A Walk In the City of the Dead - Concluding Part!

It was a first added effect, the torch was working and it was the guide’s antics. He apologised, but switched off the torch and continued with the story. But the ambience created had set the scene up. The Vault felt like ‘panic room’! It was the Vault where on a cold night, people setup a small fire, but in the process were charred to death. The furnace then, is a cold grave today.

I cannot answer why, but during the narration, I was terribly disturbed and felt very uneasy and uncanny. The narration felt like trance; it wasn’t long but seemed never ending. I looked at my watch, which to me was the only source of light in that horrid darkness. I thought it might be comforting, but it wasn’t to be. My watch seemed to stop; the hands of the watch didn’t seem to move at all.

We walked out of the Vaults and into a dim lit museum that had tools of torture and death, popularly used in the earlier centuries. Those appallingly sadistic tools seemed laughable after what we had experienced. There were some biscuits and whisky, which I had bottoms up; I think we all did. Comforting! I looked at my watch; it was working.

Calmed, I walked off into the living Edinburgh.

I do not know if what I experienced was real or something I was made to believe in that setup. On whether The Watcher exists and the yellow light I saw was The Watcher himself. Whether the cold pocket we experienced was real or a delusion that three people experienced. I don’t even know whether the ‘circle of faith’ is not safe anymore or the uneasiness I felt was due to that particular Vault or due to the apprehension that had built up. My watch; did it actually stop working or my senses just failed to see it work! What I do know, is that something definitely happened there and it wasn’t just another tourist spot.

Edinburgh was just the way it was, but only colder. The sun had set and the Royal Mile looked splendid in the streetlights. Edinburgh; a place one must visit for its endowing natural beauty, Scottish traditions and history and THE VAULTS.

Poltergeists follow the trail. I felt something around my bed through the night, the night thereafter and all the way to London!

A Walk In the City of the Dead - Part 4

That night, as usually the bulbs went off and the torch did not work. A screech, which only echoed to sound even louder than what it was. As he tried moving out of the ‘circle of trust’, he realised that he could not. What had happened to the safety zone? When he did manage to step out of it, he was able to spend the remainder of the night with much ease. Had the effect reversed? Was the ‘circle of trust’ no longer safe? Whether the night answered any other questions or not, certainly there has been a mental block and the area is marked as a strict NO.

Poltergeists follow the trail, they say. Earlier, non-believers have dared to step-in during the tours only to regret later. The guide asked if anyone of us were keen to try. However, there were no takers.

So far, we had only been in the Low activity Vaults. We were finally going into a High activity Vault. This Vault came with a strict warning that had our knees rattle. Before entering the Vault, we were instructed that men should stand to the left and women to the right.

There was a cry, a rather loud one. It would have had all people on the tour let out an internal cry themselves. Stupefied and scared. Some wanted to run but probably could not feel their legs. No, it wasn’t a cold pocket, it was sheer fear. The guide decided to check; it was one amongst those on the tour. The person sat and cried, inconsolably. People tried to move, push and anything they could possibly try, but the person did not budge. After nearly two hours, the person stumbled and moved. The reason for the behaviour was simply a force, an unknown force that held the person back. This incident took place nearly six months back but was fresh in the guide’s mind. Certainly, it jolted us as we walked into the Vault.

The Vault was cold, exceptionally cold. It has always been so. The left side, to which the men stood, had been highly reactive and volatile in the past. However, interestingly 99% of the victims were women. Scars, burns, injuries and wounds were common. On other occasions, women had been brutally assaulted, some even hospitalised. Some brutally battered, others thrown across to the opposite wall. Since then, this peculiar formation of having men and women on the left and right side respectively was tried. It worked and activities since then have thankfully been minor. Bizarre!

This particular Vault had no lighting at all. Lightings never worked. Brand new bulbs gave way in minutes. Torches didn’t work either. The guide’s torch had worked well, but not anymore. It died and there was drop-dead silence and stark darkness. The guide spoke and added some reassurance. And then there was a BANG and a THUD! Screams from all around the Vault ripped the silence apart. I froze and was speechless.

A Walk In the City of the Dead - Part 3

During the summer, there was a big group of about 50 people for a late night tour of the Vaults. The tour began as usual and all followed the guide. However, the notorious sections of the group loitered and lagged behind. Giggling and laughing they reached the entrance of one of the Vaults where the guide awaited them, or so they thought. No sooner did they line up inside the Vault, than they realised that their other half of the group was missing. They turned to their guide for an explanation, only to realise that their guide had a horribly burnt face. He turned, walked right into a wall and disappeared like light. He was the Watcher and is regular at the Vaults. He was burnt in one of the fires that had engulfed a section of the Vaults. Was the yellow light I saw disappearing into the wall him? I don’t know!

