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Edinburgh Darkside Ghost Tour of Mysteries and Murder and Legends

3,298 Reviews 4.81 out of 5 stars Based on 3,298 traveler reviews collected by Cool Shore Excursions and TripAdvisor |
Recommended by 96% of reviewers
96% of reviewers gave this experience a rating of 4 or higher.
|
Badge of Excellence |Badge of Excellence This experience is highly rated by travelers and has met our top quality standards. Edinburgh, Scotland
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from $31.96 per person

Lowest Price Guarantee
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Don't miss out!
On average, this is booked 14 (0) days in advance.
2 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
Instant confirmation

Overview

Edinburgh sells itself on castles and tartan by day — but its real character was forged in the dark. Staying above ground, this walk through the Old Town uncovers the city's grimmer past: public executions and brutal justice, tales of hardship in the underground vaults, witch trials fuelled by royal obsession, and body snatchers who turned graves into a trade.

What sets it apart is that the ghost stories are anchored in documented history, not invented for a scare. Your licensed local guide separates the hauntings from the harsh reality that created them — from the Canongate Tolbooth's torture cells to Burke and Hare's murders — showing why a city shaped by disease, crime and superstition still unsettles everyone who walks its closes after dark.

What's Included

  • Professional guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Gratuities
See 2 more

Meeting Location

Meeting point

130 High Street
Edinburgh EH1 1QS, UK

Show on Google Maps

Detailed check-in instructions, including the exact address, are provided with your booking confirmation.

End point

Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8BN, UK

Your Edinburgh Dark Side Tour usually finishes by the Canongate Kirkyard, a 8-min walk away from the starting point of the tour. There are MANY great options for food and drinks in the area after your tour, and your guide will be happy to share their favorites.

What To Expect

Book Online

Our secure website provides real-time availability, instant confirmation, and free, no-hassle cancellations up to 24 hours before your tour begins.
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Edinburgh Old Town

Meet your guide at 130 High Street, in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, where the medieval city still funnels down the Royal Mile through a warren of narrow closes and hidden courtyards. It's the perfect place to begin a walk into the city's darker past.Your guide sets the scene: a cramped, teetering Old Town where thousands were once packed into towering tenements, and where disease, poverty and crime were daily companions. Public executions drew crowds, justice was harsh and swift, and the line between history and legend began to blur.Together we'll trace the themes of the evening — murder, punishment, witchcraft, body snatching and the ghosts said to linger still — and discover why Edinburgh is considered one of Europe's most haunted cities, a reputation shaped as much by real history as by tale.
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20 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Royal Mile

We make our way along the Royal Mile, the spine of medieval Edinburgh that once ran from the castle down to the palace, lined with the machinery of Scotland's capital — and its justice.Here your guide brings to life a time when punishment was public theatre. Hangings drew crowds as entertainment, thieves and murderers met the stocks and the pillory, and the Town Guard kept an uneasy order in the days before modern policing. Highwaymen, religious persecution and brutal sentences all played out on these very stones.Your guide shares the stories behind the spectacle — the hangings, the punishments for petty theft, and how the justice you received depended heavily on your wealth and status. On this street, the law was designed to be seen, and to be feared.
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20 minutes Admission Ticket Free

South Bridge- Edinburgh

Beneath the arches of South Bridge lies one of Edinburgh's most notorious secrets. Built in the 1780s to link the Old Town across the valley, the bridge concealed a honeycomb of vaults within its structure — spaces that soon took on a life of their own.Your guide descends into their story: how the vaults were first used for storage, then abandoned to damp and darkness, and finally became home to the city's poorest residents, living underground in appalling conditions. Illegal whisky stills, gambling dens and criminal hideouts all found shelter here, out of sight of the streets above.It's little wonder the vaults gained a reputation as one of Edinburgh's most haunted places — including the lingering legend of "Mr Boots," the menacing presence said to stalk the darkness. Your guide separates the reported hauntings from the grim reality that made them.
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15 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Old Calton Burial Ground

We arrive at Old Calton Cemetery, a hillside burial ground crowded with weathered Victorian monuments and watched over by the towering obelisk of the Political Martyrs' Monument.Your guide walks you among the graves, from the striking mausoleum of philosopher David Hume to the memorial for the Scottish Political Martyrs who fought for reform and paid dearly for it. Along the way, you'll learn to read the symbolism carved into Victorian gravestones — skulls, hourglasses and winged souls — and hear the stories of both the wealthy and the forgotten dead who lie here.This was also an age haunted by the fear of grave robbing, when families dreaded that a fresh burial might not stay undisturbed for long. Your guide shares the local ghost legends that still cling to this quiet, crowded hillside.
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10 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Calton Hill

Climbing Calton Hill, with its monuments and sweeping views over the city, your guide turns to older and stranger beliefs — the folklore, superstition and fear that shaped Scotland for centuries.This is the world of the Scottish witch trials, when thousands were accused of witchcraft and fear routinely outweighed evidence. Your guide explains the obsession of King James VI, whose personal crusade against witches helped unleash waves of persecution, and the superstitions, spirits and fairies that local legend attached to this very hill.It's a chance to understand how deeply belief in the supernatural ran through everyday life, and how that same fear fed Edinburgh's enduring reputation for hauntings — where the boundary between faith, folklore and terror was often impossible to see.
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15 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Jacob's Ladder

We descend Jacob's Ladder, the steep stone staircase that has long connected the Old Town above with the burial ground and streets below — a route with a darker purpose than its biblical name suggests.Your guide explains how this was once part of the road to the dead: funeral processions passed this way, executions took place nearby, and criminals were often buried close by without ceremony or mourning. The staircase's name carries a grim irony, a ladder between the living city and the resting places of its dead.Pausing on the steps, your guide shares the ghost stories and funeral traditions of old Edinburgh — the beliefs that surrounded death, and the tales of those said to still walk this passage between the worlds of the living and the departed.
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10 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Canongate Tolbooth

