Edinburgh Zoo after dark

Life at Edinburgh Zoo has a much spookier vibe once the visitors have gone home. We caught up with two of our staff members, Darren McGarry, head of living collections, who actually lives on site to find out what goes bump in the night at the zoo.

Here’s what spooky season is like when you live where the wild things really are.

What's it like living at the zoo after dark – any strange noises or spooky shadows?

• There's lots of wildlife around, not including the expected! Badgers and foxes particularly but also buzzards. We do hear the roar of the lions or hoot of the gibbons but to be honest, I've become used to most of it now. I only really notice if it's a different type of noise, like an alarm call from an animal. 

Have you ever had a Halloween moment at the zoo? Something that gave you a chill or made you do a double take?

• I've definitely had people scare me in the zoo when I was walking through. I don't really go into details about living in the zoo because people may find this particularly interesting and try to seek out my house. I have ended up bumping into people because its dark and sometimes you don't see who's there. We have no street lighting so sometimes I'll hear a rustle in the bushes – more often than not, it's just a badger so it's all good.

Which animal at the zoo would you cast in a horror movie and why?

• We have lots of bats in the zoo at night. Wild bats flying around and you can sometimes feel them swooping past you...to drink your blood!

There are rumours Edinburgh Zoo is haunted, what kind of ghosts do you think live here and have you had any experiences with them?

• I've had lots of strange experiences. The animal hospital was used regularly in the 80's and 90's for hand rearing of animals and I would hear the door open and feet walking along the corridor to the room I was in but no-one appeared. This was regular. I've also heard footsteps in the mansion house at night and heard doors opening and shutting when no-one else was inside. I've also had door handles turned in the night and the feeling of someone sitting on the end of my bed. This was all when I lived in the mansion house, I've not had this in my current house.