The Vaults, as I said are all underground. They had doors but no windows. The Vaults are about 20’x20’ and had about 30-40 people in it. Who would stay here? People with dark pasts and presents, like thieves, murderers, rapists and yes the unfortunate downtrodden. There were no toilets, there was a system called ‘gardez l’eau’ (in French for keep liquids), wherein you collect your wastes through the day and throw it at 10 pm. People would not walk the streets of Edinburgh at 10 pm, least they know, they have ‘gardez loo’ heading their way! That’s how Edinburgh functioned back in those days. Gardez l’eau, no ventilation and extreme weather conditions in winters and summers made the average life expectance no more and 1.5 to 2 years for the residents of the Vaults. The Vaults were slow but sure death.

In the dim light, we moved collectively to avoid being misled by the Watcher. The guide walked us into the next Vault, which had a strange arrangement of stones in a circular formation. The circle, usually accompanied with a star like formation inside it, acted as the ‘circle of faith’. This particular vault was visited by witches, who until very recently, often came to these Vaults to practice witchcraft with noble intentions. The ‘circle of faith’ was the circle of safety that protected them if something did go wrong on the way. Witches usually moved in groups to help protect one another from the unseen.

However, one-night things took a different road. A witch had to make it to the Vault all by her self. The bulb and torch she took with her that night gave way in little time. While it was normal to experience this level of paranormal activity, that night was different. She could sense evil, a poltergeist. As she moved towards leaving the circle, she felt something stop her and hold her foot.

These witches usually borrowed the keys of the Vaults and returned it the next morning. The subsequent morning, the witch did not return the key. Sensing something foul, the owner decided to go and check the Vaults. Scars and burns all over, possible broken bones, the witch lay motionless on the floor. That was the last seen of those witches. She survived, but traumatised not to reveal the happenings of the night.

The owner, curious to find out what could have happened that night, decided to spend the night at the Vault himself. A daredevil himself, he reached the Vault with his belongs to spend the night in the circle. Within minutes, he moved from being curious to circumspect. Seeing makes non-believers, believers!

A Walk In the City of the Dead - Part 2

The Vaults were classified based on the level of paranormal activity as Low and High. Low means you see things that are not supposed to be there, people who walk into walls and disappear. You stand and experience a cold pocket, cold enough to freeze you. Then, what is High? Burns and scars on people, people being propelled by an unknown force, thrown around like pillows from one wall to another; that’s High.

Edinburgh was once described as one of the most crowded places of Europe. At one point, it became so crowded that it was banned for anyone to sleep on the streets of Edinburgh. Vaults were places in the olden days where poor people were forced to stay. Just back then, the wall around Edinburgh was built to protect the people from English invasions. People grew, but Edinburgh did not. Soon, the council ran out of space. The initial thought was to build upwards. There was no concept of reinforcement and light material like wood was used to build structures above existing structures. Ironically, in Edinburgh back then, the poorer you were, the higher up you stayed. That idea failed terrible as the structures gave way soon, causing damage to life and property. You could not go UPWARDS, could not expand OUTWARDS; the only option was DOWNWARDS!

We stood in the first Vault, which had very little light. The dim light was not to create a spooky atmosphere, but it was all that could be used. After all, there weren’t going to be special effects such as people coming from closets or sudden noises. It was the absolute horror that we stood in, voluntarily. For that matter, there were no closets, because if people could afford those, they would not be here. I was standing at the dead end of the room; the walls of the Vaults were barely a foot away from me. Just as the guide continued, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a sudden yellow light come and disappear on the opposite wall. Almost immediately, I felt my left shoulder freeze stone cold. I stood, but couldn’t help but turn my head leftwards, and saw two eyes stare right into mine. There was a woman standing to my left who looked stoned. My shoulder felt colder. I could barely feel my left shoulder and hand. Those eyes kept staring back at me and were prompting me to look behind my shoulder.

The guide spoke and the crowd murmured. There was fear and apprehension; an eerie atmosphere gripped the room. I dared and looked behind. I could only see the body; it was that of a man. He was standing behind us. The face seemed non-existent; he was unmoved. I grew colder and could no longer feel my left shoulder and hand. In horror and disbelief, I turned towards the guide. He spoke; and reminded us the consequences of these Vaults. He had warned us about the cold pockets; it was normal to experience them in this particular Vault. The best thing to do, he said, is to move two steps away immediately. People, who did not, often experienced frostbites!

There was sudden heavy breathing around me. I had moved away a few steps and grasped for breath myself. I quickly looked around my left. The woman and man were there, but they too had moved. But I could now feel my left hand and shoulder. The three, had experienced a cold pocket. Within a minute, we were back to normal.

A Walk In the City of the Dead - Part 1

Dark, cold and extremely humid; it had a strange smell that felt bizarre! As I walked, I could feel the wet soil beneath my feet. A couple of steps further, the sound of the water seeping through the walls and trickling on the floor got deafening; deafening in that stark silence. I walked deeper, deeper into the darkness and in my quest to see what lay beneath!

