Scientists report ghostly goings-on

High-tech equipment was used by ghost hunters

Scientists are studying reports of ghostly goings-on at Edinburgh Castle following a high-tech spook hunt.

Members of the public have reported apparitions and physical contact during the 10-day investigation into the vaults and tunnels around the historic fortress.

One volunteer was almost reduced to tears during one night time experiment in the castle.

The investigation, carried out as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, involved more than 250 members of the public.

I must stress that these are only initial results, but already they are looking quite interesting

Dr Richard Wiseman

Led by Dr Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire, a team of researchers using sophisticated recording equipment have been trying to get evidence of paranormal activity.

The scientists - who said their discoveries were encouraging - also discovered some anomalies, including dense spots and a green blob, in photographs taken in reputedly haunted vaults.

Dr Wiseman said: "Quite a lot of the experiences reported by members of the public were fairly extreme, some saw figures, a lot felt they were being observed and some felt their clothing was being grabbed or touched.

"We and the volunteers were unaware of the history of the vaults, but the volunteers reported experiences more often in the vaults reputed to be most haunted.

"It could be something quite trivial such as being damper or colder and we are taking physical measurements at the moment to gauge air temperature, air movement and magnetic fields.

Edinburgh Castle is widely believed to be haunted

"But whatever the explanation, it means there is something going on because otherwise we would expect the distribution to have been more random.

"I must stress that these are only initial results, but already they are looking quite interesting.

"Often the reports were quite trivial, but in one overnight session we asked one female volunteer to sit in one of the vaults in the dark and just tell us her thoughts.

"Almost immediately she reported hearing breathing from a corner of the room which was getting louder.

"She thought she saw a flash or some sort of light in the corner but didn't want to look back.

Volunteer 'part scared'

"She was not far off crying for 20 minutes but she kept talking. The lady is an intelligent woman and while she was part-scared, she was also curious and she kept talking to the camera.

"She didn't move, even after we went in. It was a very unexpected reaction, but 20 minutes later she was fine."

A full report of the experiments is due to be presented at a media conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday.