This was a good idea. The Ghost Bus (it’s not ‘the ghostbusters’ it is The Ghost Bus Tours) does not just run during the Festival Fringe but the savvy company is doing something special for the event. The result? Tickets can be bought from the EdFringe.com website. Whoever made that happen deserves a pat on the back.
The show – and it is a show – is called Fright Bus Service, rather than Night Bus Service. Expect many puns from the livery on the bus. I noticed St Andrews Scare instead of St Andrews Square, Calton Hell rather than Calton Hill and Deadinburgh Castle rather than Edinburgh Castle.
The first challenge is getting on the bus. You have to wait outside the station at Waverley Bridge. This is a crowded place with all and sundry squeezing by and I had to dodge a few drunks. That’s just Edinburgh for you, though, and pretty much any and every city. The trick is to find the right stop. It’s the stop at the top of the Bridge, closest to Princess Street, and the bus turn up about 15 minutes before we were due on. The queue master makes the point that it doesn’t matter where you sit on the bus. That’s true to a point but we got there early to ensure we had a window seat and could sit together. I had to interject into the queue master’s sensible attempt to re-form the two queues that we’d been waiting a while and didn’t fancy being moved to the back even if he needed to move people around.
I think we’re both right. It’s dark so you can’t see terribly much from the windows but you can see the lit up city at night and that’s worth a look. It’s also worth taking a look at the inside of the necrobus as it’s been done up nicely. There’s almost a steampunk theme going on – just the natural mix of a bit of plush décor, with old style lighting, the chunky bus and touches of undertaker fashion.
If you’ve been on a bus tour you’ll know what to expect. As the bus ambles around the guide tells you relevant stories pertaining to the buildings being passed and the neighbourhood. As this is a ghost tour we learn about a few of Edinburgh many ghost stories.
But the Fright Bus Service is more than a tour. This is a theatre too; filed as comedy and a little spooky as well.
First up there’s the guide. He’s a mix of a real guide and some acting. Let’s not knock the acting either; far better than much of the fringe. There are other characters who get involved as well; the driver for example, who quickly became one of my favourites. This is as close to being in a play as I’d like to get.
You never have to crane your neck and one of the reasons why the claim “your seat doesn’t matter” is valid are the TV screens throughout the bus. No matter where you sit you should be able to see a screen. Most of the time you’ll watch the illuminated contortions of the guide’s face from the TVs but there are cameras all around the bus. As needed the view flicks from the top floor to the bottom or to other less contemporary angles.
Being able to see around the bus becomes important as reports that the bus itself might be involved in a few hauntings begin to surface.
Is it scary? On our trip there was a young girl at the top of the bus who seemed to be enjoying herself. There were, however, a few squeals from some of the passengers. The woman in front of me on one of the backward facing seats had a fixed expression of mixed emotion throughout the entire tour. I think it is fun scary and PG-suitable with just one swear I noticed.
Overall? Worth doing; even for locals. I think it might be fun to drag visiting friends, a work night out or even wedding party related groups onto the bus.
Looking for travel tips from locals? We've a things to do in Leith guide.
Leave a Reply