Mary King's Close

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Mary King's Close

Mary King's Close is an old Edinburgh close under buildings in the Old Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It took its name from one Mary King, daughter of advocate Alexander King, who in the 17th century had owned several properties within the close.[1][2] The close was partially demolished and buried under the Royal Exchange, and later being closed to the public for many years, the complex became shrouded in myths and urban legends; tales of ghosts and murders, and myths of plague victims being walled up and left to die abounded.[3][4]

However, new research and archaeological evidence has revealed that the close actually consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, stretching up to seven storeys high. Mary King's Close is now a commercial tourist attraction.

Hauntings

The close has had a reputation for hauntings since at least the 17th century. It has been pointed out that this particular close ran the nearest of any to the old Nor Loch, a stagnant and highly polluted marsh; biogas escaping into the close and creating eerie lights may have been the cause for these rumors of spirit hauntings.[5] It is also said that the gas escaping into the closes was known to cause hallucinations.[6] Urban legends say that the hauntings originated with plague victims being quarantined and left to die in the close, or with their bodies being used to build the walls.[7]

Mary King's Close today

Mary King's Close was re-opened to the public in April 2003. Now a commercial tourist attraction, it is being displayed as a historically accurate example of life in Edinburgh between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. One enters the attraction through Warriston's Close and Writer's Court, where a replica sign for "Mary King's Close" has been hung. The attraction actually gives tours of the ruins of several underground close remains: Mary King's, Pearson's, Stewart's and Allen's closes.[8]

Mary King's Close is also the organisation which funds and manages the annual Mary King's Ghost Fest in Edinburgh. This unique and popular award-winning, ten day city wide festival has become a regular favourite on the Edinburgh festival circuit with its strange and quirky events attracting visitors from throughout Scotland, the U.K. and overseas in May each year. This unusual, off-peak festival sets out to explore and uncover more about the dark tales and strange paranormal activity for which Edinburgh is internationally renowned.

Mary King's Close in television

  • Mary King's Close was featured on Series 4 of Most Haunted.[9]
  • A 2004 television adaptation of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novel Mortal Causes, the fourth episode in the first series of Rebus, featured a murder whose victim was found in Mary King's Close.[10]
  • Mary King's Close appears on the Most Haunted Live Halloween 2006 show.
  • Annie's room and Mary King's Close both appear in Episode 6 of Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland.[11]
  • Mary King's Close appears on the History Channel's 2007 program "Cities of the Underworld" Episode 04 Scotland's Sin City.
  • Mary King's Close was also featured on the Discovery Channel India show Discovery's Biggest Shows (aired at 8:00 pm Indian Standard Time on Sunday, October 7, 2007)
  • Mary King's Close was also featured in an episode of Ghost Hunters International which first aired in the U.S. on January 9, 2008 on the Sci Fi Channel and in the UK on 1 June 2008 on Living2.
  • Mary King's Close was featured on the Discovery Kids original series Mystery Hunters on the episode King's Close and Winchester House.
  • Mary King's Close was featured on an episode of Lost World "Jekyl and Hyde" History International (2007).
  • Mary King's Close was used to test the low light capabilities of two digital compact system cameras in The Gadget Show (Season 17 Episode 9) aired in the UK on 7th January 2013 on Channel 5 (UK).

See also

References

  1. "Mary King's Close". edinburgh.org. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  2. "About the Close". The Real Mary King's Close. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  3. "Mary King's Close". royal-mile.com. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  4. "Mary King's Close". BBC World Service. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  5. "The Haunted Close". edinburgh.org. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  6. "THE NOR'LOCH". royal-mile.com. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  7. "Mary King's Close: Edinburgh's Most Haunted Street". Environmental Graffiti. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  8. "Mary King's Close, II : The Tour". Gothica Gothique. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  9. "Most Haunted: Season 4, Episode 7, Mary King's Close". IMDB. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  10. "Rebus: Season 1, Episode 4, Mortal Causes". IMDB. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  11. "World Tour of Scotland". IMDB. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 

External links

Coordinates: 55°57′01″N 3°11′25″W / 55.95028°N 3.19028°W / 55.95028; -3.19028

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