From the 8th to the 17th of May, Edinburgh hosted its fifth annual Ghost Fest. The first regular happening of its kind, there are now other similar festivals all round the country, but Edinburgh is still by far the biggest. So, what was on offer this year for those brave enough to attend?

36 separate events were taking place throughout Edinburgh; some were repeated and a number were on at the same time as each other, leading to the inevitable clashes and problems of prioritisation. After poring over the programme (with its useful glossary for beginners and indications as to the suggested level of experience of attendees for each event) and the online version thereof, I was able to put forward a plan of action which would allow me to see as wide a range of events as possible.

The first event I attended was new for 2009 – an overnight ghost hunt from 9pm to 3am at the Malmaison Hotel, Leith, organised by North West Spirit Seekers. The building, in the docks area of Leith, was originally opened as a Seaman's Mission and subsequently served time as a house of ill repute, but is now a five star hotel. Arriving early, we went to the hotel bar (I refuse to go for the obligatory cheap shot about spirits at this point). At 9pm we all assembled in a meeting room which we would have for the night, and were introduced to the North West Spirit Seekers team, mediums and investigators alike. We then had a quick tour of the areas we were allowed to use – we did not, of course, have free rein of the hotel as it is a business and there were plenty of hotel patrons there (not quite sure what they made of it all, although I am reminded of an early scene in the Ghostbusters film where the team capture their first ghost in a hotel: We came, we saw, we kicked its ass). As well as our base we had access to three rooms – two bedrooms and one small meeting room of some sort which was full of (empty) wine bottles. Due to the healthy size of the group we were split into two teams; each group would do the same activities but at different times to ensure we had a level of comfort. First up for us was one of the bedrooms, a rather large affair with a four-poster bed and a cool bathroom. The group was offered the option of lights on or off after having been told that it basically made no difference to the spirits, and unfortunately the choice was made to operate in the dark. I guess people just feel intuitively that the darkness holds more things than are dreamt of in our everyday lives, and therefore must be more conducive to something paranormal actually happening. Two people were dispatched to the bathroom with dowsing rods and told to see what information they could glean – asking questions and getting answers according to whether the rods crossed or moved apart. When they reported back they told us that they had picked up on the spirit of a small girl. The rest of us were in the bedroom itself, and the range of techniques used included calling out, mediumistic channelling, an EMF meter and an infrared thermometer. All that we got from here was the medium telling us that she was picking up on a woman who had been stabbed in the stomach. In the second, slightly smaller, bedroom the medium picked up on a small girl called Lydia. Those who had used the divining rods previously felt that this was the same child they had picked up on. Use of a planchette here saw some impressive movements. The wine room basically yielded nothing at all and there were some attempts at using the equipment in our briefing room. All told a fairly quiet night, but if you don't look you don't find.

Next up was Investigating Haunting Experiences with Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe and Steve Parsons, held at the Real Mary King's Close. Some of the events at Ghost Fest tell you what an investigation is like, some describe things that have been found, and some give you a chance to try out the equipment in a controlled set of circumstances as you are led around in large groups. Most people are more than happy with this but some want a bit more, and that's what was on offer here. The whole idea behind the evening was that the participants would be part of a ghost hunt, carrying out the sort of tasks an overnight vigil would entail. So no sitting around hearing tales of past events; instead, we were given a quick set of instructions on how to use some pieces of equipment and then allowed to wander around the Close ourselves, just to familiarise ourselves with the area. After this we reconvened and were led around with pairs being placed in different locations. The idea was that we would be in an area (complete with chairs thankfully) and we would just go about our business, not particularly looking for ghosts. The idea being that when ghosts are generally experienced it's by people who are indeed just going about their normal business. So, time sat around doing nothing waiting for something to happen – very much like a genuine investigation. And I swear it was just a coincidence that I ended up in Chesney's House, supposedly one of the most haunted areas of the Close! But after an hour there was nothing to report. A quick gathering back together and then we were allowed to go and sit in whichever part of the Close we wished. Cue a rush to Chesney's; been there, done that. I remembered from previous visits an area that a certain medium had described as being packed full of spirits (she then said that it was so full that we had better leave), so we headed there and spent the next part of our vigil wandering this one room chatting and photographing whilst waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. After an ear-splitting whistle-blow we moved round and headed for a little section of the Close which is basically just an understairs storage area, but it had the advantage of being normally closed off and today we were allowed to go into it. I don't know how many times I have been to Mary King's Close for investigations and tours but I had never been in this particular section, so this was a welcome chance to poke my nose in somewhere I had never been. It was also another chance to sit around waiting for something to happen; again, nothing did. And that was the end of the session. I have no objections to the fact that nothing happened – after all if there was proof positive every time you looked for the paranormal then it would simply be a normal everyday event. This was a chance to take part in a genuine investigation rather than a show: a welcome change.

