Fright Night: Edinburgh's most haunted spots for Halloween
Give yourself a proper scare this Halloween and pay a visit to Edinburgh’s most haunted spots...
EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE THEATRE
The next time you’ve got tickets to a show, ask the man sitting next to you if he’s called Albert. If he is, you might want to change seats. Albert, believed to be an old maintenance man or stage hand who somehow died in the building, has been seen wearing grey overalls and likes to walk through walls, jangle keys, slam doors and poke people in the back. Still, he doesn’t seem to be a malevolent spirit. In fact he’s become a part of the Playhouse family – the theatre bar, Albert’s, is named in his honour. playhousetheatre.com
THE REAL MARY KING'S CLOSE
Not actually a close but a warren of narrow underground streets, Mary King’s Close was once open, busy and bustling. However, it was closed in the 18th century when the buildings were cropped and used to form the foundations of the City Chambers above. Fast forward to 2003 and the underground close reopened to the public and is now the site of a hugely popular tourist attraction, The Real Mary King’s Close. Their Halloween tour, Condemned, runs 13, 14, 19, 20 & 21 October at 22.15pm and explores Edinburgh’s history with the occult, telling the stories of its infamous accomplices and most ardent opponents. Tickets £16.95, available from realmarykingsclose.com.
GREYFRIAR'S KIRKYARD
Not only is this one of the most haunted places in the city, it’s said to be one of the most haunted places in the world. Enter the MacKenzie Poltergeist, ghost of George MacKenzie, a 17th-century lawyer responsible for the deaths of around 18,000 of King Charles II opponents, many of whom were imprisoned inside a section of the Greyfriars Kirkyard called the Covenanter’s Prison. There have been hundreds of documented cases of people suffering unexplained bruises and burns, as well as people passing out, during tours of the cemetery. Rather you than me. Tickets £11, available from cityofthedeadtours.com.
