Is it a ghost? Is it aliens? Is it the Northern Lights?
These are just a few of the questions thrown up by Edinburgh residents this week as mysterious lights have been spotted floating over the capital's sky this week.
White 'ghostly' illuminations have been spotted dancing across Edinburgh's night sky most evenings this week but we're here to reassure you that this isn't a job for the Men in Black.
One Twitter user wrote "Beams of light shooting into the Edinburgh sky. The end of days is nigh!" while another asked "Is there a light show happening at Edinburgh Castle tonight or is there an alien invasion?"
Fear not as it turns out that we don't have any out-of-this-world visitors in Edinburgh - they've must've heard the festival is cancelled!
The real sources of the lights are Edinburgh's empty festival venues, preparing to honour what would have been the start of the Edinburgh International Festival this weekend.
My Light Shines On (named as per the lyrics of Primal Scream's song Movin' On Up ) will see Edinburgh’s sky will be pierced by more than 260 powerful spotlights this Saturday evening - and venues have been practicing during the week, hence the bizarre lights floating over the capital.
At 9.30pm tomorrow many of Edinburgh's entertainment venues and concert halls across the capital will blast beams of light into the sky in one massive and incredible show.
The 'Ghost Lights' aptly named after the single light bulb that shines on stage when a theatre or venue is unoccupied or closed.
The lights will be projected into the sky for approximately three hours from 9.30pm on Saturday 8 August and can also be viewed on a live stream from the EIF here.