Investigating Haunting Experiences was rapidly followed by another overnight vigil, this time at the reputedly haunted South Niddry Street Vaults, in a section named Damnation Alley not always used in ghost tours. The evening started off with an introductory talk by paranormal investigator Archie Lawrie. Then we were introduced to the team which included two mediums, one of whom was a trainee. Basically this was a fairly quiet session: a few reports by the mediums and some low level EVP activity. At one point one of the mediums picked up on the spirit of a person who had been hanged, and he showed us where the event had taken place and said he could feel the rope around his neck when he stood there. We were all given a chance to stand in the same place and see if we experienced it. We didn't. As is often the case with these events, due to the numbers the group was split in two and apparently the other group was a bit more successful. For the final session we all met up and a séance was performed. The centre of the séance circle was occupied by two EMF meters, one of which went absolutely wild whilst the other one stayed silent; this was the biggest success of the night, but ultimately what does an EMF meter going off tell us? One thing it can mean is that my camera is focusing, I've discovered that in various investigations! In this instance it wasn't that, I can guarantee it.

Many think they know how to investigate the paranormal, so what better than to have an event looking at how not to investigate it! This was a talk by Ciaran O' Keeffe and Steve Parsons hosted in another five star hotel, the Scotsman, complete with its own cinema which was where the event, organised by The Real Mary King's Close, took place. It was an amusing journey through the investigations of O'Keeffe and Parsons, both of whom have been the resident skeptical parapsychologist on Living TV's Most Haunted. There are a lot of groups who could gain much of benefit by attending this talk. After a short break (enough time to grab a drink and a bite to eat) this ghostbusting pair moved on to The Real Mary King's Close itself, which was the venue for one of Living TV's Most Haunted programmes and it was on that programme that this event - In The Footsteps of Most Haunted - was based. It included demonstrations of how ghost hunting equipment is used and how it may not be all it seems to be. After all, the ubiquitous EMF meter is actually just a piece of equipment to measure changes in electromagnetic fields (so it can be used to detect hidden wiring) and there is no proof that ghosts (if they exist) disrupt these fields. Several other items had their myths busted as well and then alternative explanations were given for some of the events seen on the relevant Most Haunted, which most present had seen. A fun debunking.

During the course of the Ghost Fest several events were regrettably cancelled, including a ghost hunt with the stars of Hollyoaks (not something I had planned to attend) who, it turned out, were not able to make it, and a talk on the 'Dark Side of Hidden Edinburgh' with Archie Lawrie, which was an event I had planned to attend, cancelled due to a lack of bookings. Is this a sign of the current times, where people are having to watch the pennies a bit more closely?

On the Tuesday, attendance at the Edinburgh Fortean Society's regular talk precluded me attending any Ghost Fest events, but I was straight back into it on Wednesday with another new event, a Paranormal Investigation of Gilmerton Cove. Gilmerton Cove is a recently discovered warren of artificial caves and passageways which no one really knows the explanation for. The event was an investigation carried out by GhostFest regulars Ghost Finders Scotland. The evening started with a walk around with a medium who gave us her impressions and what she was picking up on. This included witches and secret meetings as well as drinking sessions and even baptisms. Next there was an attempt to communicate with spirits in the good old-fashioned way – a ouija board. One member of the investigating team stayed on the board and three participants joined them, with a chance for anyone who wanted to to take part. The first group didn't really get anything but slowly messages started to come. It appeared that the visiting spirits were not associated with the Cove but with one of us, an American who had travelled over specifically to take part in the Ghost Fest. Her mother was being channelled through the board; this was apparently a regular occurrence, with the mother hardly leaving her alone since she had died! We then went to the other end of the means of spirit communication in terms of technology – good old 20th-century EVP – recording onto blank tape and then playing it back and listening to the answers to questions that had been asked. Within the cove there is a pile of rubble: we asked what was behind it and were told to mind our own business! When the spirit was asked if it would show itself to us we were told “I already have you stupid bugger”.

