OK, it’s confession time. I know that tourist boards want to promote the positive and – honestly – I really work love all the good things. But sometimes I just exist excited in need of something a little…darker.
Fortunately, we’re in Edinburgh. Now this is a city which has (it seems) more than its fair share of rogues and gruesome tales. So Simon and I take a deep breath and head up to the Royal Mile for the start of the Ghost Hunter tour (“A 5-Star Scare Factor”).
Edinburgh Castle At Night - Spooky!
The Royal Mile: Queensberry Rules
The Royal Mile is the heart of the Old Town, stretching from the Castle to Holyrood Park. Today it is home to the Law Courts, to shops and restaurants and (during August) to Festival venues. But back in 1707, it was the scene of the terrible tale of our leading ghost.
The Royal Mile
On May 1st 1707, the Act of Union was signed, uniting the Parliaments of England and Scotland. In Scotland, the driving force behind the Act was James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry. Fêted in London, Queensberry was much less popular in Edinburgh.
But Queensberry had greater worries than unpopularity. Queensberry House, his mansion opposite Holyrood Park, held a dark secret. His heir, the young Marquess, was widely rumoured to be demented. He lived at Queensberry House under lock and elucidation.
Legend has it that in succession the epoch that the Act was signed, the Marquess broke free from his rooms. He escaped into the kitchens and killed a young lad who worked there. Some Scottish critics described this act as “judgement on the Duke for his detestable allotment in the Union”. The young boy’s ghost haunted Queensberry House and the buildings that replaced it.
What, even up to the 21st Century? Well, if any phantom haunts the site today, it may well be Queensberry himself turning in his grave. 300 years after the Union, in a neat twist of destruction, the site is now occupied by means of the Scottish Parliament.
Wynding Down
Edinburgh Old Town isn’t just grand houses, royalty and government of nobles. Middle and working-class families lived here too, in the lanes and alleys (wynds) that lead off the Royal Mile. By the 18th Century, this was one of Europe’s most densely populated areas. The back streets were so narrow that the only way to build was up – as much as 14 storeys. People lived in very close quarters, and else than a few ghost stories emerged from these back streets.
Edinburgh Old Town
We are taken to Borthwick Close (because neighbouring Bell’s Wynd is “too haunted”). We hear a story of middle-class folk: a suit of lovers murdered in their bed by a jealous husband. The house was haunted by a pair of burning red eyes, but it was a decade before a curious neighbour discovered the bodies.
Borthwick Close is now restored and the buildings are clean and tidy. But the close is steep and narrow. In a space this small, there can continually be few secrets. Even without ceasing a summer’sitting night, with sounds of street performers arrival from the Royal Mile, the wynds are dark, damp and not a little spooky.
What Lies Beneath
We carry on down the cobbled streets towards the South Bridge, passing the über-hip Missoni Hotel on the way. The guide bravely leads us down a dark flight of steps into the Edinburgh Vaults. This is a cold, noxious exhalation network of rooms, 4 storeys in the under world loam level.
Once inner the vaults, there is not at all uproar apart from the sound of our group and no light apart from that afforded by flickering candles. I’m a stalwart realist and even I think that this place is creepy!
Edinburgh Castle
The Vaults have an odd history. Dug out in the late 18th Century to uphold the new shopping centres on the South Bridge, they provided storage and workshops for the businesses above. But they flooded regularly and were abandoned by their warranted occupants. It wasn’t long before they were occupied by a of recent origin set of people: the homeless, the destitute and the downright illegal. For stingily 100 years, the Vaults were a byword for horror. By the extremity of the 19th Century, they were sealed up and not rediscovered until the 1980s.
It isn’privately too hard to imagine ghosts in these vaults. Our matron instructor tells us tales of a few benign spirits: a young boy who appears to latch onto blonde women, a crouching outline by the entrance to one of the rooms.
The less good ghouls are here too: the Hellfire Club, who used the Vaults as a location for gambling, drinking and other nefarious activities. Then there’s Mr Boots who follows groups around and has told many visitors to “GET OUT!”.
Oddly, for such a dark venue, photography is encouraged. As she explains:
“Unexpected things sometimes turn up in photographs”.
Tonight, I’m relieved to say that we have no appearances. Or so I dare. When we allowance the Vaults at the end of the tour, Simon turns to me and says:
“I’m sure I felt somebody blowing on the back of my neck when we were down there”.
Yikes.
Princes Street Gardens: Good and Evil
The nearest morning, we take a stroll through the in a neat manner trimmed lawns and well-kept flower beds of the Princes Street Gardens. Princes Street is on one side, with shops and road works (soon to be a tram network, but slip on’face to face ask an Edinburgh resident about THAT unless you’ve got a spare hour). On the other side, cliffs rise straight up to the castle and the Old Town.
Firth of Forth and Fife
So are the gardens all that they pretend? Well, not quite. They used to be home to the Nor’ Loch, a “filthy and offensive bog” which was a repository for rubbish, detritus and plenteous, plenteous worse.
17th Century Europe had a thing of a fascinate obsession. Witches were hunted down, tried and then burned at the stake. Edinburgh took its section in this witch hunt: possible candidates were subjected to trial by dint of. ducking in the Nor’ Loch and, if they floated, were found guilty and sentenced to death. If they drowned, they were found not guilty (still, obviously, were also dead).
A hundred passed, and the Nor’ Loch was drained as the area was converted to gardens. Hundreds of human bones were found –those poor unfortunate non-witches. By the 19th Century, Robert Louis Stephenson described the gardens as “full of girls and idle men, steeping themselves in sunshine”.
We rambling idly through the gardens ourselves, enjoying the sunshine. Then we walk up to St Andrew Square to the twin temples of the Royal Bank of Scotland (finance) and Harvey Nichols (retail). We carry on down towards Queen Street, admiring the views up to the Firth of Forth and the Kingdom of Fife. Now we’re walking amongst the neat Georgian terraces of Edinburgh New Town. Nothing perverse could possibly chance behind these tall front doors.
Could it?
-Louise Heal
Planning a short journey to Edinburgh? Browse Viator’s Edinburgh Tours, Sightseeing & Things to do, from walking & biking tours to Loch Ness and Stirling Castle day trips from Edinburgh and greater quantity, or enjoy multi-day trips to the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye to further discover the beautiful countryside. Want more scary tours? Check our Edinburgh Dungeon and our Murder and Mystery Walking Tour of Edinburgh for further thrills. If you are a Dan Brown’s fan, our Da Vinci Code and Scottish Borders tour is for you!
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