Edinburgh wears its dark history openly. Beneath the closes of the Old Town, along the Grassmarket where the gallows once stood, and out in quiet suburbs most visitors never reach, the city keeps a long catalogue of murders, hangings, body-snatchers and restless dead. Some of these stories are grim fact, some are folklore polished by centuries of retelling, and a few are pure theatre built for a good night out.
This guide pulls together ten of the city’s most memorable legends and spooky locations — the true crimes that shocked Georgian Edinburgh, the haunted kirkyards and vaults, the hidden oddities in ordinary streets, and the pubs that lean happily into their ghosts. Each links through to a full page with the story, the practical details and how to visit.
Burke and Hare
LegendThe 1828 murders that supplied sixteen fresh bodies to Edinburgh’s anatomy schools. Burke was hanged and publicly dissected; Hare turned King’s evidence and walked free.
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Maggie Dickson
LegendHanged in 1724, she woke up in her coffin on the cart home and lived another forty years. A Grassmarket pub still carries her name.
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Deacon Brodie
LegendRespectable cabinetmaker by day, burglar by night — the double life that helped inspire Jekyll and Hyde. Hanged on a gallows design he had improved.
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Haunted Cemeteries
Haunted SiteGreyfriars Kirkyard, the Covenanters’ Prison and the Mackenzie Poltergeist. Edinburgh’s kirkyards hold far more than the dead.
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Colinton Tunnel
Hidden GemA disused railway tunnel painted end to end with Scotland’s longest heritage mural. Vivid by day, distinctly uneasy after dark.
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The Wild West
Hidden GemA full cowboy main street hidden behind genteel Morningside — saloon fronts, a jail and a totem pole almost nobody expects to find.
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Frankenstein’s
Haunted PubA former church reworked into a gothic-horror pub, complete with a monster that descends from the ceiling on the hour. Theatrical rather than genuinely eerie.
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The Banshee Labyrinth
Haunted PubBuilt into the South Bridge Vaults and billed as Scotland’s most haunted pub. Gigs and cinema upstairs, cold stone tunnels below.
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The White Hart Inn
Haunted PubEdinburgh’s oldest pub, pouring since 1516, with Burke and Hare among its former regulars. The cellars are said to be anything but quiet.
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The Cauldron
ExperienceA potion-making cocktail bar where you brew colour-changing drinks with a wand. Playful witchcraft, not a haunting — but it fits the theme.
Read the Story →Legends and Spooky Locations at a Glance
| Place | Type | Area | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke and Hare | Legend | West Port | True crime | Free walk |
| Maggie Dickson | Legend | Grassmarket | True crime | Free |
| Deacon Brodie | Legend | Lawnmarket | True crime | Free |
| Haunted Cemeteries | Haunted Site | Old Town | Ghost tours | Free / tour |
| Colinton Tunnel | Hidden Gem | Colinton | Photography | Free |
| The Wild West | Hidden Gem | Morningside | Curiosities | Free |
| Frankenstein’s | Haunted Pub | George IV Bridge | Themed night | Pub |
| The Banshee Labyrinth | Haunted Pub | Niddry Street | Live music | Pub |
| The White Hart Inn | Haunted Pub | Grassmarket | Oldest pub | Pub |
| The Cauldron | Experience | Frederick Street | Cocktails | Booking |
How to Choose Where to Start
If you want the real history, begin with the true-crime stories. Burke and Hare is the darkest and best documented, and it ties neatly to a drink at The White Hart Inn, where the pair are said to have drunk. Deacon Brodie and Maggie Dickson both have pubs named after them, so they double as an easy Old Town walk with plenty of stops.
For atmosphere over facts, the vaults and kirkyards deliver most. The haunted cemeteries are free to wander by day, while a guided evening tour of the South Bridge Vaults — which sit beneath the Banshee Labyrinth — is where people report the genuinely unsettling encounters. If you are travelling with children or simply want something odd rather than frightening, the Colinton Tunnel and the hidden Wild West street in Morningside are daytime curiosities that cost nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Edinburgh legend is actually true?
Several are firmly historical. Burke and Hare really did murder sixteen people in 1828, Deacon Brodie was a real town councillor hanged in 1788, and Maggie Dickson genuinely survived her 1724 hanging. The ghost stories attached to the cemeteries and vaults are folklore rather than fact.
What is the most haunted place in Edinburgh?
The Covenanters’ Prison in Greyfriars Kirkyard and the South Bridge Vaults are the two sites most often named. The vaults, reached on guided tours near the Banshee Labyrinth, produce the most reported cold spots and unexplained encounters.
Are these locations free to visit?
Most of the outdoor sites — the kirkyards, Colinton Tunnel, the Wild West street and the pub exteriors — are free. Guided ghost and vault tours are paid, and the haunted pubs simply ask that you buy a drink. The Cauldron is a bookable experience.
Can I see these on a self-guided walk?
Yes. The true-crime sites and haunted pubs cluster in the Old Town and Grassmarket, walkable in an afternoon. Colinton and Morningside sit in the suburbs and are best paired with a short bus ride or added on a separate outing.