Friends Foundation at the Royal Hospital in Edinburgh, if he is impressed.

"We also think he must have forgotten the fact that he has made millions out of dramatising fiction, when we are merely dramatising fact.

"We look forward to hopefully welcoming him and revealing a very real history connected to the site's amazing past and perhaps even telling him something different about his beloved home city."

Sir Sean's publicist could not be reached for comment on the challenge.

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/39H ... 4421319.jp
 
Just got back from a short holiday in Edinburgh!

Went on The Real Mary King's Close tour (or 'King Mary's Close' as I keep calling it) - v interesting but not spooky at all. All the underground rooms had warm, welcoming 'well-trod' atmospheres - more historic than spooky. The only thing I was afraid of was breaking my neck after toppling down the stone steps in the dark...

Also went on Mercat Tours' 'Ghosts and Ghouls' tour which takes you into the South Bridge Vaults. This is where professor What'shisface from the University of Thingy did an experiment a few years ago where he sent people down there and asked them which room they liked least, or where they'd had spooky experiences; they all chose one room in particular and it turned out it was an area of infrasound, which could have accounted for apparitions. So I went along with my Fortean hat on (well, my Fortean beanie...). I was well up for checking out the vaults and detecting (if I could) standing waves of low frequency sound with JUST MY EYES AND EARS. Obviously I failed miserably!

The vaults were a little spooky, mainly because the guide ramps up the terror with some good old blood-curdling bloodthirsty tales juicily told (our tour guide was Faith - she was *fantastic* - I do recommend her). However there were rooms in the vaults that I 'liked' and others I didn't. On entering one particular room I felt very uncomfortable and... prickly, but then Faith explained that this was a 'safe' room where a little boy had been seen! In this room I also smelled a really strong unpleasant smell, but just put that down to haggis-fed tourist farts. Although it did fade rather quickly. I also heard what I thought were other groups tramping around in the halls, but I think we were the only tour group down there. Then again, there were a lot of staff about so it could have been anything.

One odd thing happened when we were about two-thirds of the way through the vaults.

We were all moved into another room and were gathering round the tour guide for her next spooky spiel when I heard very deliberate hard-soled footsteps (like those of a person wearing Cuban-heeled boots) walking in a semi-circle behind me, then coming to rest just behind me to my left.

At the time I thought it was a bit odd, but couldn't figure out why. A minute later I realised that I hadn't heard hard-soled footsteps the entire time we'd been going through the vaults - everyone in my group was apparently wearing trainers or soft-soled shoes. By the time I realised this there was, of course, no one just behind me to my left, but people shift around in these groups, and I didn't *actually* demand to look at the soles of everyone on my tour, so I can't really be sure of anything.

By far the spookiest tour was Blackhart's City of the Dead Graveyard Tour, which takes you to Greyfriar's Cemetery then locks you in a tiny mausoleum with the Mackenzie poltergeist. This is the tour where loads of people have been scratched, bruised, made to vomit and pass out(!) by, allegedly the Mackenzie poltergeist. The tour guides give the disclaimer 'The Mackenzie Poltergeist can cause genuine physical and mental distress. You join the tour at your own risk.'

I was a litle trepidatious but the friend I was with wanted to 'get punched in the face by a poltergeist'(!) for proof! The graveyard was fine; we heard about Greyfriars Bobby and were all in good humour until the Australian guide's matter-of-fact style dropped and she went all eerie. "This is a thin place..." she whispered. "A place where this world and the next are joined..."

Yeah. Hmmm.

Anyway, all was fine until we got into the Covenanters' Prison where, I swear, the temperature dropped by a degree or so. Then it just felt... unpleasant - unpleasant to be there, and unpleasant to *choose* to be there, if you get me. Hearing what the covenanters had gone through... well, it suddenly felt to me as though I was wandering around Auschwitz for *kicks*. Just made me feel... not nice, and kind of cheap.

Then the guide put us in the black mausoleum, turned off her torch and proceeded to tell us how people in our position had felt cold spots, fainted, been hurt, pushed over, jostled, etc. I was an exquisite mixture of sceptical and totally frickin' terrified. Also aware that I was between my friend and A BIG SPACE. I tucked my pigtails into my beanie, too, so that the poltergeist wouldn't be tempted. Felt a little(?) jostly around my back area but that could have been anything.

