The traine carried me from the heart of London--King's Cross to Edinburgh's Waverly Station, traveling through the wilderness of England, pretty much like what was described in Wuthering Heights, till a lovely town appeared, with beautiful castles built on slope mountains and with the sea in the distance.
I had a strange dream the night before I came to Edinburgh. I dreamed that Edinburgh was my home city and that I was coming to get together with my parents. I was so busy with my parents that I forgot I had an appointment with James--the renowned producer from Scotland.
I was really surprised that I was asking someone for directions at the Waverly Station, when James suddenly showed up, holding a piece of paper with my name on it. He was such a kind and humble gentleman. I believe the more achievements one gains, the more humble he may become. He told me about this town, the history of Scotland and England, showed me a few places of interest, especially a well-kept Georgian house. He took me to lunch, and talked about my project. He also handed me a leaflet about Mary King's Close.
Just a few minutes' walk from the world famous creepy Mary King's Close, I stayed at a castle hotel at 493 James' Court at Lawnmarket, on the best street in Edinburgh--Royal Mile, a medieval street with a history of several hundred years. My flat was in a medieval castle with a deep rock stairwell and without an elevator. However, the interior of my hotel suite was quite modern and fully furnished. I had a cozy, Ikea style, bedroom, a spacious living room with an open kitchen and a neat and clean bathroom. Outside my windows were erecting medieval fortresses overlooking mine. I felt like I was living at the time of The Lord of the Rings.
Unfortunately in my hotel suite there was no broadband or wireless Internet access, no telephone. I was totally isolated from the world. I tried to make phone calls in the telephone booth down on Royal Mile, but the telephones here all like to swallow coins for no reasons. From London to Edinburgh, the public telephones had swallowed quite a few pounds.
So, at night I wanted to take a walk on the Royal Mile. Just as I got downstairs, a creepy man stalked me. He had the audacity to ask me, "What are you looking for here?" I answered, "I live here?" The he asked me, "Oh, you live here? How much is it? I said 69 pounds per night. He said, "Oh my God, so expensive! Can I have a look at your place?" It really freaked me out. I said, "No, you can't. You should call the manager if you want to have a look."
I walked away, and he followed me behind. I asked him, "Is there anything I can do for you?" He said no. He told me he was from Turkey. I was not surprised since Turkish and Arab men were all stalkers. I began to walk faster and finally got rid of him.
Then I came to Mary King's Close...
The adventure at Mary King's Close truly inspired me to new ideas for screenwriting... Although little was known about Mary King, I could imagine she was such a great mother of four lovely kids and such a capable woman who lived on her own after her husband died. She ran her own business and had a comfortable life. However, disaster came one day, when plague was brought to Scotland from mainland Europe. This family was kept in their house, starving to death. They all became ghosts and haunted Edinburgh for hundreds of years... I could still hear them sighing, groaning and murmuring.
Interestingly, our tour guide, a creepy-looking girl with a heavy Scottish accent, was a master of The Lord of Rings. She and another girl working at the Mary King's Close souvenirs' shop, told me that they were used to working there and were not scared at all. They were all fine, and they had never really seen a ghost. But they agreed that some people who had more spiritual ability claimed they saw ghosts down there.
There, I met an American family. We chatted and laughed out loud on the street.
At night I went to the pub downstairs for the wireless Internet service, but it was very unstable--it was disconnected soon after I checked my emails. Like I said before, in a place where there were few Chinese, the locals might cast a look at you, and now it was at a local pub. The singer from the live band even did a self-promotion to me upon seeing me entering.
In my hotel suite I turned on all the lights--the lights in my living room, in my bathroom and the table lamp on my bedside table, since I heard that ghosts were afraid of light, but not afraid of dark. I covered my eyes with the blanket, till I fell asleep... The castles around were all asleep.
This morning I had another haunted tour at the Edinburgh Castle. It was amazing. I was surprised that there were so many tourists from all over China. I bought a beautiful medieval style plate, making sure that they produced only a limited number of them. I had quite a few encounters and seized the opportunity to chat with a few interesting people. People would directly ask me, "Are you from China?" And they all told me about their life here. Most people liked to talk about rent and mortgage. I guess those two things were their major concern in their life.
I walked through the shopping area. I had the eye for the unique piece and filled my bag with good stuff.
Edinburgh will always haunt me.
10/18/2007
