New video footage has emerged showing the remarkably well-preserved interior of a Moray nightclub which burned down 20 years ago.
Despite being left to rot since a blaze tore through it in 1998, Elgin’s Jailhouse venue still offers up an intriguing insight into its former life as a partying hotspot.
The nightclub, which was only open for 18 months, was designed with the theme of an American prison.
Owner, William McBey, last week revealed his plans to replace the dilapidated building with flats.
Alongside business partner, Alan Robertson, he has lodged a planning application with Moray Council to build 14 apartments there.
And, as work on clearing decades of debris and pigeon droppings from the floor takes place, Mr McBey posted footage online showing how the club looks now.
In the clip, he takes viewers on a virtual tour of the venue, beginning with its fire-ravaged former bar area.
The video then shows the prison-style staircases and landings that revellers regularly used in the 1990s.
Mr McBey points the camera at the “cage where people used to dance”, which is positioned in the middle of the floor.
And he concludes the update by focussing on what was the Jailhouse’s star attraction – an electric chair flown in from America.
The replica device features a dummy primed for execution, and was routinely set off at midnight during the club’s heyday.
Discussing his future plans last week, the Banff-based property developer said: “We want to get the old electric chair restored and keep it as part of the building, as well as the cage people used to dance in.”
The clip, which lasts about 50 seconds, has been uploaded to the new Jailhouse Executive Apartments page on Facebook.
Photographs on the page show the detailed paintings of prison life that still adorn the walls.
