I’m
going to share a few more images from Edinburgh, before I take you to some of
the other places we visited.  I know I
mentioned that I walked around some graveyards and even did a ghost tour.  And if you’ve read my books and my blogs, you
know I love a good, spooky tale.

And while
visiting, there were plenty of stories that sent a chill running up my spine. Edinburgh,
where just a stroll long the cobblestone streets, takes you back in time, has a
long ghoulish history. Psychics and ghost hunters have long said that the
Scottish capital is one of the most haunted places in the world.

A walk through the cemetery, that is
so old that most of the script on the tombstones is no longer legible, can
raise the hairs on the back of your neck. 
It made me stop and wonder about the bones of the people buried six feet
under.  Were they happy?  Did they love someone?  How did the die?

As a pet owner, one story stood
out.  The tale of a phantom Skye terrier,
Bobby. The dog was said to have spent fourteen years guarding his master’s
grave.  In 1872, the faithful pooch
passed away. He is now buried in the Greyfriars Kirkland, near his owner.  It is said that people can still hear his
bark near the grave. Dare I say, that is one spirit, I wouldn’t mind running
across.

Ahh, but even deeper down, deeper
than the bones of the now unnamed-dead, are a collection of underground
passageways.  With very little
ventilation, these dark, dank tunnels were called home to the very poorest of
people: vagrants, thieves, gamblers and an array of undesirables.  The ghost tour I attended took me under
Edinburgh’s Old City. With only candle light to guide us, I learned of the sad
and often gruesome history of this place. 
A history of religious persecution, of executions of witches, and even
the great plague.  No doubt, the beauty
of this timeless city that draws so many to visit, is stained with blood.

Winner!!

The winner of last week’s giveaway of an audiobook of One Foot in the Grave is Belinda Ortiz. Congratulations! Please email me at [email protected] to claim you audiobook.