Travelling typically brings you to haunted attractions, right? There is a fascination with the ghoulish side of the city in many attractions across Edinburgh, a city that is no stranger to dark and ghostly tourism. Learn about the darker side of Scotland to gain an insight into Edinburgh’s past, and therefore to see how far the city has come since its dark past. Experience the spellbinding history as well as feel a few goose bumps.
What is Dark Tourism?
Visitors to dark tourism sites are likely to encounter suffering, violence, and death in the places they visit. Several things can be viewed as cultural experiences, from witnessing a historical event, to a fun exhibit about death masks, to experiencing a culture’s tragedy while on a holiday of a lifetime.
Professor John Lennon pioneered the notion of dark tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University in the 90s, which is timely given that Scotland is rife with gory tales, frightening legends, and eerie folklore that dates back for generations. In Edinburgh, what are some more “light-hearted” dark tourism sights that you might find intriguing to entice you in for a spooky getaway? Our list will reach much further than the city, so if you are flying in to the capital from another region, it may be worth considering enquiring about car hire at Edinburgh airport to get around this magical land.
Exploring Edinburgh’s Underground Chambers
Vaults in Edinburgh are tunnels beneath South Bridge in the centre of town lined with underground chambers. Many people mistakenly interpret them as underground roads, but were actually just a cluster of dens. In past years, many of Edinburgh’s less fortunate residents, including people hounded by thugs and people hunters, took refuge in the South Bridge vaults, which were used as drinking taverns, illegal trade, and refugee camps. Several legends suggest that the vaults in Edinburgh are cursed, and you can experience a ghost walk there to determine for yourself whether they are.
Gilmerton Cove is one of Edinburgh’s best-kept secrets, and it’s one of the city’s spookiest sections. An innocuous neighbourhood to the south of the city centre is buried under a series of man-made abysses. Despite its enchantment, Gilmerton Cove is only known to a few people, which only reinforces its status as one of Edinburgh’s more mysterious landmarks. Could it not have been a cavern filled with iniquity or perhaps an obscure passageway from a nearby castle to an exodus passage? Who knows!
Glencoe – The Scottish Highlands
If you are planning to travel up to the Highlands or explore Loch Ness, you will be passing via Glencoe. In spite of its tragic legacy, the hills of Glencoe are spectacular, and the landscape is drenched in a dark heritage, mostly tied with the Massacre of Glencoe…
Here’s how it goes. Archibald Campbell became acquainted with the MacDonald Clan whilst on a fortnightly excursion with his regiments in Scotland. In a welcoming nature, the MacDonalds graciously hosted Campbell and his comrades. However, one evening, following receiving a letter from the Secretary of State of Scotland, Campbell marched his cavalry into the clan and massacred several kinsmen of the MacDonald clan. There was no mercy for women or children, and there was a ferocious fire that ravaged a number of the MacDonald homes and made the surviving family members flee.
Gartloch Hospital – Abandoned Mental Institutions
Formerly a mental asylum and tuberculosis hospital, Gartloch shut down in the 1990s, leaving behind a dingy colonial residence that swiftly started to decay and fall apart. Gartloch became known for accounts of ghostly figures emerging out of one of the vacant hospital wings at the ruinous building, as is customary with abandoned buildings that once grappled with widespread sickness incidents. It is legally permissible to go to this now-disused old hospital (at your own risk), and you can continue to observe the foundations of Gartloch, despite the property being decrepit and uninhabited.
Edinburgh Ghost Tours
Several ghost tours are available in Edinburgh, including eerie bus excursions and explorations of cemeteries and underground chambers. On such a visit, you will encounter an abundance of Edinburgh haunted stories, delivered by guides who will make you want to tremble. The Royal Mile conducts frequent ghost tours, as well as lengthy, comprehensive tours encompassing several landmarks. The churches, graveyards and crypts of Edinburgh have been the setting of frequent ghost encounters, even by ‘reputable’ ghost chasing television broadcasts!
Eilean Donan Castle
Involved in the Jacobite Rebellion, Eilean Donan Castle is one of Scotland’s many notable castles. The disintegrating exterior and unstable architecture of the building, however, did not prevent former Jacobite companions from occupying it. Following its abandonment, the castle degraded for nearly a century until it was revived and restored at the turn of the century, when it became the breathtaking place you see today.
During a visit to Eilean Donan Castle, you will be immersed in Scotland’s fascinating history. It was where a youngster was said to have developed supernatural abilities after drinking from the skull of a raven. In her pursuit of validation, Clan Matheson descendant Janet acquired the capability of speaking to birds after following the tale’s instructions, which she later found to be true!
The Sombre Background Of The Grassmarket
A visit to the Grassmarket offers you a unique perspective of Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding area. A main thoroughfare in Edinburgh since the early 15th century, it housed trades, animal enclosures, pubs, and over-night stays. In addition, public hangings and capital punishment were also practised at the Grassmarket until they were eventually confined to prison.
The Enigma of Arthur’s Seat
If you were to read about mysterious or supernatural Edinburgh points of interest, you’d probably speculate how Arthurs Seat, the tallest point in Edinburgh, could squeeze into the conversation. Well, here it is. A number of young people exploring a mountain in the 19th century discovered miniature coffins containing intricate dolls.
There is no consensus on what they were intended for, and yet they are alleged to be made of cobbling components, so historians speculate they could have had something to do with the murders of Burke and Hare a decade prior. Theories vary, but some propose they’re land entombments of sailors lost at sea, or that the structures are part of a witchcraft ritual.
If you are short of plans this Halloween, book your trip to Scotland now to experience these dark and haunted locations.