Edinburgh - Dark History
Description
Ah, Edinburgh! They don't call it "The Jekyll & Hyde City" for nothing. During the day, a respectable figure, with its astonishing architecture and wondrous history. But when the sun sets, it tells an entirely different story... Hear all about the darker history of Edinburgh: murderers, thieves, cannibals, hangings and decapitations, witches, the Plague and streams of human waste. Learn about the most notorious citizens of Edinburgh and how ghost stories are born. This is not a ghost tour: we don't need costumes or people jumping from behind the corners, Edinburgh's Dark History itself is enough to make your skin crawl. And oh, how we love to share it with our visitors...
Tour Options
Itinerary
A walking tour down the Royal Mile of Edinburgh, where your guide will share with you the darker history of Edinburgh.
Former site of the Old Tollbooth, one of Edinburgh's most notorious buildings. Hear about some of the characters once imprisoned and/or executed here, and why it ultimately became recognised by Sir Walter Scott as the Hard of the Midlothian.
What seems like the car park hides a secret, as well as the burial place of one of the most controversial figures in Scottish history.
Another infamous execution site. Hear about the importance of the building in the life of the city, and about a literal killing machine which was once kept inside St. Giles Cathedral.
Walk down the Royal Mile, where you'll hear about some of Edinburgh's notorious citizens, the Black Plague, and how the city's poor sanitary conditions eventually led to a most peculiar tradition.
Learn about the architecture of 16th century Edinburgh, and witness one of the most "authentic" corners in the city centre.
Wander among graves of old, hearing about body snatchers, cannibals, and learn how ghost stories are born.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(893)
We had a great time! David is a wonderful storyteller, and we left the tour more well informed and inspired to visit the national museum to see some of the artefacts he told us about. This is not a ghost tour with made up stories, but the actual dark history of Edinburgh, which to us was much more interesting.
Toni was an excellent guide. Very informative and brought the tales to life.
What can I say .these chaps really know there stuff .the history the characters....my daughter and I had the best evening with our friend Baz who booked this as a surprise for us .....James was both knowledgeable and extremely funny telling the stories of the past and the folk that lived and worked in the places we walked ....I will definitely be doing another of Edgar's tours next year as we loved it ....
Grave robbers, assassins, executioners, and a cannibal - Robert delivered everything you'd expect from a dark history tour. He also surprised us with Philosophy, poetry, and a bit of economics. This tour was well worth taking.
Our guide, David, was highly knowledgeable and entertaining with some deep, dark facts on Edinburgh. Highly recommended!
Very enjoyable tour. The guide was knowledgeable and informative (think he was called either David or Matthew). The tour is honest and factual, a full 2 hours long so very good value for money. Would highly recommend.
Had to delete the first review, because apparently, the app switched our rating to 4/5 - it’s a clear 5/5 in our opinion! We really enjoyed the tour, and our guide Robert - not Fergusson, but a poet and master of words nonetheless - is just as charismatic as he is knowledgeable. Especially the end of the tour was touching to say the least. Cheers for your time and care, and cheers for keeping these stories alive to prevent a „second death“ to those who need to be remembered - one way or another. Greetings from the home of the Hexenhammer!
David was our guide and he is super knowledgeable and took us through Edinburgh's history of death, torture, disease, executions and more. It was immensely interesting and we really enjoyed the tour.
Our tour guide was Jack, though it really felt like I was walking with a longtime friend. The stories are fun and unique, making the 2 hour tour FLY by! This is also a tour that is mostly downhill. Which I highly recommend.
My boyfriend and I did the dark history tour with Kieran and had an absolute blast! He did a fantastic job of telling us some truly dark stories about Edinburgh that you definitely don’t hear from the other tour guides (and for good reason!). You can tell he has a passion for history and telling stories. We have an interest in the macabre and this tour satisfies that. We found it engaging and fascinating. Our only complaint was how fast it went by! We loved every moment of it and have already recommended it to others!
