An Edinburgh woman has told of the terrifying experiences when visiting the South Bridge Vaults on more than one occasion that has left her afraid to go back.
Linzi Bootman, 37, has shown an interest in paranormal activity since she was a child when she had her first supernatural encounter. But the experienced ghost hunter was left shaken after her last trip to the haunted capital location and vows not to return due to 'screaming in her ear.'
The pet groomer was reminded of her chilling experiences after hearing a familiar screaming sound picked up on a recording device by famous ghost hunter Chris Fleming on the Edinburgh episode of Spooked Scotland.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live Linzi told how excited she was to finally visit the world famous paranormal location that is hidden in the Old Town.
She said: "The very first time I went there, I was so excited to be going because I've always been into the paranormal ever since I was a kid and I found out the old lady I spent hours talking to wasn't actually alive anymore but I always go on these tours and ghost hunts with an air of being a sceptic.
"The first time I went down with my best friend and it was really quite nothing amazing until near the end of the tour when I felt my right hand go ice cold like putting it in a freezer cold.
"I thought it was odd and moved my hand around. The air would change but it was ice cold at a child height then I felt a tug on my top then little fingers gently grabbing my cold hand.
"Then in a flash it was gone and back to being a normal temperature, then behind us we heard this horrible groan but no one was behind us as we like to stay at the back of the group so that we could see if we could feel anything."
Despite the chilling encounter with what she believes to be the ghost of a young child, Linzi wanted to visit again this time with her brother where she experienced even more paranormal activity.
She explained: "The second time I went with my brother and the tour was crazy active from the start we heard the chains and the whistling, footsteps.
"That night I was staying at my brothers and I was crashing on the sofa, he was playing a game with his headset on so not to wake me but I was awoken to something screaming in my ear just like the EVP recorder caught on the Edinburgh episode of Spooked Scotland.
"At first I thought it was him mucking about but then it dawned on me he'd have to move like a flash to get to me that fast and get back to his seat."
Turns out it wasn't just Linzi who had witnessed some unexplainable activities as her brother also thought he saw a strange man standing next to his sibling on the tour, despite being alone at the back of an empty room.
Linzi said: "I never asked him about it but the next day we were talking about the activity from the night before and he asked me 'I forgot to ask when we were in Mr Boots room what was that tall guy asking you? He kept bending down to your face like he was talking to you.'
"I looked at him with a blank stare there had been no one beside me as I said before I like to stay far back from the group to get a feel for the place."
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It was the third occasion with a professional ghost hunter where Linzi was used as 'bait' to encourage paranormal activity on the tour that made the 37-year-old vow never to go again.
She explained: "So when the chance to go on a proper ghost hunt down there I jumped at the chance. It was a pretty interesting experience and lasted about five hours. It was a lot of wandering around with nothing happening. Then out of nowhere I heard the chain noise, a child crying and whistling started again.
"Because I'd had stuff happen in Mr Boots room I was used as bait, there was a blast of cold air then I felt a hand shove me not too hard but still enough for me to move a little bit.
"After the event I went home and found it hard to sleep but just as I was drifting off again the screaming in my ear woke me up. I've never been back since i didn't want to chance hearing that screaming again."
The Edinburgh episode of Spooked Scotland which sees ex-model Gail Porter and American ghost hunter Chris Fleming explore some of Scotland's most haunted locations is available to watch online now.
If you have had any similar unexplainable experiences across Edinburgh you can get in touch at iona.young@reachplc.com
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