A network of underground medieval streets in Edinburgh is to get a Jorvik-style makeover, writes Joanne O'Connor.

Mary King's Close, the site of an outbreak of bubonic plague, was buried beneath the Royal Exchange building (now the City Chambers) in 1753 and quickly gained a reputation for being haunted. Guided ghost walks through the subterranean streets and empty medieval houses have been available for several years, but Continuum Group, the company which runs the Jorvik Viking centre in York, the Oxford Story and the Canterbury Tales, will begin work later this year on creating a more interactive and visitor-friendly attraction.

'It's not going to be as high-tech as Jorvik, but we will be using tableaux and costumed guides to present, in a realistic and atmospheric way, the amazing history of the site and its ghost stories,' said managing director Juliana Delaney. Work will begin on Mary King's Close at the end of this year. Until then, guided tours of the street are available with Mercat Tours (0131 557 6464, www.mercattours.com).