When Joe and I first started dating, we would stay up late
and watch Ghost Adventures, a show
that used to scare the bejeezus out of us. In one episode, the team went to
investigate the Edinburgh South Bridge Vaults, and it was a very active
episode. Loving a good, terrifying thrill, I booked tickets for my sister and me
to tour the underground chambers.
Tours are run by Mercat Tours, and there are 2 tour options for visiting the vaults, historic
or ghost; we chose ghost. The historic tour is during the day and utilizes
electric lighting. The ghost tours are at night and the vaults are lit only
with candlelight. This was a simple way to set the mood without the use of
costumes; when the vaults were in use, the only light source would have been
candles. Candlelight is pretty inadequate; living or working in the cave-like
vaults would have been depressing.
When Edinburgh’s population became far too large for the
city limits, the city built a bridge to extend outward, the South Bridge. The area
under the bridge was built into useable space by constructing various chambers
underneath. These were connected by passageways, and for a while, they were used
by respectable business owners. When the bridge was built though, the builders
cut a corner and didn’t waterproof the vaults. Water and other nastiness seeped
in from the streets above, and the legitimate businesses fled. In their wake,
dozens of illegal uses for the vaults sprang up.
The vaults were filled in the 1860s and then rediscovered in
the 1980s. When people began revisiting the vaults, they noticed spiritual
activity. Most of the spirits in the vaults seem to stem from its nefarious past.
There are rumors that the Hellfire Club met in the vaults; that some pagans accidentally opened a portal to hell; that body-snatchers used vaults to store
corpses. Some of the rumors are true, but fact or fiction, spirits remain in
the vaults.
We visited a room where a child named Jack frequents, and my
sister said, after visiting that room she just didn’t feel right, and begged to
leave as soon as possible. We stayed long enough for me purchase some books
(mmmmmmmmm books). We also talked briefly with our guide to see if we were in
the evil, haunted hotel. While its exact location is a mystery, we at least
weren’t staying in the same neighborhood.
I didn’t feel much, just temperature changes, but it was
hard to focus on any errant sounds or smells in a large group. Furthermore,
there were other tours taking place, so distant sounds could be attributed to
them. I would love a more private tour of the vaults, one in which I might
notice more of the supernatural.
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