Dark Cities

GhostFest...

For five years now Edinburgh has opened itself to the world of the paranormal.  In 2005 tourist attraction The Real Mary King’s Close (there’s a fake one?) organised the first GhostFest and buoyed on with that initial success the annual event has gone from strength to strength and indeed there are now several other GhostFests throughout the UK.

The basic theme is one of celebrating the all round spookiness of a city and from that point of view Edinburgh qualifies – like many cities it claims to be the most haunted in the UK.  Throughout the ten days of the festival there are overnight investigations, talks and tours.  And one of the advantages is that it does allow you entrance to areas which are normally off limits.  For example this year I was able to visit two five star hotels and previously I have been backstage at the Playhouse Theatre and the amount of areas under the streets of Edinburgh I have traversed is unbelievable!

The range of events on offer appears to have something for everyone – there are full on overnight vigils, there are two hour demonstration sessions, Q and A sessions with ghosthunters, film sessions and even mini events for the kids!

One particular piece of ghost hunting that was well represented this year was EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomena.  A recording is made of someone asking a question and the recording is allowed to continue for a period after.  And in theory there is an answer to the question contained on the piece of recording that should be merely silence!  A technique popularised by Konstantin Raudive and featured in the neglected movie White Noise it is most definitely intriguing.  Nowadays it is carried out using voice activated Dictaphones – this has two advantages – if there is nothing there no recording is made so there is less silence to listen to and the files produced are easily transferred to computer for enhancement (ideally as little as possible).

I took part in a number of these sessions courtesy of Ghost Finders Scotland and found some intriguing results.  There are all sorts of potential explanations ranging from spirit voices to machine noise from the recorder, but the machines do sometimes appear to capture sounds that were apparently not there when the recording was made and if it is just mechanical noise from the recorder why isn’t it present all the time?  And in all honesty our brains do try to make sense of the world around them so it could be a classic case of paradolia where we try to fit random sounds to words, but when I asked if the spirit at Gilmerton Cove was willing to show itself it really did sound like it said “I already have you stupid bastard”!

All round the Edinburgh GhostFest is a welcome addition to the year round succession of festivals 

making Edinburgh THE place to be.

Gordon Rutter

One Man and his Dog...

Following on from yesterdays article, I felt compelled to visit the grave of the Great Laffayette and Beauty on the anniversary of his death today, to lay a single yellow rose on his grave in an act of remembrance. I previously imagined that the Edinburgh Magic Circle may possibly have commemorated the occasion. I got in touch with Trevor, one of their members, who informed me that the Edinburgh Magic Circle generally tend to focus more on modern magicians and their work. 

He added that most of those in the Circle are keen to learn tricks that they can put into practice. The sheer scale and complexity of the Great Laffayette's work was such that there is no way that anyone he knew could replicate anything near the magnificence of the Lion's Bride.

Ladies & Gentlemen - The Great Lafayette

In an article soon to be published here, I outline the bizarre final resting place of the 10th Duke of Hamilton. These next few words give a brief account of the strange death and final resting place of one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th Century, The Great Lafayette, aka Sigmund Neuberger.

Saturday 9 May marks the 98th anniversary of his death. This sensational stage magician was a friend of Harry Houdini and started his stage career imitating Ching Ling Fu. He very soon outshone both to become the highest-paid performer in vaudeville.

An eccentric man his constant companion was his dog, Beauty, which Houdini had gifted to him. Pampered with diamond studded collars and other expensive gifts, Beauty was also part of his stage act and he referred to her as a magician in her own right.

In 1911 they travelled to Edinburgh to perform sell out shows at the Empire Theatre. Tragically Beauty died leaving the Great Lafayette distraught. After much wrangling he received permission from the City of Edinburgh Council to have beauty buried within Piershill cemetery in the city. Complaints from the public included one sharp witted protester who pointed out that at the cemetery gates a sign read “no dogs allowed”. Permission was only granted with the proviso that this was Lafayettes plot and that when the time came he would be interred in the plot. Unbeknown to himself, he was to meet that end whilst still in Edinburgh just over a week later.

His performances were legendary. The ‘jewel in the crown’ of his illusions was an elaborate act titled ‘The Lions Bride’. This required a real Lion, a Horse and a cast of faithful performers. The secrecy surrounding his illusions was such that he would have the doors at the back of the stage locked to stop his competition from discovering how the tricks were performed. This was to be his downfall.

At the second performance on the evening of 9 May a Chinese lantern accidentally set light to the stage curtains. Thinking that it was part of the act the audience remained in their seats. The quick thinking orchestra conductor interrupted the performance by getting the orchestra to play ‘God Save the King’, which immediately had everyone on their feet. Seeing the fire continue to spread and realising that all was not well, the now panicking crowd managed amazingly to escape without harm. Another fate however befell the cast.

