Auld Spookie: Explore Edinburgh's Dark Past

Haunted Hotels and Attractions

Surgeons' Hall Museums in Newington houses one of the UK’s biggest pathology collections – it’s a huge archive of artworks, artefacts and anatomical specimens. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it is a museum with a genuine surprise around each corner and a key part of the stories of anatomy lecturer, Robert Knox and notorious 19th century murderers, Burke & Hare.

Down the road at the National Museum of Scotland, the ten metre-tall Millennium Clock Tower is dedicated to some of the darker events of the 20th century, but with some hopeful touches and lighter elements. Its bells toll every hour, on the hour. Another monument to past horrors can be found at Edinburgh Castle esplanade – the Witches Well is dedicated to the Edinburgh women accused of witchcraft between the 15th and 18th centuries.

But to really dig into the city’s past, you need to head underground. The Real Mary King’s Close offers hour-long guided tours of the 17th century street beneath the modern-day Royal Mile. You’ll investigate the buildings, learn about the residents, and get a glimpse into life in one of the city’s most notorious streets. At the other side of the Mile, Mercat Tours explore Edinburgh’s underground history via the South Bridge Vaults. Their History Walks delve into day-to-day life, while Ghost Tours lean into the darker and spookier aspects of life in the 1700s.

For the full experience, you’ll want to check into a hotel with a spooky past. City centre options include the luxurious Scotsman Hotel on North Bridge (spectres from its former life as a newspaper office make occasional appearances) or the decadent glamour of The Witchery (said to be haunted by those accused of witchcraft). Alternatively, head out of the city to Dalhousie Castle – it’s a modern luxury hotel in a 13th century castle, with frequent reports of ghostly sightings around the building and grounds.

Out and About

Princes Street Gardens – a lovely oasis of green in the heart of the city, right? Well, not always. The park was once the Nor Loch, a fetid manmade loch that served as a rubbish dump and execution site. The city's many historic graveyards, from the Old Calton Cemetery to Greyfriars Kirkyard (pictured below) also hold endless stories from the past. Edinburgh is full of history, but leave the classically spooky spots of the Old Town and there are more obscure moments from the city’s history to seek out.

One grizzly reminder of the city's past can be found, of all places, in leafy and residential Morningside. The Hanging Stanes, near the corner of Comiston Terrace and Braid Road, mark the spot where Henry O’R Neil and Thomas Kelly – the final highwaymen to be publicly hanged in Scotland – were executed. More recent Edinburgh history can be explored on Cramond Island. The outcrop in the Firth of Forth is filled with military fortifications, after the island was taken over by the military during World War II. The result is an unnerving mixture of wild landscape and brutalist concrete bunkers – check the tide times before setting off.

If you’re looking for something more ominous than outright spooky, a trip along the Water of Leith pathway will introduce you to six bronze figures by artist Anthony Gormley. The standing figures pop up at locations between Stockbridge and Leith, making for a relaxing autumn walk with the occasional eerie moment.

From a few slightly unexpected figures to hundreds of them, and the Samhuinn Fire Festival organised by the Beltane Fire Society. Taking place in Holyrood Park on Halloween night, it’s a mixture of drumming, acrobatics and immersive storytelling, sharing the pagan tale of the mythic battle between the Winter and Summer kings.

Spooky pubs and historic bars

In a city as storied as Edinburgh, it’s no surprise that the city is home to a raft of ‘haunted’ pubs and bars. The White Hart Inn on Grassmarket, thought to be Auld Reekie’s oldest pub, is reportedly haunted by a shadowy figure who moves beer barrels around the basement and slams doors behind them. An apparition, or a grumpy barman? Who can say.

From one door to another, The Beehive Inn just down the street hosts a particularly dark memento from Edinburgh’s past. The door from the ‘Death Cell’ at the city’s infamous Calton Jail can be found on the second floor, with a brief inscription above. Complete your trio of spooky Grassmarket pubs with a trip to The Last Drop, an atmospheric and homely pub at the sight of the last public hanging in the city in 1864.

On the Lawnmarket, Deacon Brodies tells the story of the real-life inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde in economical fashion – their sign features Brodie’s upstanding daytime persona on one side, and his terrible nighttime mode on the other. Inside it’s a traditional pub with a surprisingly interesting ceiling.

Even some of Edinburgh’s more alternative pubs have spooky tales to tell. The Banshee Labyrinth on Niddry Street lays claim to the title of ‘Scotland’s Most Haunted Pub’, but it’s also a fun, atmospheric bar in its own right. It’s a warren of booths and nooks, with regular live music and film screenings. Hidden away in the New Town, the Star Bar is another unique pub with cool decor, a beer garden, a jukebox… and a human skull apparently not to be moved, on pain of something terrible happening to the person who moves it. Yikes.

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Discover Edinburgh's haunted past today at edinburgh.org/storyneverends/dark-edinburgh/