Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Date: summer 2001 Time: afternoon

On a bright afternoon, a couple, Tom and Ellen, were walking along a path above Salisbury Crags on Arthur’s Seat when they experienced a strange encounter. As they strolled they suddenly became aware of two weird-looking figures about a hundred yards away. Both were unusually tall and thin, over seven feet in height with spindle-like arms and legs. They were dressed completely in black. But it was what they did next which led the couple to pause and stare. Suddenly they dropped in unison on all fours and appeared to be sniffing the grass as if looking for something. Tom recalled:

“For an instant I thought I’d wandered into a scene someone was creating for a horror film of some sort. It was just unearthly. Then one of the pair pulled a small object from its pocket and pushed it firmly into the ground. They both stood up turned around and caught sight of us watching them.” Tom and Ellen immediately sensed that their presence was not welcome. In fact, the atmosphere turned menacing. Tom said, “If it hadn’t been for the fact that our neighbor couldn’t get out that day and we took his Alsatian for some exercise to help ou, I am not sure what might have happened.” The dog started barking and that seemed to disturb the pair so Tom and Ellen took the chance to head off smartly. After a few seconds Tom glanced back, rather nervously he admits, and they had vanished. He couldn’t see them anywhere. That unnerved him too so he was glad to get back to the car.

HC addendum

Source: Ron Halliday, “Edinburgh After Dark: Vampires, Ghosts and Witches of the Old Town” (p. 188) Black & White Publishing. Kindle Edition. Type: E