The Great Lafayette’s last recorded words were, “I must go back for my horse.” When he was next seen, it was his lifeless, blackened and charred remains. His features destroyed he was identified by the unique jewelled ring on his finger.  His identity established his body was sent to Glasgow for cremation. In the days that followed local newspapers included strange headlines such as ‘the bodies of the midgets were retrieved from the Empire Theatre today”.

Two days after the tragedy dumbfounded fire officers discovered the ‘real’ body of the Great Lafayette. It transpired that the first body had, in actual fact, been that of his body double that he used in his illusions (who as a quick aside, lived in a flat that was rented by our very own Mark Oxbrow, many, many years later).

The funeral procession set off from the undertakers W.T. Dunbar and Sons in Morrison Street on 14 May 1911 witnessed by a gathering of thousands

along the route to Piershill Cemetery. His popularity and eccentricity was such that this ‘show’ pulled a bigger crowd than the Royal visit to Edinburgh a few years earlier. His final performance was reportedly a spectacular sight to behold. His silver-grey Mercedes automobile carried his principle mourner, his

Dalmatian hound, Mabel! Standing on the running boards were his two black servants. The black horse-drawn carriage carrying his ashes contained in an urn, were taken from the carriage on arrival and

carefully placed within the grave where they now remain, Anubis like, between the paws of the preserved body of his great love Beauty!

Ian Robertson

Paranormal Quests in Edinburgh...

Ten years of one groups paranormal questing in Edinburgh

 

In April of this year the Edinburgh Fortean Society  celebrated its tenth anniversary with a totally self indulgent birthday party, and why not?  For ten years the group has met once a month (except in August when every venue you care to think of is taken over for some sort of performance courtesy of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) for talks on the esoteric and the paranormal.  From the initial meetings with only six or seven attending meetings regularly have forty interested participants. 

Each meeting takes the same format – a talk followed by a break and then a chance to question the speaker on their topic.  The meetings are held in a pub (currently The Illicit Still on Brougham Street, Tollcross) giving a very relaxing atmosphere.  During the two hours or so of the meetings the pub is closed to members of the public and the beer is served at a discounted rate.

The first talk was a look at the life of American author Charles Hoy Fort, a collector of oddities and bizarre information, and from whom the word Fortean comes from.  Subsequent talks have ranged over all manner of interest – alchemy, Rosslyn Chapel, Rennes le Chateau, conspiracy theories, ghosts, UFOs and Jack the Ripper to name but a few.  A full back history of the talks is covered at the website.

The group is very informal and there is a relaxed atmosphere throughout.  Speakers are always given the opportunity to put their case without any undue hassle and when the questions start its generally polite even though the questioner may not agree with the speaker.

I'll admit to having to declare an interest – I founded the group ten years ago and I still organise the meetings, but even if I didn't I'd still head along every month. 

Everyone who attends has an interest in some aspect of the paranormal or esoteric and due to the relaxed nature of a pub as a venue its an easy place to chat with like minded people.  All told it would be better if there were more of these events throughout the world (and since the inception of the Edinburgh Fortean Society some have followed in our footsteps and formed their own groups).  Big conventions and meetings are nice but they're over far too quickly and they're too infrequent as well as usually being somewhere you don't actually live.  And that's without the expense.  So yes this blog entry is a bit of an advert but it's also a challenge and a call to arms.  You've read this far so why not take the next step and form your own group?  All you need is a venue – pubs are good as they add an extra to the meetings – as an aside we meet on a Tuesday as that is a night when quite frankly no one else wants to use a function room on a Tuesday night (Fridays and Saturdays proved to be a big no no for the reason that other bookings were preferred such as high drinking birthday parties) and a few people to attend.  Local papers are a good source of publicity – put out a press release or offer an interview.  Once you've got in there quite a few people will hear about it and of course there is the internet – get a web site and advertise what's happening.  And of course the venue itself will usually be good for a poster or two (it's all extra business for them).  Now all you need is a speaker!  Speakers can be drawn from the group itself, local authors or have a look around the web for people you would like to talk to you and just email and invite them.  Costs can be covered by an entry charge although if you catch an author on a book tour they may well be willing to do it for free and the money you take in can subsidise a speaker with more expensive costs.  And one other thing that has helped us raise fund is the ever popular auction.  When we started charging for our talks I was going to drop the auctions but by popular demand they were quickly back.

It's work, it may take a bit ot time to get going but overall it's worth it. 

Go on you know you want to.

Gordon Rutter

Christmas Carols, Knights Templar, Cistercian Monks and a Goblin's Hall

Are you confused, concerned or just keen to find out more about the strange title that you’ve just read? Please read further and all will be revealed. What may sound sensational at first is actually a description of a day in the life or yours truly. (I know - I’m blessed!)