Next was The Haunted Happening Tour of the Real Mary King's Close. This was another event which was cancelled but I wasn't actually told this so I ended up attending and taking part in one of their Supernatural History Tours by accident. I had seen these before so it wasn't something I would have chosen to go on. Not that there is anything wrong with it – it is indeed an entertaining hour with more ghost tales than a normal tour, and the guide and all other members of staff were particularly entertaining.

A pair of events with the Paradox Experience and North West Spirit Seekers next, firstly at the Real Mary King's Close, a ghost hunt and then an overnight at the Blair Street Vaults. For Paradox Experience we had Paul Rowlands, who takes a 21st-century approach to ghost hunting. Rowlands is an inventor and has put together all sorts of pieces of kit to aid in the search for proof of the afterlife. But we also had mediums on hand as well. The group was divided into two and we started off with the mediums. These mediums were not people that any of the team had previously worked with and obviously hadn't bothered introducing themselves to anyone, so when we arrived at the appointed location there was confusion as our guides were expecting to meet the mediums there; to be honest this was one of the highlights of the session! The two mediums both wanted to tell us what they were picking up on, fair enough, but they both wanted to tell us at the same time, so I may have experienced ultimate proof but it was lost in the lack of courtesy they showed for each other and for the audience. So on to Paul Rowlands and his equipment. I'll admit I saw him a couple of weeks ago and he'd explained what he had, why he had it and what he was doing with it. Then, he'd given some rationalisation of what was happening; not this time round. Rowland just launched into his investigation with the rest of us watching. No explanation of why he was using ultraviolet light. What was the purpose of his random light generator? How did his real time EVP-style communicator work? And the device that looked a theremin? The UV lights were switched on and no one was sure what was supposed to happen. The random light generator had three groups of lights – red, green and orange, and they flashed on randomly as the name implies. The idea was that Rowland would call out to the spirits to get them to flash in a non-random pattern. This was tried in Annie's room, a room supposedly haunted by the ghost of a 17th-century eight-year-old girl. I'm a 21st-century science geek and I wouldn't have a clue how to change the way the lights were flashing, so what hope for her? So basically this whole experience was not good. And for those of you paying attention, I did say I was then going to go to an overnight investigation with them. I had a drink in the pub to fortify myself, as I was wary to say the least. This overnight vigil was in Ghost Fest regular venue the Blair Street Vaults, and when I was greeted by Paul Rowland, North West Spirit Seekers and two new mediums - Davey Allan, who I had previously encountered at the South Niddry Street Vaults, and Ewan Irvine, both from Full Moon Investigations. The night started off in a meeting room where we were introduced to everyone in the teams, and what was going to happen was explained to us. We were then divided into two teams and each team was assigned half of the vaults - naturally we subsequently swapped over so we had a chance to look at the whole area. This was a whole different kettle of fish to the earlier part of the evening; the mediums, in particular, were much more professional. Ewan spent the night drawing pictures of the spirits he could see and passing messages on, some of Rowlands equipment was dispensed with and, perhaps most importantly, of all there were scratches! One member of the team (unfortunately the other team to the one I was in) suddenly had scratches appear on her back, quite marked red welts which she said were not there earlier in the evening. We had time to wander around ourselves, and it just worked better than the previous session - as it lasted for five hours I am glad it did!

The final event for me for this year, and indeed for Ghost Fest itself, was Close Encounter at the Real Mary Kings Close. Ghost Finders Scotland continued their five year investigation into the Close using a mixture of mediumship, calling out and EVP. Slightly cramped EVP sessions in Chesney's house were rewarded with quite definite noises recorded when there was absolute silence. Medium Linda reported various events and persons but came up with no definite proof that could be independently verified. And there was one participant who was most definitely overcome by it all – he experienced temperature changes and general unpleasant feelings, and seemed quite overcome by it all. All told a good end to Ghost Fest 2009. No conclusive proof but a lot of fun had by all.

Virtually everyone I spoke to at the festival - some of whom had travelled large distances to be there - seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and a number of people were participants at multiple events. Ghost Fest is getting quite a deserved following. Next year it looks as if there are changes afoot and Ghost Fest will be in a slightly different format, promisingly, one which should exclude clashing events.