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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT

* The Electric Boogaloos/ Jonzl D at Dance Base Two separate, intensive workshops from one of the most respected dance troupes in the world (pictured) and ‘the uncrowned king’ of British hip hop. See listings for more info. Dance Base, Edinburgh Sat 12 & Sun 13 May.

* Postcards from Hitherto Hitherto celebrates the iconic. influential Scottish record label Postcard Records, reinventing the shop space as a miniature rock’n’roll workshop for the duration of the Six Cities Design Festival. Look out for a line-up of DJ sets. acoustic nights and design talks on www.hithertoshop.co.uk. Hitherto at Tinderbox, Ingram Street, Glasgow. Thu 77 May—Sat 2 Jun.

* The Glasgow Slam Hang the banter and sharpen yer patter for the first Glasgow poetry slam in two years. See listings for more info. Blackfriars, Glasgow, Sun 13 May.

* The Luv Trail People of the Weedge! Join in! The Luv Trail is a treasure hunt - pick a map and go scouting for museum items hidden in shopfronts. cafes and local businesses. Maps available from the Luv Gallery, Govan, Glasgow. Until Wed 30 May.

Wht sin

Who ya gonna call?

As the Mary King’s Ghost Fest comes to town, Kirstin Innes spends some quality time in the Blair Street vaults, one of the most haunted locations in Britain

didn‘t we dead people. I should make that very clear. .\'o dead people were actually seen in the process of writing this article. Whether or not they were there. my friends. I'll leave up to your judgement. l'nderneath lidinburgh's South Bridge. opposite the (‘ity (‘al‘e and next door to (‘abaret Voltaire. there's a series of \aults which were used as a subterranean village in the l7th century. It was a high crime. high poverty area a lot of murders. Over the past few decades. the vaults have attracted parapsychologists and psychics. and there’s a regular tour which capitalises on the vaults' reputation as one of the most haunted places in the country. Nobody dresses up like a wacky lili/abethan jester and no mad monks jump out at you. They don't need to: the tour guides lead you down there and around the cold. candlelit rooms armed with little more than a hook full of purportedly true accounts from sceptics and believers alike. and somehow manage to create one of the tnost frightening experiences of your life.

The trick. I told myself. is just to think everything through rationally. and ignore that strange. cold. creeping l‘eeling tightening around your waist. That plan was working very well until our gttidc. Robert. mentioned the Watcher. a particularly malevolent spirit who tends to follow the tour parties round: 'lle‘s often seen right behind that doorway there. and has possessed people on the tours.‘ lle paused. then went into great graphic detail about twisted laces and women being flung across the rooms. Just a story. Ignore that coldness spreading across your back. . . ‘And oh Kirstin. I’m so sorry. you're on the hot or rather. the

swarms of

cold spot. The most common point for possession is right there. in the doorway.~ I moved. Nobody laughed. Later on. when he gave us electro-magnetic field measuring devices and told its to go and explore. we hung back. huddled together. even the bright sceptics who‘d asked scientilic questions at the start of the tour.

In the third room we visited. the panic set in. The atmosphere changed. suddenly: the temperature dropped. the woman beside me started shaking. and I got a very tangible l‘eeling that something jtist wasn't right. Robert noticed it too. Ushering us out and seeming to curtail the tour. I‘m glad he did. because I was about to run for it.

Back in the sunshine. it was very easy to rationalise the whole experience away. Mass hysteria. clever insinuation. manipulation ol‘ the atmosphere. I just haven‘t quite convinced myself of it yet.

The Mary King‘s (ihost l‘est has been finding novel ways to scare the bejesUs out ol’ people since 2005. and this year‘s programme. bigger than ever before. encompasses paranormal experiments with .llosr llumiml‘s l)r (‘iaran ()‘Keel'l'e and screenings of cult horror lilms. You can also. should you want to. conduct an overnight vigil in the Blair Street \tttllls. Whatever. You and the Watcher can paint each other's toenails and tell ghost stories. I won’t be joining you.

The Mary King’s Ghost Fest runs from Fri 11-Sun 20 May. See www.edinburghghostfest.co.uk for full event listings. Tours and vigils in the Blair Street vaults are run by Mercat Tours: www.mercattours.com.

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L‘le.’ THE LIST 23