Was very relieved to leave the tomb and the Covenanters' Prison! When we got out into the main cemetery I was feeling bouncy and well up for skipping over the headstones and taking photos, but my would-be poltergeist-punched friend wanted to leave immediately. When we got back to our holiday apartment we checked ourselves over for bruises, scratches, etc., but nothing.

Until.

2am when I got up to go to the loo. And discovered five long red scratches down the middle of my back!

Should point out here that my friend and I had separate rooms, so she couldn't have done it, I can't reach round that far, and there was nothing scratchy in my room or bed! The scratches were long and red, but didn't hurt - in fact there was no raised/cut flesh to the touch. I discounted the theory that they might be "creases" from the bedclothes as I've had those, but these particular marks were red and *looked* like scratches.

Like an IDIOT I didn't take a photo or wake my friend - in my sleepy state I thought she might be annoyed, and reasoned that I would show her in the morning.

Of course, by the time I woke up again, they were gone.

In true Fortean style I'm not drawing any conclusions, just being a bit chin-strokey and thinking how curious it was. Particularly that I didn't run around shrieking on discovering the scratches, as I would have expected to.

Apologies for length, but haven't posted in at least a year, so I thought I'd make up for it ;)
 
I've been to all three and my experiences marry closely with sixty10's above, in that Mary Kings Close isn't scary at all, Mercat is a bit more atmospheric, and the Greyfriars (Mackenzie crypt) tour is really spooky.

I've probably mentioned it elsewhere, but I was fortunate to live for 3 years with someone who worked for the Mercat tours and someone who worked at Mary King's Close - hence my having been to these loads. We went into the South Bridge vaults a few times when there were no tours on, and they were largely not scary in the slightest. I think the fact that you are inside a bridge, with one of the Old Town's main roads above you, might account for any vibrations/sounds experienced here. Though my mate - and several of the other guides - were adamant many of the stories told on the tour were real (to varying degrees) and the guides' handbook peddles the line that most of it is real.

I suspect the scariness of the Mackenzie crypt tour can be explained by the fact that you're cooped up with the rest of the group in a cold, dark, enclosed space, after having been fed a huge buildup while standing in the middle of a cemetary.
 
ttaarraass said:
I suspect the scariness of the Mackenzie crypt tour can be explained by the fact that you're cooped up with the rest of the group in a cold, dark, enclosed space, after having been fed a huge buildup while standing in the middle of a cemetary.
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Agree totally, although the 'wanting it to be real' side of me does acknowledge that going into the covenanters' area (which is still outdoors) was somehow horrid. And I can't explain the scratches, or how not freaked out I am about it.
 
Old topic I know, but after having been in Edinburgh for the first time and just now visiting this forum for the first time in months, I figured I'd mention my Mary King's Close experience.

For some quick background, this was late July or early August (August first, I think, but I'm too lazy to grab a calendar and figure it out). I'm Canadian, and was traveling with some American friends; this was the first time any of us had been in the UK. One of my friends, who, for brevity's sake I'll just call R, had always claimed to see ghosts. She, despite being a blue-eyed redhead, was a direct descendant of a Romany girl who had left her people to marry an outsider, and the familial legend was the eldest daughter of each generation since was psychic, and she had told me several stories of paranormal weirdness. To be fair, R has an occasional habit of exaggerating things for effect. However, she's at heart truthful, and generally seems reluctant to talk about such experiences, only telling me because she knew I was interested, and avoiding speaking about them whenever our mutual best friend, who was of a more skeptical turn of mind, was present. So, for the most part, I believed her stories.

