PRESS RELEASE

MARCH 2008

DISCOVER EDINBURGH’S ‘DARKER SIDE’ AT MARY KING’S GHOST FEST 2008……..

MARY KING’S GHOST FEST, the hugely popular and award wining paranormal festival, returns to Edinburgh from FRIDAY 9th TO SUNDAY 18th MAY with a host of events which will enable fans and new visitors alike to explore Edinburgh’s other side!

Our city wide Ghost Festival is now in it’s forth year and is packed with a host of new events that set out to uncover and explore more about the dark tales and strange paranormal activity for which Edinburgh is renowned.

Once again Ghost Fest offers visitors the opportunity to discover and examine the city’s haunted nature, a new and varied events programme provides a wide range of exciting events which ensure all age groups, including children, are entertained for hours.

This year’s Ghost Fest will see a series of new events that will allow visitors to discover more about the reputedly haunted nature and paranormal occurrences at some of the city’s most unique and unusual locations. Highlight events at Ghost Fest this year include:

• An evening with Most Haunted star Richard Felix – New for 2008!

A unique opportunity to join Most Haunted’s resident historian Richard Felix in this exclusive Mary King’s Ghost Fest event, Richard will impart his in-depth knowledge on all things paranormal and lead an investigation at Mary King’s Close. There will be an opportunity afterwards to put your questions to one of the UK’s leading paranormal expert.

• Mary King's Close Tours - The Science of Ghostly Experiences

A unique and exclusive Ghost Fest opportunity to experience the regular history tours of Mary King's Close whilst taking part in a scientific experiment. Researchers led by Dr Caroline Watt from the University of Edinburgh's Koestler Parapsychology Unit will be looking at whether environmental sensitivity may play a role in ghostly experiences.

• Screening of “The Last Witch” – The Amazing Story of Helen Duncan

A film about the true story of a Scottish housewife who found herself in the centre of a WWII legal battle resulting in her brutal conviction of a 'crime' under Britain's ancient Witchcraft Act. She was jailed for nine months simply for demonstrating her gift of mediumship.

• Dark Investigation – In the Footsteps of Ghost Hunters International

For the first time and exclusive to the festival, investigate two of Scotland’s most haunted locations in one evening as featured in the US TV hit Ghost Hunters International – The Real Mary King’s Close and The Ragged School at Camera Obscura, both sites have a number of well documented supernatural stories associated with their long histories. Investigate with Scottish Paranormal which you think could be based on fact.

• Four Nights of EVP with Ghost Finders Scotland

Can the dead speak via audio recording equipment? Join Ghost Finders Scotland as they put EVP to the test by attempting to record spirit voices in the four different locations across Edinburgh including the world famous Mary King's Close, Camera Obscura, Edinburgh Playhouse,

• Mercat Tours Junior Ghost Busters Tour

For the first time ever there will be a special festival event for children. Join our cloaked guide on this exclusive kid’s tour of spooky, gory and ghastly Edinburgh – what will your wee ghost busters find…

Horrible Histories Bus Tour, Ghost Tours at the National Library of Scotland and Overnight Vigil at Blair Street Vaults are just a further selection of other fantastic events that will be taking place through out Ghost Fest 2008.

For our full programme of events and for further details on how to book please visit our web-site www.marykingsghostfest.com or call 08702 430160.

In 2007 Mary King’s Ghost Fest won the ASVA Conference 2007 award for ‘Best Leaflet Design’ and was voted ‘Best Paranormal Event’ at the first ever Spiritual Connections Awards. The Real Mary King’s Close was also short listed for the prestigious national Scottish Thistle Award for its outstanding achievements with Ghost Fest. These awards help to re-enforce the high standards and quality of the festival set by the organisers at The Real Mary King’s Close visitor attraction, Edinburgh.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The festival takes its name from one of Edinburgh’s most famous residents, Mary King, who lived, at the top of one of the Closes off the Royal Mile until her death in 1644. The Close, later named after her, was preserved when the City Chambers was built over the site in 1853, and what remains today is a strange underground time-capsule of small houses and spaces, steeped in mystery and shrouded in dark stories. Mary King’s Close is thought to be one of the cities most haunted locations, as well as an award winning visitor attraction, so it is therefore fitting that a number of key events are to take place at this venue throughout the festival.

In 2007 Mary King’s Ghost Fest won the ASVA Conference 2007 award for ‘Best Leaflet Design’ and was also voted ‘Best Paranormal Event’ at the first ever Spiritual Connections Awards. The Real Mary King’s Close was also short listed for the prestigious national Scottish Thistle Award for its outstanding achievements with Ghost Fest. These awards help to re-enforce the high standards and quality of the festival set by the organisers at The Real Mary King’s Close visitor attraction, Edinburgh.

Mary King’s Ghost Fest is managed and funded by Continuum, operators of Mary King’s Close attraction. Event support is provided by Mercat Tours, City of the Dead Tours, LA Events, Scottish Paranormal, National Library of Scotland, Ghost Finders Scotland, Edinburgh Playhouse, Cameo Cinema, Full Moon Investigations, The Scottish Mining Museum and Lothian Buses.

Mary King’s Close: Mary King’s Close is an important historic site – and quite unique. It consists of a number of underground Closes which would have originally been very narrow walkways with houses on either side stretching up to 7 storeys high and dating back several centuries. In 1753 the Burgh authorities decided to develop a grand new building, the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers). The houses at the top of the Closes were knocked down and part of the lower sections were kept and used as the foundations for the new building, leaving a number of dark and mysterious underground Closes and ancient dwellings steeped in mystery! For more information visit www.realmarykingsclose.com or call 08702 430160.