Women's Poetry Competition 2025 - Poetry (Single Poem) - Competitions : Mslexia, a magazine for women's writing and women who write.

On Saturday 30 August, we made a little bit of history: the very first LOUD WOMEN event in Scotland – at the legendary Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh. Billed as the most haunted pub in Scotland, it’s an actual labyrinth of caves and corridors (I got lost within five minutes). Beyond the Halloween props and plastic skeletons, there was definitely… something. Caro broke a string the second she got her guitar out, the lights flickered, I joked “oh no, we’ve angered the spirits” – and right on cue, the merch stand collapsed, untouched. (Though with the weight of our American guests’ merch mountain, we can’t entirely rule out gravity over ghouls.) Either way: willies well and truly put up us.

YouTube video by Grant McPhee

Alt: a woman in a denim jacket has the words 'do tell' in front of her

YouTube video by SheBeat Music

YouTube video by SheBeat Music