Anyway, we had a tour of Mary King's Close in the early evening. I was looking forward to it, but was a bit apprehensive because a) I have a vivid imagination and am skilled at convincing myself to be scared of little things, and b) although I'm not usually claustrophobic, occasionally I do get very anxious in tight spaces. However, I found most of it quite pleasant, and very interesting. Our guide, Will, was an Englishman with a dry sense of humour who kept apologizing for the tour guide's script, and kept cracking gentle jokes at the young boy in our tour group, who had running shoes that lit up at the sides. I did get nervous in the plague room, with the figures of the doctor and the dying plague-stricken in the near-dark (all my life large human-shaped dolls have given me the willies. As a kid, I was terrified of the aanimatronics at Disneyland, and I was still nervous of them last time I went, at the mature age of twenty-eight). The ghost story wasn't terribly creepy, mostly due the guide's making fun of it (I wondered later if he was making an effort to play it down to make sure the little boy didn't get scared), and for the most part it was very interesting and not creepy, despite the fact I spent most of the tour with a tripod smacking me in the belly, as R, who was walking right in front of me, is a passionate amateur photographer, who had been taking pictures all day and had insisted on carrying all her camera gear about.

Then we got to Annie's room.

At first I thought 'This is a haunted room? Great! I feel fine! I'm not scared at all! Feels pleasant.' I listened to the guide's story, looked at the pile of dolls, gave all the coins from my pocket to Annie (I was always walking about with a pocketful of coins over there, as I avoided paying for anything with coins, since I was so unfamiliar with British coinage it seemed to take hours to find the right ones. I still have 9 pounds worth of coins on my desk), said hi to her, and then looked around. Opposite the pile of dolls, there was a nail in the wall with a bow tied on it, of red satin ribbon. I tried to direct R's attention to it, but she seemed distracted. At first the bow made me smile, but immediately after I started feeling uneasy, with a slow nervous prickle down my spine. The group was leaving the room, and I was among those at the back of the group. R and a couple of others kept looking over their shoulders back at the room, as if they were looking at something. I kept looking back, too, but I didn't see anything, although the uneasy feeling kept growing.

We moved on, and once we were out of that house section, my uneasy feeling dissipated.

It wasn't until several days later, after we'd left Scotland and were in London, that I mentioned this to R. R admitted, after a moment, that she and a couple of others in the tour group had seen 'something' in Annie's room as we were leaving--and it followed us into the next room.

I believed her, because I had seen her and the others looking back, at something I couldn't see.

I'm still not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed Annie thought I wasn't worth appearing to.
 
Going up to Edinburgh next weekend.

Been before and took in the Vaults and Mary Kings Close. Both enjoyable but not that scary. Have to say that the 'City of the Dead' tour sounds terrifying! :shock:

Pondering whether to tell my gf as she will want to go while I don't think I would! :S
 
If you're looking for spooky things to do in Edinburgh you could always check out the book Paranormal Edinburgh!

Cheers

Gordon
 
Got to agree Mary Kings close is really interesting but didn't feel anything. The City of the Dead tour is very effective as your expectancy is built up before you even go on it with tales of faintings and physical attacks. It is heightened as you tour Greyfriars Kirkyard with tales of grave robbing and the thought of walking on a plague pit. With the Covenanters Prison locked, this heightens the emotions.
I must admit that the Covenanters Prison does have an ominous feel to it. Perhaps the fact that you are surrounded by tombs, only have one way in and out and the thoughts of what happened there, exacerbates any feeling of fear.
I did go back on my own the next afternoon to get some photos, leaving my wife in the pub. The wierd thing is that before I took a photo through the railings I'm sure I saw a white light exit from the Mackenzie tomb. Perhaps it had a rational explanation, or my eyes deceived me, but or course nothing appeared on any photos. But it still puzzles me now.
 
I think I would be no kind of FTMBer if I didn't go on this Greyfriars thing and see what happens!

Will report back...if I make it out alive! :shock:
 
Enjoy.

I asked to stay behind on my own for a few minutes in the tomb but must admit i bottled it quite quickly!
 
Had a very good time in Edinburgh but have to say I felt nothing in the Covenanters Prison.

Was a very entertaining tour and they loved to ramp up the fear level of what was coming but other than the standard anxiety you may have felt from walking through a graveyard at night I didn't feel any more or less scared in that section.

Was stood fairly near the entrance to the Black Mausoleum, perhaps it would have felt worse at the back. Was a fairly big group too so perhaps would have felt less scary had it been only a few.