Welcome to the city of the dead, Edinburgh. It is true that the gothic past of Edinburgh also has it very dark secrets buried deep inside Edinburgh. Paranormal or ghostly experiences are what they have turned today in these deep dark vaults. Edinburgh is host to many such vaults and graveyards that draw attention and can leave you scared, or worse, scarred. There are tours to the horrifying graveyards and some others to Mary King’s Close, which was witness to the massacre of the plague victims of the 17th century. It is one of Edinburgh’s most haunted places (further ref: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/home.htm). Another such place is the ‘Vaults of Edinburgh.’

Every place is a tourist attraction, no doubt, but all come with a statutory warning saying that WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU WHATSOEVER. The Vaults, for instance, have been witness to some gruesome past and present experience of people in reality. Reality bites and your worse nightmare can come true at the Vaults. Dare venture at your own risk.

The journey begins at Edinburgh’s Old Information Centre. We were a group of about 30 people when all of a sudden it got alarmingly cold and windy. Soon a young man dressed in black and grey arrived and asked if we were here for the Vaults. Ambience! Those who were should walk with him for the Auld Reekies tour (further ref: http://www.auldreekietours.com/). The man though young, neat and smart, had something surreal about him. We went across and walked down slope, a steep one. It was dark and the cold and wind had picked up. Everyone had goose bumps; some with cold, others with fright or both. Suddenly he stopped, tuned around and screamed, “This is the scariest part of the tour, which is the purchase of tickets”. Shaken and stirred for the moment, people smiled and laughed off in humour, but for how long?

We then stood outside a dark grey dilapidated building, inside which were the Vaults. We had gone down slope and now were taking the stairs upwards that were in absolute shambles. This meant that we were going deeper inside the Vaults, which in effect meant that they would have been buried beneath the road above.

Originally, the council of Edinburgh had plans to resurrect buildings that were untouched for ages and that were part of the old Edinburgh. It was during this expedition that a team came across some horrific findings. The work was abandoned. Research activities found paranormal activities, which lead to a shocking tale of events. The research also, did not get too further ahead. After climbing the serpentine stairs, we reached the entrance, which had a huge hole that was now patched up. The curiosity was killed, as the guide failed to answer and decided to move on! As we moved into the Vaults, we found them to be wet. The waters of the morning’s rain had seeped into these Vaults. Unbelievably, people lived here.

Flight Fright!!!

It’s probably four in the morning and the alarm hasn’t rung. Am I waiting for it to ring or hoping that it never does; in the sense that the moments stay where they are and never end? It is gonna be my first in many ways – first time being completely independent, first experience on foreign soil with complete strangers but above all; my FIRST FLIGHT.

My so-called journey started with the scheduled flight being cancelled and loosing my insurance details only added to my troubles. However, by 1 am everything was calm and under control as I slept before my all-important day.

I finally got up; I wouldn’t say I woke up because I don’t think I slept. Going through with the chores, I got quite shaky…the moment was oh so very near. I got to the airport, the first time for myself, and was greeted by two very dear people. I couldn’t have waited longer; it would only get more dramatic. So, I decided to leave almost immediately. Bidding adieu I walked inside the airport. The check in was smooth and I got on board in about a couple of hours.

What if there was a technical problem, air turbulence, bad weather, worse still a hijack? All these and various other wild thoughts ran through my head while reading the safety measures. There were life jackets but surely no parachutes. Barely did I calm my self, did the captain announce that the flight has a technical problem. Wow! The problem though was a technical fault with the door not being able to shut, and so the flight would be delayed by half an hour. I hadn’t slept, so decided to do just that. Eventually, the heat and hunger woke me up. It had already been an hour and took another half-n-hour before we took off; quite an experience for a ‘first flight.’

We finally moved. 55 seconds of full throttle and I was flying a blue dream. In seconds, we were above the Arabian Sea. It was amazing that in minutes we were thousands of meters above the ground, way above the clouds. 30 km into the stratosphere with an air temperature of -63 degrees and you are comfortably seated in your pair of jeans merrily eating and drinking; wonders of modern science that I have learnt very late. And yes, that’s exactly what I had, enjoyed my meals and caught up on some desperately needed sleep.

When finally I woke up, we were flying over Istanbul. I decided to take a walk to get some much-needed blood circulation into my legs. Out of a first flight fear, I had earlier opted against the window, a decision I probably regretted later. After a small stroll, I stood besides an emergency exit. It was simply one of the most breathtaking sights I have seen; at 30 km above sea level, it looked stunning. The layers of the terrain, some light and some dark, offered a view that I'd never seen before. The sight got even more beautiful, when we flew over UK. We were descending, getting closer to the surface and the sights were starting to make more sense. The bird’s eye view of London made it seem to be a beautifully planned city with classy structures sans too many skyscrapers – a sight that I would always remember.

Somehow, till date, I still have a percent of aviophobia in me.