Edinburgh Darkside Walking Tour: Mysteries, Murder and Legends
4.8
3,416 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover the dark secrets of Edinburgh on this 2-hour walking tour. Explore chilling cemeteries, hear tales of witches and vampires, and discover the city's gruesome history.
Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Royal Mile - Meet your guide on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the main artery of the Old Town, and embark on your walking exploration of the city’s darker aspects. Edinburgh is teeming with strange occurrences, and the locals whisper of murderers, vampires, beasts, and even cannibals with trepidation.
  • North Bridge - Accompany your guide through shadowy courtyards and sinister backstreets, listening to harrowing accounts of hangings, killings, torment, apparitions, and sorcery. Then, proceed to the North Bridge, notorious for its grim past, before ascending Calton Hill.
  • Calton Hill - As your guide recounts authentic horror stories, including those of the historic witch trials, feel a shiver run down your spine. Learn about the hill’s current use for pagan celebrations like the Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival, while enjoying panoramic views of the cityscape.
  • Old Calton Burial Ground - Next, make your way to the Old Calton Burial Ground, one of Edinburgh’s haunting graveyards. Observe the grand tomb of David Hume, rumored to have struck a bargain with the devil, and possibly learn about the notorious resurrectionists Burke and Hare.
  • Canongate Kirk - Or, you might explore the Canongate Kirkyard cemetery, established in the 17th century. This tour is free from theatrical tricks, fabricated tales, or costumed creatures.
  • Edinburgh Old Town - Concluding after approximately two hours, your journey ends at a nearby tavern on the Royal Mile, where you’re invited to unwind with a beer or whisky at your own expense, following this captivating and eerie excursion.
What's Included
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Discover the dark corners of Edinburgh. The horrifying and the majestic. The supernatural and the horrifying. This 2-hour journey is an enticingly thrilling walk through the eerie and obscure side of Scotland’s capital. Step into the spots known for legends of murder, horrifying creatures, and chaos, and make a stop at Old Calton Burial Ground or Canongate Kirkyard, two of Edinburgh’s eeriest graveyards. Listen to actual stories of witches, grave-robbers, vampires, cannibals and more shared by your captivating guide throughout the tour.

  • The independent guides who employ us to market their tours have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 2 hours, your tour may vary depending on what your guide thinks is best for your group
  • We unfortunately do not advise guests in wheelchairs to join the Dark Side Tour, due to the narrow stairways and steep hills. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment caused.
Location
130 High St
High Street
The tours starts at 130 High Street (The Royal Mile), on the corner with Stevenlaw's Close. Look for the guide with the SANDEMANs red name badge.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(3416 Ratings)
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William_e
Jun 22, 2024
Eerie past in Edinburgh - Details about ghosts, hangings, witches. Good historical review. Background of tour guide made him most credible
Review provided by Viator
Sandrine_b
May 17, 2024
Great tour, thank you Belle! - We did the tour with Belle on Thursday evening and we really enjoyed it. Many thanks to Belle for her enthusiasm and good story telling. We’ll leave Edinburgh knowing many, although horrible, interesting facts/stories
Review provided by Viator
Karen_a
May 9, 2024
Worth every penny - Alisdair was great! We enjoyed our tour. He was very knowledgable and a great story teller. We got a lot of history and he brought the stories to life.
Review provided by Viator
Rebecca_g
Apr 1, 2024
Edinburgh after Dark! - Niamh is a very enthusiastic, entertaining, engaging and lovely guide! I learned so much from her colorful stories and animated story telling! I highly recommend this tour for all who want to learn more about the murders, mysteries and tales of Edinburgh!
Review provided by Viator
Michael_z
Jan 18, 2024
Good experience - Awesome experience. The content was gory and made me uncomfortable at times. Price was good and I learned quite a bit about the city. I thoroughly recommend it.
Review provided by Viator
Koty_m
Jan 12, 2024
Amazing! - One of my favorite tours in Edinburgh and Alisdair our guid was amazing!!! Definitely recommend if you're a fan of murders and mysteries!!
Review provided by Viator
Joelle_f
Jan 6, 2024
Interesting stories and funny guide! - My husband and I went on this tour on our first evening in Edinburgh. Alasdair, our guide, told interesting stories about the city’s past, the plague, murders, and legends. He was funny too! Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Rebecca_c
Jun 15, 2024
Would not do again - My friend and I took the Darkside tour on Thursday, June 6. The gentleman that gave her tour was very animated and pulled attention well. However, He felt that his tour would be better than the tour that we booked. (It was not his first time being a tour guide, but it was his first tour with this company.) Meaning that the locations that we booked the tour for were not going to be visited because he felt he created a better tour. He did not, in fact. Over half the tour spent walking back-and-forth between the same spots. The description of what we booked versus what we experienced certainly did not meet any of our expectations.
Review provided by Viator
Scenic27445800380
Mar 5, 2024
Tour guide scam? Not sure… - The pre-tour email said, “beware of unscrupulous people who will try to get you to come on their tours! Look for our red umbrella.” For my tour, I was careful to find the umbrella, the guide there had my name…great so far! But then this random woman walked up to the tour guide and they start talking - apparently there’s some mix up and this is actually her tour. She had no red umbrella, no means of checking people in….but the much more official tour guide is just like *shrug* and she leaves! This new tour guide didn’t take us to the graveyard or some of the other places featured in review photos. She then had everyone in the group scan a QR code to follow her on instagram. Many of the stories were interesting bits of history, but didn’t follow the theme of a spooky ghost tour. The pre-tour email also said that the tour would start and end in the same location, but our new tour guide just dumped us in a park at night. Everyone was asking how to get back. Not a great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anne_f
Apr 27, 2024
Was expecting psychological thriller and got slasher - Did an Edinburgh dark history tour last year with another tour company last year and it was brilliant. This one was terrible. The guide seemed to relish in gory details and was proud of making people faint. I was expecting more story and less slasher and was disappointed that some of the itinerary described was skipped.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 9 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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