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Theatre listings >
Tour name: The Ghosts and Ghouls Tour
Company - Mercat Tours
Ltd Further information Tel/fax: 0131 557 6464
Times - daily st 7pm and 8pm.
Starts at - the Mercat Cross (Royal Mile) that is before St Giles
and the Castle going up the Royal Mile on the left hand side.
Cost - £7.50 including a drink in a famous local tavern.
(Concessions available)
Venue - Mercat House, Niddry Street South, Edinburgh, EH1 1NS
Tour guide - Faith
Tour reviewer - David Stanners
In the Underground City
© Mercat Tours 2002
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Brace yourself tightly, as Auld Reekie's coffin lid is lifted to reveal
a deadly, haunted and sinister past. This past is brought back to life
by the foreboding shadow of a hooded figure guiding the masses.
Her name is Faith, and we are her disciples for the night.
Where tales of undulating terror are countered with witty and humorous
antidotes, our cloaked guardian leads the group of unwitting souls around
some of Edinburgh’s most cadaverous nooks and crannies, leaving very
few stones unturned.
Mercat Tours are one of the most critically acclaimed ghost tour operators
in the country, and rightly so. For two hours nightly, the capital’s
old town sets the eerie stage for a performance tailor made for the skilled
raconteur and conveyer of chilling anecdotes. Faith fills that mould beautifully.
Beginning at the Mercat Cross, an area notorious for public hangings,
2 of us mortals are forced to volunteer.
Stripped and strapped to the wall, they are lashed 39 times. (we all count
just to make sure!) This is just an entrée to the sadistic and
brutal forms of torture naughty people in 17th century Edinburgh may have
endured.
Faith, our custodian and protector of souls, is equipped for inquisitive
battles with any mortal, and when required, is quick to fill in the historical
gaps with reassuring aplomb. We are soon told that under Oliver Cromwell,
things in Edinburgh were tough; very tough. In fact, if you just happened
to sympathise with the trusty old Jacobites, then you may have found yourself
grinning from ear to ear, or perhaps you may just be told to keep your
ears to the wall. Sounds timid, but these are handy little euphemisms
for ears nailed to walls, and a knife across the face. Just like the occasional
night out on Lothian Road. Some things never change!
Departing from the open stage of the Mercat Cross to a more intimate setting,
the dark and narrow closes provided the backdrop for the next act. Here
stories of Gardyloo amuse and horrify simultaneously, before the performance
moves down the cobbles towards The City Chambers.
At this stage blood begins to boil, as Faith, our up till now trusty guardian,
lashes out in a high volume shriek, near stopping the heart of one poor
oblivious girl. Sadistic laughs pervade the close crowd. And, when colour
resumes itself in the girl's cheeks, she too joins in. Further references
are made to the bubonic plague, flesh market butchers uncannily disposing
of body pieces, and a luckless newly wed couple who while at home in their
old town tenement, inherit the ghostly legacy of the butchers' past endeavours.
Yikes! This one is not for the faint hearted.
The final act is presented on the most treacherous stage of all: the underground
vaults. The ensuing darkness, dampness and cold wet drips are all symptomatic
of a place where dead bodies were stored, and the not so fortunate were
forced to live.
If you like a scare, are fond of Edinburgh as a beautiful romantic town,
but would like to delve into the deeper darker side of things, then this
is the tour for you. Steeped in all sorts of gore, Faith is a true virtuoso,
combining a melange of fear factors with wit, charm and friendliness.
A dramatic and spine chilling performance!
© David Stanners 28 November 2002 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Mercat Tours details E-mail: info@mercattours.com Website: www.mercattours.com
Further information Tel/fax: 0131 557 6464
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