Hello all,
John here from the BCPS team! We hope you all had a fun Halloween and are looking forward to the festive season?!
I thought I would write up a quick piece about my visit to the infamous Blair Street Vaults in Edinburgh a few weeks ago. The vaults are one of the most infamous haunted places in the UK and has been a life-long desire for me to go there, so when the opportunity came up, nothing would hold me back!
Because the Vaults are a very busy tourist attraction on a daily basis, my time there was limited but I made the most of it, and encountered a few unusual things along the way.
Owned by Mercat Tours, and according to them, the history of the vaults is that they were uncovered in the 1980's and were excavated to reveal a series of tunnels and rooms/vaults. The vaults were used after the creation of a bridge in edinburgh, to try and offset some of the cost. Shops and services were set up down there, but due to the rates, these businesses moved out, and more illegitimate activities moved in. In fact the vaults were left and almost forgotten, until a few policemen decided to take an impromptu look down there, and what they saw horrified them to the point of them fleeing the vaults, before it was raided and emptied, filled in and forgotten about.
Mercat werent expecting the vaults to be haunted, that came as a surprise as tours started operating down there. The vaults are known to be a paranormal hot spot, and high on the list of dream places for an investigator, myself included, so it was a dream come true when I finally descended the stairs, leading down underground. The place is a maze of rooms, all varying in size, shape, height and direction, with no discernable pattern or order to them. The place is lit only be candles dotted in a few places here and there, plus the occasional, obligatory fire exit sign for safety.
The first thing I noticed was how warm it was down there. A person could quite comfortably spend a few hours down there without the need of a coat, because you are deep underground by about 3 stories if I remember correctly. The next thing you notice is the eerie, unexplainable noises. It is hard to tell if they are in the distance or all around you, as well as what is causing them. Its like the echoes of the past are still carrying on. According to my guide, nobody can determine what the noises are or what causes them. It cannot be street level noise as we were too deep undergound. This intrigued and excited me from the start, but better stuff was yet to come!
As we moved from one chamber to the next, listening to stories of encounters and possible explanations, I deliberately stayed behind to get the chamber/room to myself, in order to get undisturbed photos. I always take 2-3 shots, one after the other, of a particular room or composition, so I can compare them afterwards for anomalies and try to rule out rational explanations for anything I might catch. One photo did intrigue me (see our Flickr album) as the middle of a sequence of two photos, as it turned out very dark with a strange light or moving object passing through the middle, when the previous shot showed the entrance to a chamber. Nothing was infront of me, nor did I move the camera, so what caused this photo is still a mystery to me.
As stories and accounts were described from room to room, the notorious name of Mr Boots came up, the apparition that seems to be the only one to move about the place, trying to make visitors feel very unwelcome and to leave. Some accounts were quite vivid and must have been pretty intense at the time. As the guide was talking about another room, I hung to the back as usual, and waited in the arched doorway. In addition to the warmth, there is no wind or noticeable draughts down there, but all of a sudden, it felt like someone blew a short puff of air right into my ear, as though they were standing right by me. My first reaction was to say something, but I bit my lip and didnt do a thing. Then a few seconds later, the same thing happened again. This intrigued me, as a draught would be impossible to be so concentrated as to pinpoint the inside area of my ear. I privately spoke to the guide once she had finished and told her what had happened, she smiled and said that has happened in the past, and in different places. She said that it was especially interesting as she had to pause from talking around the same time, as she was sure she had heard footsteps from the adjacent empty chamber - the infamous Mr Boots had made his presence felt!
The rest of the tour was entertaining and interesting, but uneventful. Regardless, it is an incredible place, run and owned by a fantastic company who are respectful of the alleged spirits that haunt the place, which is something I greatly admire. The last impression I got of the place as I left (the last man out), was that the guide said each night, a member of their staff goes down and blows out each candle, one by one before locking up. That must be a pretty intense nightly experience!
For more information on Mercat Tours and to make bookings, go to http://www.mercattours.com
