Halloween fun in Edinburgh

The Scots may be best known for the way they celebrate the New Year in style with Hogmanay, but they also have lots of fun with their Halloween events too.

Recently voted the best place to holiday in the UK by Guardian readers for the seventh year running, Edinburgh has plenty of chilling experiences for a Halloween to remember.

Celebrations in the charming Scottish city have already begun, and last a full two and a half weeks, building up to All Hallows Eve on October 31st.

One of the most famous streets in the city is the Royal Mile, and from October 23rd to 31st the street will be hosting supernatural history tours.

Based on one of Scotland's most haunted places, Mary King’s Close, located underneath Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the tour will reveal the area's unexplained paranormal activity.

There will also be a strange tales evening, which will be part of the International Scottish Storytelling Festival.

Also on the Royal Mile will be the City of the Dead Hallowe'en Weekend event, from October 27th to 31st.

Taking place outside St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, the event includes a history and horror graveyard tour, which investigates the well-documented supernatural case known as the Mackenzie Poltergeist.

The ghost of George Mackenzie, who was in charge of sentencing the inmates of the prison on the Royal Mile in the 17th century is said to haunt the area where the prison used to be. For more information on the tour see www.blackhart.uk.com

And if you want to enjoy a dose of Edinburgh's grisly past at any time of the year, then a visit to Edinburgh Dungeon will reveal the history of the city's witch-hunters, grave robbers, murderers, cannibals and executioners.

For more information see www.thedungeons.com

For the authentic Edinburgh Halloween experience, one the best places to stay nearby is the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club Kirknewton.

The hotel, built by the Dalrymple family in 1725, was later home to Lady Mary Morton, also known as the 'White Lady', who supposedly haunts corridors and some bedrooms the Dalmahoy, whose portrait still hangs in the hotel.

Alternatively there is also the George Hotel, centrally located on Edinburgh's elegant George Street. Over two hundred years old, the hotel still has retained a lot of its original charm, and is grade II listed. For more information see www.principal-hotels.com

Further out, but also located in a building with lots of character is the Kildonan Lodge Hotel - a restored Victorian building dating back to 1874. For more information see www.kildonanlodgehotel.co.uk

For more general information on Edinburgh see www.visitscotland.com XXX