Haunted Scotland: Mary King's Close

An amazing haunting experience: visit Mary King's Close!



The entrance of Mary King's Close



It is an old Edinburgh close (that's the sottish term for "street, road") under buildings in the Old Town area of Edinburgh, in Scotland. It took its name from a woman, Mary King, daughter of advocate Alexander King, who in the 17th century had owned several properties within the close.

The close was partially demolished and buried under the Royal Exchange, and later being closed to the public for many years, the complex became shrouded in myths and urban legends; tales of ghosts and murders, and myths of plague victims being walled up and left to die abounded.

However, new research and archaeological evidence has revealed that the close actually consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, stretching up to seven stories high. Mary King's Close is now a commercial tourist attraction.

Ghost stories

Scotland has the reputation of being a big source of ghost stories. Mary King's Close is certainly one of the most famous haunted places in Scotland and in the world.

The first recorded sighting dates back to 1685 and concerns the Coltheart family who moved into the Close after the last outbreak of the plague. It was not long before Thomas and his wife experienced ‘spectres and nameless terrors’ in Mary King’s Close.

Other well-know occurences include a ‘worried man’, a woman in black, a little girl called Annie who spoke to a famous Japanese psychic, sounds of a party or tavern and scratching coming from inside a chimney where a child is said to have died. Unusual occurences have been experienced by visitors and members of staff including stones being thrown, inexplicable footsteps. A number of strange photographs have also been captured by staff and visitors alike. Mr Chesney's house, at the bottom of Mary King's Close has been the subject of some quite intense Electronic Voice Phenomena study over the past 5 years, with some rather strange results.

Inside the close

Mary King's Close was re-opened to the public in April 2003. Now a commercial tourist attraction, it is being displayed as a historically accurate example of life in Edinburgh between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. One enters the attraction through Warriston's Close and Writer's Court, where a replica sign for "Mary King's Close" has been hung. The attraction actually gives tours of the ruins of several underground close remains: Mary King's, Pearson's, Stewart's and Allen's closes.



The close sign

 I visited Mary King's Close several times. It's really worth, you can go back in time and live the real atmosphere of haunted Scotland... maybe you can have some weird meeting!

You can visit Mary King's Close web site at realmarykingsclose.