Several ghosts lurk in the vaults below Edinburgh, Scotland. Read about two more Fiona encountered during the Mercat Tour, and some additional quirky spirits that followed.
(Fiona’s story, continued from Edinburgh vault tours – first ghost)
Two ghosts from different worlds
In the next room, there were two energies:
One was a young-ish man from England, with a haircut that I wanted to describe as “different.” In fact, he took pride in his stylish, perhaps trendsetting looks. In my notes immediately after the tour, I described him as a “lower class smart aleck.”
I sensed that he’d lived in the room just briefly, soon getting into deep trouble and living elsewhere as a result.
The second energy was from an older man with a small, rounded body. He was a Bible reader, but why did he hide his Bible? (I know nothing about Edinburgh religious politics in history, as I write this.)
I know that he was poor, but he took in younger men who were in even worse financial and spiritual condition, as a kind of personal ministry.
I’m not certain that he was a kindly old man. I didn’t like him.
An early ‘Casper the Ghost’?
The final residential/work room that we visited, was the most visually spectral.
I sensed a ghost who was there to be a ghost. In other words, this person knew that he was dead, knew he was a ghost, and was making the most of it. It’s as if he was dedicated to being a ghost. I could “see” someone’s outline with a tricorn-type brimmed hat and rather wide shoulders, but otherwise draped in sparkling sheet-like material. It seemed tacky and cliched, to me.
Cobbler’s Corner
The rest of the room was dominated by the energy of someone who worked on shoes. I saw him – and so did two of my children – clearly outlined as a shadow on the wall (and no, this had nothing to do with the colored lights on the floor, intended to add to the “haunted” atmosphere.)
Soon, I could almost see him as he must have looked in life: Like Stanley Holloway (but shorter), from My Fair Lady, including the leather apron, sooty face, and a funny hat with a large brim that extended slightly down his back. He had a Stanley-Holloway type nose, too.
All through the room, I had the sense that this man – and perhaps other workers – had been very industrious, making and/or repairing shoes. I could “hear” the clang of a metal hammer, and “smell” leather. I sensed a large fire there, almost as if it had been a blacksmith’s as well.
But, I don’t know much about shoemaking, so perhaps I am mistaken on that point.
It was in that room that – apparently – I began manifesting a glowing, green, misty substance. From the description, it trailed from my feet as I walked, and then vanished after a few seconds.
(My children told me about this later, and I was very disappointed that I didn’t notice it. They’d assumed I was aware of it as it happened, but – for me – the floor was one of the least interesting aspects of this very weird tour.)
This story continues in my next article, Edinburgh ghost tour – part four/conclusion
The photo, at left (dark scene with white picket fence), was taken at the back of The Myrtles Plantation, near the marshy land and pond.
There is no sound equipment anywhere in that wing, which could account for what we heard later that night.
During our January visit, we enjoyed Haunted History’s evening ghost tour. This NOLA tour is so well-respected and popular, it remained in business while many other tours folded.
During late winter 2006, driving around New Orleans seemed positive apocalyptic. No electricity in many neighborhoods meant no traffic lights. Some streets were still covered with shards of glass… and whatever else was not scooped up by backhoes that cleared the rubble off the major roads.
