Edinburgh is a gorgeously Gothic city crammed with towering spires and dark alleyways. There are plenty of opportunities to check out the Capital's horrific history with walking tours, trips into the haunted vaults or by visiting Edinburgh Dungeon (all of which are putting on extra shows and special performances through August). There are also a number of Fringe shows heading into darker territory and here are our ten favourite horror shows at this year's Festival.

Alive: Music for Night of the Living Dead
Modern Robot provide a live score to a specially edited version of George A Romero's ground breaking zombie feature.
ZOO, until 28 Aug (not 16), 10pm, £10 (£8).

Father of Lies
New play from Bête Noire Productions pitched as 'Making a Murderer meets Rosemary's Baby' retelling the story of a bloody murder in Germany, 1973, that had supernatural and Satanic links.
Silk, until 26 Aug, 4.20pm, free.

Midnight Beast: All Killer
The comedy pop / rap group return with a slasher themed show mixing blood, guts and comedy covers.
Pleasance Dome, until 28 Aug (not 15), 8.30pm, £9-£10.50 (£8–£9.50).

Nick Coyle: Queen of Wolves
Governess Frances Glass (aka Nick Coyle) provides the period horror tales with a comedic twist.
Underbelly Cowgate, until 27 Aug (not 15), 5.30pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).

Plan 9 From Outer Space
Ed Wood's sci-fi / horror disasterpiece comes to the stage in all it's creaking glory. Expect wooden acting, cardboard effects and unintentional laughs.
Sweet Grassmarket, 21–27 Aug, 7.30pm, £7 (£5).

Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead
Splatter classic Evil Dead 2 retold via the songs of Elvis Presley for a bizarre rock / gore mash up.
Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, until 27 Aug (not 15, 16, 22 & 23), midnight, £5 or Pay What You Want.

Séance
Confusingly there are two shows called Séance this festival. The first (at Summerhall) is a 15 minute pitch black exploration of superstition. The second (Sweet Grassmarket) is a recreation of a Victorian séance with Peter Antoniou.
Summerhall, until 26 Aug, times vary, £5; Sweet Grassmarket, 16 & 23 Aug, 12.30am, sold out.

Toxic Avenger: The Musical
A nerd is transformed into a hulking mutant superhero after being dunked in toxic sludge in this musical take on Troma's trashy low budget comedy.
Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 Aug (not 14), 10.30pm, £14–£17.50 (£12–£15.50).

The Twins Macabre: Double Feature
Horror comedy with creepy kids the Twins Macabre, mixing vaudevillian theatrics with morbid sketches.
52 Canoes, until 26 Aug (not 21), 6.45pm, free.

Will Seaward's Spooky Midnight Ghost Stories IV
End the night in the effervescent company of veteran teller of spooky stories Will Seaward back with his fourth instalment of nonsense ghostly tales.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 Aug (not 9, 4 & 21), midnight, £10 (£9).