I was actually more perturbed by the revelation that the tale of Greyfriars Bobby is a load of hokum. The grave marked in the churchyard of John Gray is in fact a different man, the real dog's owner was buried elsewhere in an unmarked grave and the dog itself was likely sheltering at the side of the false John Gray's grave because it was next to a larger one that offered protection from the rain. The tombstone itself was only erected by 'American Lovers of Bobby' - for the benefit of tourists! :shock:

Nothing is real :(

Interesting how tales get twisted though, went back to MKC again and it was as entertaining as before but had been to the Edinburgh Dungeons the day before where we were told of a family who were bricked into their house to die from the plague on MKC only to hear in MKC that the tale is not true at all.

One interesting thing we saw that may be of interest to future visitors is just across the Royal Mile from MKC in the Police centre. they have a few relics of days gone by on display, including a business card holder allegedly made from flesh taken off the hand of either Burke or Hare, I forget which. The skeleton is also on display in a Medical Museum somewhere apparently.
 
McAvennie_ said:
One interesting thing we saw that may be of interest to future visitors is just across the Royal Mile from MKC in the Police centre. they have a few relics of days gone by on display, including a business card holder allegedly made from flesh taken off the hand of either Burke or Hare, I forget which. The skeleton is also on display in a Medical Museum somewhere apparently.
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Hare gave King's Evidence (first to do so) and Burke was executed. There is a pocket book made from Burkes skin in the Surgeon's Hall Museum, Burkes skeleton is at the medical college museum which is not open to the public except for Doors Open Day.
For all this and more on Edinburgh check out Paranormal Edinburgh - link to website and then Amazon in signature :)
 
Marvellous tale, well told - thanks Garrick :).
garrick92 said:
..Then we were taken into the first room, where we were told some rigmarole about a ghost child who clutched at the hands of visitors..
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My other half went to Edinburgh for a hen-weekend a few years ago. They went to the Vaults, for a laugh (she's not particularly interested in Fort stuff at all) but whilst there, as they listened to the guide, she distinctly felt a child's hand hold hers - and not fleetingly, it was for a good 3 or 4 seconds, long enough for her to register and look down, at which point the hand disengaged. No-one there (they were the only group there, all adults and all friends and all stood a few feet away from her.) It was only then that the guide mentioned the hand-holding ghost - and like you, she didn't feel frightened or uncomfortable about it all until much later.
 
She said it felt just like a child's hand - not cold, or clammy or anything, just normal. I'll ask her how her feelings altered and if she can explain this evening.
 
Ok - she says that, like you, immediately after the hand-holding stopped she just felt a little puzzled, and then when the guide mentioned the child's ghost she felt, if anything, a bit thrilled, kind of an "Ooh! I just felt that!".

It was much later on that evening when discussing it with the girls (they were all sharing a large suite) she started to feel a bit panicky and hot - she has mild claustrophobia and likened it to that. She says because she had friends around her it soon passed, none of them took the piss or anything, and she slept quite well. She did add that the following weekend, back home, I was away for a couple of days and she felt a bit jumpy at night, and kept the TV on, on a low volume - she normally prefers darkness and silence.

That's as much as she can remember.
 
Have you thought of trying to set up a fund raising venture so that us Fortean peeps get to know what really goes on with people like this?
 
Did the Mary King's CLose tour with the missus in March and didn't get a damn thing!

Interesting spot and very good tour, but nothing that could be called spooky occurred at all.

A
 
Did any of our guys n gals north of the border sign up for the live broadcast from Mary Kings Close back in November?
I've only just heard about this event and have not seen anything following the broadcast so I assumed it didn’t set the world alight.
 
Tempest63 said:
Did any of our guys n gals north of the border sign up for the live broadcast from Mary Kings Close back in November?
I've only just heard about this event and have not seen anything following the broadcast so I assumed it didn’t set the world alight.
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Sorry, no.
 
I'm in Edinburgh for one night only. I remember Garrick92's vivid account - it has stuck with me over the years, even though it seems now to be lost to the ether. But what I don't remember is whether they had been to Mary King's Close or the Vaults - can anyone shed light? If not, which of the two would you choose? My criterion is max spookiness/Fortean potential.
 
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