Beware, the Jumper-Ooters!!

I've been getting a good taste of Scottish history in the last few days, with visits to the Scottish landmarks St Andrews, Stirling Castle, and the William Wallace Monument. But thus far the highlight would have to be last night's Witchery Tour, a night-time tour of the more ghastly and ghoulish bits of Edinburghian history. The tourguide is himself one of the unfortunate victims of the city's once merciless justice system; an executed highwayman who goes by the catchy moniker of Adam Lyal(deceased). Every night, Adam leads a group of thrillseekers around on a walking tour on which he tells stories about life in the burgh in the 17th century and later. Witch torture, hangings, as well as stories of the fetid and disgusting conditions of life in a city of 40,000 people without a sanitation system. As we wended our way through narrow "closes" (alleyways running between buildings), stairwells, and backstreets, we were startled by "jumper-ooters" - costumed spooks and ghouls who would burst out unexpectedly from dumpsters at appropriate moments in the stories. It was all in good fun - the costumes were so cheesy that there was no chance of real terror - but the old startle reflex kicked in a few times!