Step into Auld Reekie’s dark past
Why not take a trip to Edinburgh to discover its chilling spooky past at the Real Mary King’s Close this Halloween, says Colene McKessick
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THE LAST time you traipsed up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, shopping bags in hand, admiring the imposing view of the city’s castle, did you ever take a moment to consider what was happening below your feet?
Far below the cobbles and tourist shops, bedecked in tartan, saltires and Highland coos, lies an underground world of mystery, myths and terrifying history, waiting to be explored.
My partner and I had decided to spend a weekend with a difference in Edinburgh, shunning the usual tourist hotspots for an altogether spookier experience. Having eyed up various ghost tours and walks, we settled on the Real Mary King’s Close, an award-winning attraction hidden deep below the city’s historic main street.
Instead of the usual hotel, we arrived at an apartment 10 minutes from the city centre’s hustle and bustle.
Darting through side streets, we walked down to the cobbled close, through a gate and down to our ground-floor cosy hideaway. The one bedroom residence had a distinctly old-world feel about it, with exposed stone walls, flagstone floor tiles and hidey-holes galore.
A kitsch vintage lounge and kitchen welcome you in to the near underground apartment, with carefully chosen details making you feel at home straight away. The room had little natural light, but endless character, with shelves packed with trinkets and prizes, and vintage plum velvet sofas nestled beside contemporary pieces.
From there, a long corridor, lined with shelves packed with cookery books, crystal vases and classic signs, leads you to the bedroom.
The cast-iron bed takes centre stage, with flannelette slippers sitting waiting to save your feet from the cool polished-wood floor. A dressmaker’s dummy is the perfect place to hang your coat, and an old-fashioned rail with satin coat-hangers plays host to small sacks of pot pourri.
My partner decided to introduce me to the secluded stairway, by jumping out at me as I was turning the lights off. Never mind, at least that was the first heart-racing fright out of the way, I thought.
Making use of the well-stocked kitchenette, we shovelled down a hearty meal before setting off to discover the darker side of Edinburgh.
The Real Mary King’s Close is situated below the City Chambers, just off High Street on the Royal Mile. The five-star underground attraction is one of Edinburgh’s most famous closes, and is a real-life network of curious streets, town houses and rooms, stretching back four centuries. Originally, the closes were very narrow walkways, with seven-storey houses on either side.
In 1753, burgh authorities decided to develop the area by building the Royal Exchange, now the City Chambers, leaving the original buildings and streets underneath as foundations.
Since 2003, visitors have been allowed to delve underground and explore the ancient dwellings concealed beneath one of Edinburgh’s busiest streets, to discover the fascinating and often disturbing history of the people who inhabited the close between the 17th and 19th centuries.
I was sceptical when I first heard that the rooms had been reopened as a public attraction, but my preconceptions were dashed as we entered the close. This is no theme park house of horrors with morbid figures jumping out at you. The Real Mary King’s Close is just that – real. Documentary research and archaeological surveys were undertaken before it was opened to the public and what you find is a historically accurate interpretation of life in the twisty alleyways, with subtle and unobtrusive work carried out to preserve the original buildings.
The research carried out revealed many fascinating people and stories of harsh times in the close, and the tours follow the lives of some of the residents.
Our character guide, dressed in period clothing, was introduced as Walter King, a “foul clenger”, who was employed by the burgh council to clean houses affected by the plague. He explained that we would learn the fascinating and emotional stories of human life as we walked around the strange, dark, underground site.
Led by torchlight, we followed him through the four remaining closes, time capsules with real town houses, streets and rooms. The uneven flooring may not be universally friendly, but it certainly adds to the authentic and atmospheric feel of the house. As we walk through the dark, mysterious rooms, we discover that the closes have witnessed many important moments in the history of Edinburgh, including the murder of rich merchant Alexander Cant by his wife and mother-in-law in 1535, as witnessed by their cleaner.
Perhaps one of the more disturbing stories is one which in particular our guide tells with vigour. In 1644, the bubonic plague consumed Edinburgh, and while the wealthy fled the city, poorer inhabitants were left to fight the disease. Records for the close tell the story of a gravedigger at the time, John Craig. Just one month after being appointed to his position, Mr Craig was dead, with his wife and three young children put into quarantine, where they had just a 50/50 chance of surviving.
The room we enter as this story is told is the home of Mr Craig, and as we sit down to listen to the fate of the family, my partner taps my shoulder and gestures down. I look down and realise we are sitting on what appears to be a coffin, presumably that of Mr Craig. A shiver runs down my back, which doesn’t go unnoticed by our guide.
As a “foul clenger”, he describes the conditions in the close, and how it was his role to burn everything in a property inhabited by sufferers. He points to a scarily real model of a woman, clearly unwell, cradling a baby, and explains that this is Mrs Craig and she is suffering from the onset of the plague. Her symptoms include mucus-filled boils on the neck, armpit and groin, and her death is likely to be slow and painful.
As we left the room, I glanced at the model, convinced she was going to grab me or open her eyes, and quickened my pace until my nose was buried into my partner’s back.
The close has been the subject of many paranormal investigations; earlier this year, Most Haunted historian Richard Felix led an event aiming to discover paranormal activity. One of the most touching stories told at the close surrounds a visit by a Japanese psychic called Aiko Gibo. While exploring the closes, Gibo refused to enter a room off one of them, saying that there was an energy of pain and sadness that left her unable to go in. She then said that a small girl had clutched her trouser leg and that she was sad as she had been separated from her family and that her mummy had left her behind as she had the plague.
Our guide then explained that Gibo had demanded someone go and get a doll for the small child’s spirit. When it was placed in the room, it is said that the spirit left, calmed and delighted. Now there is a collection of toys and dolls in that room, brought by visitors for the spirit of the girl who came to be known as Annie.
With our tour finishing, we took to the streets of Edinburgh to return to our apartment. It had been raining and a mist hung in the air, as street-light reflections bounced on the shiny wet paving stones.
As we turned down on to our street, I stopped. Looking down the dark alleyway, I realised that our building resembled the close we had just visited. Walking up to the door in the dark, my partner yelled in pain and turned to scowl at me. Apparently, I had been holding on to him so tightly that my nails had dug into his sides.
As I settled down into bed, with branches rattling against the window, I spotted a figure standing in the corner of the room, and just about wet myself, before realising it was just the dressmakers dummy wearing my coat.
One thing is for sure, a visit to the Real Mary King’s Close had left me shaken and with an unforgettable experience of Edinburgh.
