Edinburgh Darkside Walking Tour: Mysteries, Murder and Legends
Description
See Edinburgh’s shady side. The gruesome and the glorious. The ghostly and the ghastly. This 2-hour tour is a wickedly entertaining walk on the wild and dark side of the Scottish capital. Explore the spots where murders, monsters and mayhem have become things of legend, and visit Old Calton Burial Ground or Canongate Kirkyard, two of Edinburgh’s most chilling cemeteries. Throughout the tour, hear real-life tales of witches, body-snatchers, vampires, cannibals and more from your entertaining guide.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, and then set off on foot to begin your walking tour of the city’s shade side. Edinburgh is crawling with odd activity, and there are tales of murderers, vampires, monsters and even cannibals that locals nervously recall to each other.
Feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end as your guide tells real-life tales of gore and gruesomeness, including stories about the witch trials that once took place here. Discover how the site is still used today for pagan rituals such as the Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival, and drink in 360-degree views of the city’s skyline.
Then, continue to the Old Calton Burial Ground, one of Edinburgh’s chilling cemeteries. See the imposing mausoleum that marks the final resting place of David Hume, who is said to have made a deal with the devil, and perhaps hear of the infamous body snatchers Burke and Hare.
Alternatively, visit the Canongate Kirkyard cemetery, which dates back to the 17th century. Rest assured, there is no staged gimmickry, monster masks or made-up stories on this tour.
After roughly two hours, your tour concludes at a local pub near the Royal Mile, where you can purchase a pint of beer or a dram of whisky to help cool your nerves after this entertaining and intriguing tour (own expense).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The independent guides who employ us to market their tours have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 2 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.
Reviews(3,904)
Tour guide Joe was brilliant, he was loud, funny and very informative. Would do this tour with Joe again,
Our guide was excellent and created a very immersive experience with all of the tales of Edinburgh’s dark past. I would happily take this tour again!
We really enjoyed our tour with Joe. He was super friendly, knowledgeable, and entertaining.
Excellent tour. Very informative. Its a great way to learn about the cemeteries. Its also a great time to do a tour as the city is less crowded at night.
A good, brisk tour of the city. Great views and gory insights into the local history of Edinburgh. Irish Mark was an informative and friendly guide.
The tour was great! Niamh was an excellent guide—friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging throughout. She made the experience enjoyable and memorable. Highly recommended!
I was looking for a good tour of the city that wasn’t “cheesy” and this one fit the bill. There was a lot of history mixed with some interesting stories. We also went to spots in the city that we would not have necessarily known to visit.
The walk was great with plenty of spooky stories and history. Our tour guide James was fantastic! Would pleasantly join another tour with him at the helm. Highly recommended.
Nimh was great and funny (kinda) 😁 Great tour with a born entertainer so clearly loves her town and sharing is history and mystery with others.
This was my favorite tour of our trip! Sandeman Tour guide was witty, funny, incredibly well informed and the entire tour was spellbinding!
