DARK DELIGHTS AT EDINBURGH DUNGEON

Edinburgh's newest tourist attraction is making the most of the murkier aspects of the city's past and as Hilary McNally has been finding out, it is not for the faint-hearted.

It's no coincidence that the new Edinburgh Dungeon, situated in the Capital's spookily atmospheric Old Town, is opening on Friday the 13th.

Such a superstitious date steeped in fears of bad luck and misfortune perfectly complements the gruesome goings-on in the underground vaults of Market Street where the new £5 million attraction can be found.

There visitors can take a step back in time to an age of plague and pestilence and terrifying tortures where thumbscrews, muscle clamps and headcrushers were the order of the day for unfortunate miscreants.

The Edinburgh Dungeon is the first of its kind to be opened in Scotland and the third in Britain. Owners Merlin Entertainment hope it will be just as successful as the dungeons in London and York.

"The London dungeon is rapidly entering the premier division of tourist attractions," said Mark Oakley, spokesman for the Edinburgh facility. "It had 700,000 visitors last year. York had almost 200,000 visitors and it is one of the busiest attractions in the city."

He added that Edinburgh is the ideal location for the company's latest venture.

"The criteria for choosing a location is that it should have a strong tourist market and a rich and colourful history," he explained. "Edinburgh fills both criteria and has lots of prime candidates including Burke and Hare and Sawney Bean to include.

"The character of the city also lends itself to the new dungeon. It is so full of history. Edinburgh is really tailor made for it and we're confident it will be a huge success.

"People love to have the hair on the backs of their necks stand up. They love to be scared. Psychologists would probably explain it by saying it's a hangover from prehistoric times when people lived with danger on a daily basis.

"Happily that's not the case now but we still yearn for that adrenalin rush. At the dungeon visitors can have that but without any real danger."

Although the dungeon is safe Mark admits it may not be suitable for very young children or those of a squeamish nature. But for those who like their entertainment gripping and gory it is well worth a visit.

First stop after the spitting gargoyles and a screaming prisoner in an overhead cell is the Hall of Relics where artifacts from Scotland's blood-soaked past are on display including the heart of Robert the Bruce.

Then there is the Judgement of Sinners area where visitors run the risk of being singled out by a judge, put in the dock and accused of all sorts of horrible crimes before being escorted through to the torture chambers with the rest of the audience.

There some of the more hideous forms of punishment and torture favoured by the authorities of old will be on show including burning victims with hot coals, forcing them to drink huge amounts of water and subjecting them to the horrors of flesh tearers and headcrushing devices.

After dodging the body cart, avoiding the sneezing woman and the emptying of rancid slops from an upper storey building the next treat in store for visitors is the grizzly site of two shifty looking characters indulging in a spot of grave robbing. This is the Burke and Hare zone dedicated to the repulsive activities of the two Edinburgh murderers who sold corpses for medical experiments.

Medicine and its more gruesome and bizarre aspects also provide the theme of the next area when visitors enter the mortuary where many patients of early surgery ended up.

The white knuckle Witchfynder boat trip is next, as visitors try out some witchhunting in the middle of a violent storm before finding short-lived refuge in a cave frequented by the notorious Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean.

If that's not enough to strike terror into even the bravest heart the sight of the Maiden very likely will. Used in Edinburgh to behead criminals from 1564 to 1720 this refinement of the Halifax gibbet was later adapted to create the now world famous Guillotine.

Just to make sure the atmosphere is suitable terrifying, the Edinburgh Dundeon is staffed by a bloodcurdling cast of ghosts and ghouls and executioners. It also has a refreshment area for calming the nerves after a tour and a gift shop.

It is open from 10am to 6pm and costs £6.95 for adults and £4.95 for children. For more information visit the web site at http://www.thedungeons.com

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