Hold Tight: Dare You Visit the Dungeon?

The Scotsman › September 15, 2009

Linked as:

Summary

We are sitting on benches in a courtroom, when a woman wearing voluminous black robes and a white powder wig calls us to attention. We, she decides, are pitiful sinners who shall suffer the consequences of our misdemeanours. I am hauled out and cross- examined, accused of wearing women's clothes and found guilty by our judge. Another is accused of being the phantom farter.

Welcome to Edinburgh Dungeon, where all the gruesome bits of the city's history have been distilled into a hi-tech attraction where actors portraying various characters play out different scenarios. After our court appearance, we are led to a torture chamber, where we are regaled in lurid detail with various methods of torture, from the tongue tearer to the castrator. Then we are off to a recreation of Mary King's Close, where plague and tragedy resulted in a ghostly haunting - cue dry ice, spooky clanking and wails. It is all very slick and our party of ten and 11-year-old girls are entranced. They are just at the right age, able to discern the tongue-in-cheek humour and enjoy the shocks and dramatic moments built into the various stories.