G Stewart - Scotland’s Hidden Hauntings: A Collection of Real Ghost Stories

Scotlands Hidden

Hauntings

G Stewart

All rights reserved. This E-Book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording, photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author.

This book is written in British English

Kindle Edition

G Stewart 2012

About the Author

Before I share my experiences, I think it is appropriate to give a little information about myself. I am a 40 something year old professional, but since an early age I have been passionate about all things supernatural and mythology. It fascinates me that these stories have been passed down from generation to generation, and the sheer number of people who claim to have encountered similar things in similar locations.

I also love old buildings and over the years, I have visited many of them. On some occasions I know the location is reputedly haunted and I am essentially visiting wanting to experience the atmosphere, but a lot of the time when visiting these historic places, I am not aware of any stories nor am I looking for anything paranormal, Im just looking at the building with it's historic significance in mind. Even so, I always take a lot of photographs and every now and again, something I cant quite explain shows up.

I dont consider myself to have any real psychic abilities, but I do believe I have a high level of intuition. I can generally read people quite easily, and often get a gut feeling when something is going to happen, and it then does. This carries across to when Im visiting places, and I just get a feeling that something is not all it appears to be. That said, I remain an open-minded sceptic. I believe there is something out there, something we do not yet fully understand, but I do not know what..... not yet!

Whilst writing this book I have tried to select the locations that are not so well known and thus have not had as much coverage in the press or other books. I have personally visited all of the locations on at least one occasion and my ultimate aim is to share my personal opinion and any photographic evidence I captured. I do not however aim to change anyones views or try to convince them in any way, I am purely presenting my findings and I'll leave the individuals to form their own opinion. I will always show the original photograph, as well as a cropped picture to highlight the area of interest to try to make it as visible as possible on e-book devices, however, there will always be certain limitations on a few devices. One advantage with most of the newer e-book readers is you can expand the photographs in your viewer for a closer look as you read. Alternatively, you can look at them on your PC using a Kindle app. I hope however that the cropped pictures will mean this is not required.

I sincerely appreciate anyone with an interest in the supernatural, which I assume that anyone reading this book has, may wish to visit some of the locations covered in this book. Some of the featured sites are readily accessible to anyone, and details are provided on how to get there. When access is solely possible through specific tours, the website details where all the information can be obtained are provided for the relevant companies at the end of the book. All details are correct at the time of publication.

Edinburgh Centre

There are a few places it would be impossible to miss out in a book like this, despite the location already being well known. Edinburgh is a beautiful and vibrant city, however, it has not always been that way. There is a dark side to Edinburghs history, which has led to it being considered one of the most haunted places in the country. Despite this, although many of the citys former less savoury characters, such as Burke and Hare, are well known, the associated ghost stories are on contrast less known.

Much of this dark past relates to the way the city developed. Edinburgh was once relatively small, surrounded by large walls for protection. To the North lay the Nor Loch (North Lake), now drained to create the picturesque Princess Street Gardens, but formerly it was a lake in which all the sewage from the city drained from open sewers into the streets.

Many people were attracted to Edinburgh to seek their fortune, but once within the city walls they found out there was no employment. They could not leave freely as there was a charge to leave the city and with no employment, people could not afford this fee. The city officials method to deal with homelessness was to make it illegal. This drove the homeless into hiding and, as the city developed, they were quite literally underground, which leads to the first location. Many people have heard of the Underground Vaults, they are regularly visited and so they are probably the best known location included in this book. I decided to include them, as although people may have heard of them, they may not know much about them or what to expect when visiting.

South Street Vaults

Part of the giant development of the city was to build bridges connecting the natural hills that form part of the citys landscape. The South Bridge was finally completed in 1788 and is essentially a street in its own right, with houses and shops lining the sides. The supporting structure for the bridge consists of numerous vaulted rooms, which are up to 3 levels high in some areas. These rooms were used as store rooms and workshops for the various businesses, including those on the street of the South Bridge, however it was soon discovered that water from the street level was soaking through the stonework of the bridge, resulting in damage to any stock kept in the vaults, and so the businesses soon abandoned these vaults, creating an ideal opportunity for the homeless to move in.

With no natural daylight, water constantly dripping from the ceilings and no sanitation, the living conditions were terrible and crime was subsequently rife. Victims of crime could not seek any help from the officials, because to do so would mean they exposed themselves as being homeless, which would result in them being punished (the standard punishment was being flogged and with the living conditions at the time, it would only be a short while before the wounds became infected and the person would die). It is reported that the infamous serial killers, Burke and Hare, found at least two of their victims within the vaults walls.

As conditions worsened with the water ingress further weakening the structure, the vaults were eventually abandoned around the mid 1800s. Some were filled with rubble to add necessary support for the street above, and the vaults were sealed and forgotten about. They were however re-discovered by sheer chance in the 1980s, and some of the safer vaults have been re-opened as visitor attractions.

Blair Street Vaults

Beneath the West side of the South Bridge are the Blair Street Vaults. This labyrinth of vaulted rooms is considered to be particularly active for paranormal experiences. Probably the most common report is hearing loud, heavy footsteps, thus leading to the spirit being named Mr Boots. On occasion, Mr Boots has also been seen, previously being described as a large man with a tri-corner hat, a long coat and (unsurprisingly) heavy boots. He is often reported as being seen standing inside doorways, as though preventing outside entry, he is further considered to be a sinister figure. It is thought that Mr Boots was a watcher in the vaults, someone who kept an eye on the vaults for the merchants, and that he continues to fulfil that role till this very day. Mr Boots has been experienced in almost all areas of the vaults.

One of the vaults is considered to be haunted by a cobbler, often seen and considered to create a happy atmosphere. Mr Boots is reported to not enter this vault, and it is largely speculated that the cobbler prevents him from doing so, as he does not want the negative energy of Mr Boots in the happy atmosphere of his vault. In the corner of the same vault there is however, a less pleasant spirit of a lady dressed entirely in black, who seems to prey on pregnant women that dare to stand in her corner.