I was invited along to a Christmas carol service at Nunraw Abbey in East Lothian on Sunday 14 December which intrigued me because it was no ordinary carol service. Nunraw is a Cistercian Abbey and the carol service was organised on behalf of a group of Freemasonic Knights Templar. The wonderful irony with all this is that many see Freemasonry, wrongly, as being sectarian, anti-catholic and full of Satan worshipers. Another misconception is that Roman Catholics have a hatred of Freemasons which isn't the case. If truth be told, the origins of Freemasonry are to be found in the Incorporated Trades which were formed before the Protestant reformation and therefore Roman Catholic in origin!

Nunraw Abbey was the first Cistercian House to be founded in Scotland since the time of the Reformation which took hold in the 1560’s. Founded in 1946 Nunraw Abbey re-established the Catholic brotherhood in the Lothian’s which had once supported the medieval Knights Templar.

In 2006 the Freemasonic KT’s, under the District Grand Priory of the South East of Scotland, instigated a meeting with the Abbey to acknowledge the historical bond that the Cistercian Monks of Newbottle in Midlothian once had with the Templars. Since then, an annual service now takes place for Freemasons, their families and the Cistercians monks.

After attending what was an enjoyable service, I drove through the village of Gifford in East Lothian on my way home. In contrast to the service I’d just attended in celebration of “the Light of the World” legend states that Gifford harbours dark forces.

Centuries ago the Laird was a certain Sir Hugo de Giffard who was said to have been a Wizard. The castle of Yester which he was responsible for, was alleged to have been created by magical means. In a pact with the devil he raised a demonic army of Hobgoblins who built the castle for him which included a vault which became to home of the said goblins. Today all that remains of the castle is the vault, which the locals call the Goblin Ha’, a name also adopted by the local pub. Whether it’s all just a legendary tale or not, no local will venture anywhere near the ruins of the castle after dark.

Ian Robertson

St Andrews Day

The 30th of November is the feast day of St Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. Here in Scotland’s capital city, at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, an annual St Andrew’s day church service is held on the Sunday nearest to the feast day of the saint. Prior to the start of this service, a procession led by the Knights of the Most Ancient and Most Nobel Order of the Thistle marches into the Cathedral. On the jewel worn by members, St Andrew dressed in blue features, holding a white X shaped cross signifying the Saltire flag of the nation.

Membership of the Order of the Thistle is the highest national honour that a Scot can receive from the Monarch. St Giles Cathedral is the spiritual home of the Order containing as it does the beautiful Thistle Chapel built between 1909 and 1911 in a neo-gothic style by the famous Architect and Freemason Sir Robert Lorimer. The origins of the Order are now lost but it is generally accepted that a revival took place during the reign of James the VII of Scotland and II of England. What we certainly do know however is that St Andrew and the Saltire are to be found at the heart of many Scottish traditions and institutions.

The Scottish Freemason’s, who have a statue of St Andrew adorning their Grand Lodge in Edinburgh, venerate the saint even though it has always been accepted that the Patron Saints of Scottish Masonry are the two Holy St John’s. This aside and in keeping with national tradition, Scottish Freemasons chose St Andrew’s day to found their Grand Lodge in 1736. Nearly 300 years later, the Installation of the Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Ancient and Accepted Freemasons of Scotland still takes place on the Thursday closest to St Andrew’s day.

Taking these three saints together there does appear to be some interesting connections. St John the Baptist was the herald of Jesus Christ who had amongst his disciples both Andrew and John. John the Evangelist, as he was to become known, became the attributed author of the fourth and most mystical of the gospels. It is this gospel specifically that is adopted by many mystical groups, including the Freemasons, within their ceremonies. According to tradition it was also followers of the disciple John that were said to have first come to Scotland where they gave rise to Celtic Christianity. Apart from the Baptist himself, it was Andrew who first acknowledged Christ as the Messiah (according to John’s Gospel) after which both he and John became disciples of Jesus.

According to the famous Declaration of Arbroath sent to Pope John XXII in 1320 it state that the Scot’s were “almost the first to come to His most holy Faith”. It further state “He would not have them confirmed in the Faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles….. the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.” This fascinating document goes on to possibly hint that the Scot’s are in fact remnants of some the lost tribes of Israel! “Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today". Scythia is the area around the Steps of Russia where St Andrew was a missionary in the early days of the church.

The ‘Declaration’ was designed to assert Scotland’s position as an Independent Sovereign nation with King Robert Bruce as its head in the aftermath of the War of Independence against England. Another significant message in the document was that if the King were ever to betray the Scot’s they would choose another King. This statement was the first recorded instance in European history of the contractual theory of monarchy. The importance of the freedom of the people, which is explicitly stated within the document, greatly influenced the American Declaration of Independence - written by a number of Freemasons.

