April 18, 2008
The South Bridge Poltergeist
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Jonno Ross, Edinburgh, Scotland, August 27, 2007
My girlfriend and I were in Edinburgh, Scotland, last August and we decided
to take one of the many "ghost walks" available throughout the city through
Auld Reekie's tours. Now I was a skeptic at the time, and thought this was
just going to be a bit of fun. Oh how wrong I was! The tour started as you
would expect. There was only four of us on this particular tour, myself,
three other girls, and the tour guide (also a girl, it's important to say).
The guide gave us the history of witch burnings and everything, and then we
went underground into the Edinburgh Vaults (a series of underground
chambers) where paranormal activity was apparently very much there.
The first room we saw included a Wiccan chapel of sorts with an altar and
everything like that. A little creepy, I thought. But that was nothing. We
went on into the next chamber where there was a stone circle in the center
of the room. Whilst listening to the guide, both my girlfriend and I heard a
whoosh and a footstep behind us. Keep in mind we were the only ones
underground, and to get into the vaults you had to open a very loud door.
Both of us whipped around and saw nothing, but heard another footstep. Just
one. We stood closer together and kept listening. Apparently someone had
trapped a spirit or ghost inside the circle and anyone who entered the
circle would face a terrifying experience. Needless to say, none of us
decided to enter the circle and tempt fate. But we were also told not to
walk clockwise around the circle and exit the opposite way we come in. Well,
we all did, except for my daring partner who decided to obliviously walk the
other way. She came out okay, no harm done. By now, we were all extremely
cold as we made our way to the third and final stop of the tour, where the
notorious South Bridge Poltergeist was thought to currently be. Before
entering the room we were told that if anyone felt uncomfortable we wouldn't
go in. After a few minutes of deliberation, we entered the pitch-black room.
Now here's the interesting part. The South Bridge Poltergeist apparently has
a thing for harming people who stood on a certain side of the room, women in
particular. So being the only male in the group, I was doomed to stand on
the "harmful side" of the room, as to keep the poltergeist in the center.
Stuck with a choice between the "harmful side" and the women on the "safe
side." As soon as we entered the room, I split from the group, alone, edging
along the wall toward the harmful side. I was told to stick to the walls.
Instantly I felt cold and I could even feel a presence observing me. I was
physically shaking. I had never been this terrified ever. I seriously
thought I was going to die down here. The guide spoke in a soft voice,
explaining the history and everything like that. Then I heard my girlfriend
speak in a very soft voice saying, "Can we go now? Please? It's here." The
tour guide agreed instantly and I began edging my way back to the door. Now
the horrifying part...
As we began to leave, one of the girls (God knows which one) let out a
bloodcurdling scream. Then, it was on. Quickly as I could I ran toward the
door on the other side, crossing toward the middle of the room. As I moved,
I felt something grab onto my shoulder and another hand grab my shirt,
trying to pull me back. The girls were already outside. I struggled for a
microsecond and whatever it was let go, allowing me to escape. We all
checked if we were okay, even the guide was panting. The rest of us were
shaking like leaves. I didn't find out why the girl screamed. But that night
my girlfriend and I boarded our bus for a nine-hour ride back to London. I
felt the South Bridge Poltergeist the entire way home. This is completely
true. And I will never set foot in those vaults again.
