Find the ghost ...

[Loki]

IT is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in Scotland, drawing thousands of amateur ghost-hunters into its dark tunnels every year.

Now a massive scientific experiment is set to find out just how haunted Mary King's Close really is.

More than 200 volunteers are to take part in a four-day experiment, when a team of scientists will carry out tests on the medieval close in a bid to uncover the truth behind the rumours of ghosts.

The experiment forms the centrepiece of the Mary King's Ghost Fest in May, which also features a series of paranormal-related events exploring the Capital's supernatural side.

The experiment will begin with a series of tours around the darkened rooms and passages beneath the City Chambers, where unexplained paranormal activity has been reported since the 17th century.

Volunteers will then be led into some of the underground street's less well-known nooks and crannies and asked to note anything unusual they experience.

Each volunteer's journey will be recorded by the scientists, enabling them to pinpoint exactly where someone was standing when they claim to have picked up on something spooky. Any reports of ghoulish experiences will then be matched with the places previous visitors have spotted ghosts.

Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire, is co-ordinating the tests.

He will be assisted by a group of geomagnetic experts from the British Geological Society, who will monitor patterns of geomagnetic activity, using equipment which reads magnetic fields, and compare them with reports of ghostly happenings.

Every room in which people report a spooky sensation will be fitted with special sensors to track air temperature and humidity, to establish if there are any cold spots present, which would account for people claiming to feel cold when they enter a room.

"There will also be an electrical engineer on hand to monitor the rooms for infrared sound, very low sound waves which are well below normal human hearing," said Prof Wiseman.

It is hoped the scientists may be able to find a scientific explanation for what makes people experience supernatural sensations.

Prof Wiseman added: "We are hoping to attract a mix of both believers and sceptics to take part in this experiment, the first of its kind at Mary King's Close.

"I am fairly sceptical about ghosts but I am interested in what triggers those experiences. Is it the way the place looks or the reputation it carries? Or is it something else?"

Ruth Abrahams, centre manager for the Real Mary King's Close, said she would not be volunteering for the experiment.

She said: "I'm such a scaredy-cat, it's terrible. In the morning, I have to get someone to come with me to switch on the lights because I'd never go down there on my own."

Since the tours began two years ago, Miss Abrahams said several hundred visitors had reported ghostly sightings in the close.

"People have seen a woman in black, who haunts the close. Quite regularly, they see a man on the stairway and we've had quite a lot of reports from what's known as Annie's Room, where a little girl's spirit is thought to appear."

Amateur ghost-hunters who want to take part in the experiment, which takes place between May 14 to 17, should visit www.edinburghghostfest.com