Author Description

When was the last time you were terrified? The ancient streets of Edinburgh hold many dark tales. The long and winding cobbled paths were the location of some of the darkest chapters in the city’s history. The old town’s many dark and foreboding alleyways are steeped in suitably malevolent history. Faces from the past reportedly frequent the locations today. Do the shadowy figures of Burke and Hare continue to walk the alleyways of west port? Does the terrifying one-armed apparition of John Chiesly still walk a dark Edinburgh close? The Dalry landowner was tried for murder at the city Mercat Cross and brutally tortured before his fate at the gallows. Years later, builders would discover a skeleton beneath the floor in a Dalry property, the grim discovery reportedly missing one of its arms. Take a journey to Gillespie Crescent, Bruntsfield, if you dare. The previous site of the grand Wrychtishousis Mansion. A headless phantom woman with a child reportedly haunts the building. The spectre slowly materialised from the fireplace and screamed at the petrified servant who stayed within the room. The owners ignored the terrified member of staff and considered his story unbelievable. “Presumed the result of dreams caused by intoxication, the servant’s character for sobriety not being remarkable.” Many years ago, a discovery was made during renovation work in the building. A female skeleton was discovered beneath the floor by an infant and sewing needles. It would appear that the woman was murdered unexpectedly. Her Skull was absent from the shallow grave in which she inhabited. The next time you walk the long descent of the historic Canongate, you may care to look behind you. What could be standing watching you from the vicinity of the pillars of Chessels Court? The shadowy alleyway beside the Canongate pub may not be what it seems. What could be lurking in the shadows of its dark expanse? When I began making plans for this fourth book, I