We stop at the Canongate Tolbooth, its turreted clock jutting out over the street — once a courthouse and prison at the heart of the burgh's justice.Your guide reveals the grim reality behind its handsome façade: the cramped, filthy conditions inside eighteenth-century prisons, where debtors and criminals were held together; the torture and interrogation used to extract confessions; and the public punishments ordered from within these walls. This was Edinburgh's legal system long before modern courts, and it left little room for mercy.From the Tolbooth, justice was designed to punish in full public view and to deter others through fear. Your guide brings that harsh world to life — a place where the threat of the law hung over rich and poor alike, though rarely in equal measure.
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15 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Canongate Kirkyard

Our walk ends at Canongate Kirkyard, a fitting place to close a tour of Edinburgh's dark side — for this is body-snatching country. In the early nineteenth century, the city's celebrated medical schools created a desperate demand for cadavers, and where demand ran high, dark trades followed.Your guide tells the notorious tale of Burke and Hare, who abandoned grave robbing for something worse — murdering victims to sell their fresh bodies to the anatomist Dr Robert Knox. You'll hear how terrified families guarded graves behind mortsafes and watch-houses, and how the scandal forced Parliament to pass the Anatomy Act of 1832.Standing among the graves, your guide draws the evening together: how many of Edinburgh's ghost stories are rooted in real history, and why a city shaped by disease, crime and superstition still fascinates all who walk its streets after dark.
Read more

15 minutes Admission Ticket Free

Show 7 more stops

Additional Info

  • Confirmation is instant and will be received at time of booking
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Our guides have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 2-2.5 hours, your tour may vary depending on what your guide thinks is best for your group.
  • We unfortunately do not advise guests in wheelchairs to join the Dark Side Tour, due to the narrow stairways and steep hills. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment caused.
  • Recommended for ages 10 and up. This tour covers murder, witch trials, and body-snatching through storytelling — spooky and atmospheric, but not graphic. Great for older kids and teens who enjoy a scare; parents of younger children may want to ask their guide about content in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions (7)

Q: What is the cancellation policy for the Edinburgh Darkside Ghost Tour of Mysteries and Murder and Legends?

A: You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund. For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the tour start time.If you cancel less than 24 hours before the tour start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.Any changes made less than 24 hours before the tour start time will not be accepted.Cut-off times are based on the tour local time (GMT).This tour requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund. Read more Apr 2025

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund.

Still have questions?

We're here to help.
Activity code: C-6785EDGHOST

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.81
3,298 reviews

Average 4.81 out of 5 stars based on 3,298 traveler reviews collected by Cool Shore Excursions and partner sites such as Cool Destinations and TripAdvisor

5 stars
2,919
4 stars
238
3 stars
75
2 stars
32
1 star
34
Don't miss out!
On average, this is booked 14 (0) days in advance.
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Frequently Asked Questions (7)

Activity name

The answers provided below were previously given in response to questions from Cool Shore Excursions customers.

Filter by:

Q: What is the cancellation policy for the Edinburgh Darkside Ghost Tour of Mysteries and Murder and Legends?
A:
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the tour for a full refund.
  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the tour start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the tour start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the tour start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the tour local time (GMT).
  • This tour requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Apr 2025
Q: What's included in the price?
A:
The following is included:
  • Professional guide.
The following is NOT included:
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off.
  • Gratuities.
Apr 2025
Q: What is the minimum age for this tour?
A:

There is no minimum age for this tour, so bring your wee one along for an adventure. This tour requires at least one adult to accompany children..

Apr 2025
Q: My date is not available in the calendar, I am just checking to see if it is available?
A:

If a date or time is not listed on the calendar, it’s sold out or unavailable for another reason. Support cannot assist further if a date or time is not on the calendar.

If you find a date and time that works for you, book it NOW because things always sell out at this time of year.

Apr 2025
Q: Is this an accessible tour?
A:

Accessibility information for the Edinburgh Darkside Ghost Tour of Mysteries and Murder and Legends is as follows:

  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Apr 2025
Q: Where is the meeting point for this activity?
A:

Detailed check-in instructions – including meeting point address, Google map, and parking information – for Edinburgh Darkside Ghost Tour of Mysteries and Murder and Legends will be included in your confirmation email from Cool Shore Excursions. Please be sure to double and triple check your email address is correct at checkout so this important email makes its way to you!

 

 

Mar 2024
Q: How long does a refund take to reach my card, and can I get it faster?
A:

Once your refund is processed, it usually shows on your card statement within 5–10 business days. The exact timing depends on your bank or card issuer.

Want it sooner? When you cancel, choose Receive a refund to my wallet instead. The credit is in your Wallet straight away and is applied automatically at checkout on your next booking when you’re signed in with the same email. You can see your balance any time in My Wallet.

If you paid part of your booking with Wallet credit, that part always goes back to your Wallet. Trip protection isn’t refundable.

Oct 2026

What's Included

Activity name

  • Professional guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Gratuities

Additional Info

Activity name

  • Confirmation is instant and will be received at time of booking
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Our guides have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 2-2.5 hours, your tour may vary depending on what your guide thinks is best for your group.
  • We unfortunately do not advise guests in wheelchairs to join the Dark Side Tour, due to the narrow stairways and steep hills. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment caused.
  • Recommended for ages 10 and up. This tour covers murder, witch trials, and body-snatching through storytelling — spooky and atmospheric, but not graphic. Great for older kids and teens who enjoy a scare; parents of younger children may want to ask their guide about content in advance.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Report Product Issue

Activity name