Hallowe'en trip back to old haunts in city

SPOOKY tales from the hidden streets under the city’s Royal Mile are to be revealed on special tours over the Hallowe’en period.

Visitors to Edinburgh’s latest tourist attraction, The Real Mary King’s Close, will find out about grizzly sightings and legends between October 25 to November 1.

The newly refurbished £500,000 attraction is thought to be one of the most haunted places in Scotland. From an entrance in Warriston’s Close, visitors descend an 18th-century staircase past old cellars before arriving at a "laigh" or poor house.

The past has been brought to life through dim lighting and special smell and sound effects in a maze of narrow walkways and reputedly haunted houses which were blocked off from the City Chambers above in 1753.

At the end of the one-hour tour, visitors can browse through background research material and view a 3D computer model of the site.

From April to October, tours run every 20 minutes from 10am until 10pm. From November to March, the attraction is open from 10am to 4pm. Entry for adults costs £7, students £6 and children £5, while family tickets are £21.