Edinburgh is a city famous for its historical architecture and Victorian-era vibes. The city is steeped with history, with the past lingering around every corner of the old, cobbled streets and castles. The old castles and streets may fascinate you in daylight but can also potentially terrify you at night. From haunted graveyards to forgotten tunnels, Edinburgh ghost stories have always captivated imaginations. If you are someone who wants to know some of the spookiest ghost legends of the Scottish capital, this article is for you. It brings you the top 5 Edinburgh ghost stories that still scare the locals.
Edinburgh Ghost Stories
1. The Mackenzie Poltergeist – Greyfriars Kirkyard
The story of The Mackenzie Poltergeist is one of the most popular ghostly legends in Edinburgh. George Mackenzie, when alive, was popularly known as Bluidy Mackenzie for his horrifying punishments for religious Covenanters. He once locked hundreds of prisoners in a walled field located right next to Greyfriars Kirkyard. Many of those prisoners died there due to exposure.
Mackenzie’s mausoleum was later established in the same field. Locals soon figured out that the mausoleum was haunted. Many heard mysterious noises and spotted a coffin that moved itself. In the 1990s, an intruder broke into the building and opened the casket. That’s when all hell went loose.
The nearby residents started experiencing spooky occurrences like things moving and banging noises. Those who visited the Covenanter’s prison came back with scratches and bruises. An exorcist reported the energy being so big he thought it might kill him and that’s exactly what happened weeks later.
2. Johnny One Arm
This one of the Edinburgh ghost stories dates back to the 17th century. The court ordered John Chiesley to pay a huge sum for child maintenance. This infuriated John and he rained angry curses at Sir George Lockhart. The judge wasn’t really bothered. However, it did a few months later when Sir George was returning from a service at the nearby church.
He felt someone following him and he hurriedly reached his home. When he was fumbling with his keys he heard a voice calling him. He turned around only to find John Chiesley with a gun in his hand. John was later executed for murdering an influential figure. His legs were broken, the hand holding the gun was chopped off and he was hung. His body mysteriously disappeared after execution.
Soon the locals started spotting a ghostly one-armed figure haunting the streets of Edinburgh. In 1965, the renovations of Dalry began. A skeleton was discovered with one arm and a pistol wrapped around his neck. The locals assumed it was John Chiesley and the skeleton was buried. Soon after, the ghostly sightings stopped.
3. Edinburgh Castle’s Ghostly Piper
During the supposed renovation of Edinburgh Castle into a modern military barack around 200 years ago, the authorities found a mysterious small tunnel. The tunnel discovered was so small only a child could get through it. To figure out where the tunnel goes, the authorities sent an orphan boy into the tunnel with a bagpipe to locate him.
The officials followed the sound of the bagpipe all the way to Tron Kirk. However, when they thought the tunnel would open at Holyrood Palace, the sound mysteriously stopped. No one knew what happened to the boy and the tunnel’s known end was sealed with bricks. Some say they heard the sound of the pipe at night when the town was usually silent. The ghost of that little orphan boy is still trying to find his way inside the tunnel.
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4. Victoria Street’s Ghostly Wizard
Major Thomas Weir was assumed to be living a respectable simple life in the crooked West Bow. He was on his deathbed when Weir suddenly confessed all his evil practices throughout his life. He confessed how he was involved in witchcraft and an incestuous relationship with his sister Jean. At first, people thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but later, Jean testified his statement.
His sister revealed how he made a pact with the Devil to lead him to the Dalkeith. The locals begged Weir to apologise for his evil doings. However, Weir refused, saying he lived like a beast and would die as a beast, too. The brother-sister duo was then burned for witchcraft. If you believe the local legends, his soul never left, and he still haunts Victoria Street.
5. Dean Village’s Ghostly Sailor
This story dates back to the 19th century when Mrs Gordon, along with her daughter, moved into the village. She loved her accommodation because the rooms above their house were empty. This means the nights will have no disturbances. However, to her horror, she woke up to banging noises from the upper floor. She soon started feeling a weird presence in her room.
One night her daughter decided to sleep in her mother’s room. However, when she reached for the door something barged past her and she followed the thing. At the top floor, she spotted a dark figure standing beside an old granddaughter clock. The figure then suddenly looked at her, and she panicked, running away, hiding under her blanket till her mother returned home. After that night, the ghostly visits became regular. Spooked, the mother-daughter duo left the house.
They later found out that the house was earlier the residence of a drunkard sailor. One fateful night, when a baby was crying loudly on the top floor, he shook the baby to death in a drunken fury. He later panicked and hid the body of the baby in the grandfather clock. It seems the ghost of that sailor is forced to relive that horrible crime.