The martyrdom of St Andrew took place during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero on 30 November A.D. 60, where tradition states he was crucified on an X shaped cross. Later the Emperor Constantine, in 312 before the battle of Milvian Bridge had a vision from God in which he was told to mark the first two letters of Christ name in Greek, the Chi Rho, which includes a X, on the shields of his army. The sign appeared in the sky as he heard the words In Hoc Signo Vinces (In this sign you shall conquer). The emblem became known as Labarum and is thought to derive from a Celtic word though the etymology has never been proven. This legend became the basis of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity.

The Scottish legend that establishes St Andrew as its patron Saint makes reference to the Emperor Constantine. It claims that a man called Regulus or Rule was ordered by the Emperor to bring the relics of the saint to Constantinople, the newly created centre of the Eastern Christian Church. On route an angel visited Regulus and commanded him not to travel to Constantinople but to a faraway country at the edge of the world. This land was to become Scotland and the place where the relics were brought is now called St Andrew’s.

The blue and white Saltire flag of Scotland is the oldest standard in the British Commonwealth and it’s origins came about from a legendary account that mirrors the Constantine tale. In this legend the Pictish King Angus joins forces with the Irish Scot’s based in Argyle in an attempt to stop the advancing Northumbrians under King Athelstane from invading the Lowlands. In the year 756 AD, at the place now known as Athelstanford, the combined force beheld a miraculous white cross appear in the blue sky prior to the battle. They took this a divine sign and after their victory adopted the emblem as their standard.

One of the oldest examples of the Saltire that exists is on an old trade banner known as the Blue Blanket and is housed in the Trades Maiden Hospital in Edinburgh. A legendary account states that this was the first flag to be flown from the walls of Jerusalem after the Crusaders had taken the Holy city from the Moslems. Historians however do not accepted this but they do agree that it has been in existence from 1482 when during the reign of James III of Scotland he replaced an older banner in thanks for the citizens of Edinburgh negotiating his freedom.
As I write this short article on 30 November, I pour myself a ‘wee dram’ and raise it to St Andrew in thanks for the privileged position I find myself in. I am, and have been for the last four and a half years, the current custodian of the Blue Blanket of Edinburgh that bears his Saltire cross upon its now faded blue background.

Ian Robertson – St Andrew’s day 2008, Edinburgh, Scotland

Life, The Universe and Nothing

I've had the pleasure recently of delivering a number of intro to NLP workshop's over the last couple of months which have got me thinking again! Having studied NLP to Master Practitioner level and also Clinical Hypnosis I've always been fascinated by the fact that these interests converge with my esoteric interests in such splendid ways.

I've had the pleasure recently of delivering a number of intro to NLP workshop's over the last couple of months which have got me thinking again! Having studied NLP to Master Practitioner level and also Clinical Hypnosis I've always been fascinated by the fact that these interests converge with my esoteric interests in such splendid ways.

I'm not entirely sure (maybe someone can keep me right here?) but I think it was Blake who said that the World inside is more important then the world outside. With this in mind, the key to NLP for me is in the simplest yet most profound message at its core - People do not experience reality, they experience their thoughts and feelings about reality. The gift for us, in this simple statement is clear - if you want to change the world, change your own but start from the inside out. The majority of the population look out into the world for sense and meaning and for the means whereby they may make their LIVING.

The old classic 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill is still an astounding book. The language is a bit dated in some areas but the book itself is monumental and way better, in my opinion, to 'The Secret' which many are raving about these days. Having spent more than two decades interviewing the most commercially successful people in America back in the early part of the 20th Century, Napoleon Hill discovered that Desire followed by Belief and then followed by taking Action was the common denominator.

Mirroring this with the message at the heart of Alchemy, "As it is above, So it is below, As it is in the Outer, So it is in the Inner, As it is in the Great, So it is in the Small", we can begin to see that what we manifest in the world truly is the sum of our thoughts followed by actions.

On holiday this year I took a three tape course with me which I purchased many years ago from The Sorcerers Apprentice in Leeds (the UK's oldest Occult supplier). The course, 'Opening Gateways' pointed out in a similar way to NLP, that the way to 'mastery' is by thinking about thinking, or more particularly, noticing how we think and then directing it to effect changes in our consciousness.

It's no mistake therefore that Religious, Magical and Mystical approaches all similarly direct the 5 senses in ways deliberately designed to bring about altered states. Pathworking, creative visualization, focusing on an icon or a mandala, burning incense, offering the faithful bread and wine, physically acting out a ceremonial practice, using bells, gongs or organ music are all ways to direct and to stimulate, or manipulate the senses in order to bring about altered states of consciousness.

The ultimate aim for the practitioner is to perfect these exercises to a point where paradoxically their heightened awareness of the senses goes beyond the 5 senses and breaks free so that they can experience actual reality. Herein however, according to ancient wisdom, lies the greatest paradox - everything is nothing and nothing is everything.

Love to hear your comments
Ian