Exploring The Dark Side Of Edinburgh On A Ghost Tour
I am a huge fan of pretty much anything spooky or occult even though I am pretty much the jumpiest person you’ll ever meet, something which amuses my boyfriend to no end.
Going on a ghost tour has been on my Edinburgh bucket list since my first trip a few year’s back and finally this May bank holiday I managed to tick it off my list. Mercat Tours were the company we went with and not only do they run a variety of night time ghost tours of differing lengths they also run daytime tours so regardless of your interests there’s something for everyone.
We did the Doomed Dead and Buried tour which was 1 hr 45 minutes in total which took in the Blair Street Underground Vaults, Canongate Graveyard and plenty of gruesome tales from the Edinburgh past. The haunted underground vaults an only be accessed through Mercat tours which makes them really unique and something to not be missed.
We started our tour at 8.30 pm right on the high street so it was easy to find and there were guides around most of the evening with so many tours starting at different times which was nice as were about 15 minutes early but there was still someone there to greet us. Once our group had all arrived we were introduced to our guide for the evening and taken on a journey through some of Edinburgh’s street where we were told of tales of witches, being buried alive, tortures and so much more. Everything was so engaging and despite being a reasonably large group it didn’t feel overcrowded.
We then made our way down to the vaults where the air instantly got colder and I had to stop myself from jumping around every corner, thankfully this only happened once or twice. In darkness below ground you rely on the candle light from your guide and a few placed around the vaults so it definitely had a spooky feeling. I can totally see how and why some people feel supernatural things down in the vaults as there’s a different feeling down there, but regards of whether you believe in ghosts or not the stories were interesting and engaging.
After returning to the street level we made our way down to Canongate Graveyard which houses the graves of a number of famous figures like Adam Smith the father of economics and we were told the stories of body snatchers and death.
The 1 hour 45 minutes disappeared in a flash and before we knew it we were making our way back to the tram stop to head back to our hotel. Unlike other ghost tours I’ve been on which have seemed more novelty or fictional this had a real history edge to it and was thoroughly engaging because of it.
Have you ever been on a ghost tour?
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17 responses to “Exploring The Dark Side Of Edinburgh On A Ghost Tour”
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All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
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Ooh I love a good ghost tour! This one looks so interesting – the headstones in graveyards are always so fascinating to read – I always wonder about the people and their stories.
We absolutely loved our ghost tour with Mercat Tours when we went to Edinburgh for our honeymoon! So atmospheric, creepy and I loved exploring the warren of alleys underground!
Looks like an exciting ghost tour. I did one of these in London x
I’ve never been on a ghost tour but they sound fun…in a creepy way. I love that you have to rely on candle light to get around, very atmospheric!
We did this tour too when in Edinburough . It was fantastic. We even think we took a picture underground with some sort of thing …we adored the tales of long ago and what about those story tellers ? Awesome or what ?! Glad you enjoyed it just as much as we did !
OOoooooohhhhhh nooooo! I’m not keen on anything scary like that. But it does sound brilliant. The spookiest thing I’ve done is the bat walk in Regents Park – which obviously wasn’t meant to spook anyone. Haha! xx
Ooooh I’d love to do this tour. I’m sooo jumpy as well (yesterday I lept up and nearly fell on the floor when my father in law knocked on the back door!), but although these things scare me, I’m still drawn to them.
Oh this looks so good! There is a ghost tour in my local town, I must do it! Kaz
I haven’t been on one but would love to, especially somewhere like Edinburgh which does seem full of history. What fun!
Sounds really fun but I think I would have been really freaked out down in those vaults! I have never done a ghost tour before but it is always fun to try something new xx
I have always wanted to do a ghost tour but too afraid to venture and join one. This ghost tour in Edinburgh sounds scary, I am sure the stories made the tour more interesting.
Oh i would absolutely LOVE to go to this!! I am always up for going to something scary! xxx
Oh my god this is on my bucket list as well. Love anything spooky or strange. So want to do this one day. xx
Omg I cant believe you dared to do that, I would absolutely freak out as I am very scared of ghosts! Sounds like you had quite a spooky time š
Oh we did this when we went to Edinburgh too! My husband was convinced that he saw a ghost that night too, I have never ran so fast in my life!
We loved our trip to Edinburgh but this is something we didn’t end up doing! Will definitely need to arrange it next time š
Oh I love Edinburgh, I think we are heading back there for our mini-moon next summer so I will have to book onto this. xx