'Ghostly' figure is spotted lurking behind visitors

And if these images are anything to go by, visitors to the Real Mary King's Close may have good reason to be spooked.

Staff at the Royal Mile attraction, which provides tours of the underground closes where people lived, worked and died hundreds of years ago, claim a ghostly image has appeared in two photographs taken during two separate tours.

They were first alerted to the ghostly appearances last September when visitor Terence Halliwell pointed out that his souvenir photograph appeared to include an extra person who had not been on the tour.

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The following month another visitor had a similar experience and after comparing the two pictures staff say the ghostly image in both appears to be the same woman.

Lisa Robshaw, spokeswoman for the Real Mary King's Close, said: "We've long been associated with supernatural and unexplained stories. We've had sightings of shadowy figures who lurk in the myriad passageways, rooms and corners, and reports of lots of strange noises. These images seem to give us even more evidence.

"In both these images there appears to be a blurry ghostly image of a blonde-haired lady which we cannot explain, and we hope that by making the images public someone might be able to help.

"We've tested the static camera we use and it appears to be working normally, so we really do not have an explanation."

Mr Halliwell, who lives in Wigan, visited the attraction in September last year and sent a scanned image of the infrared photograph he bought at the end of the tour to staff at the attraction, after spotting an extra member in the group.

In his accompanying letter, he said: "I was looking at the photo we had purchased and noted a shadowy figure at the back of the group, and found it difficult to make out any of the individual's features. Intrigue got the better of us and we tried to remember how many of us were in the photo that was taken at the end of the tour.

"My partner and I agreed the number we remembered was 17, yet there are 18 in the picture. My partner rang the attraction, which confirmed that only 17 were admitted."

Mrs Robshaw denied the latest puzzler was simply a crafty publicity stunt.

It is not the first time a spooky image has been captured on camera at the attraction. In May 2008, the Evening News featured a photo taken at the close that appeared to show a spectral figure.

The image was captured just after midnight by the general manager, who was checking that the infrared camera had been switched off for the night.