Edinburgh Underground City of the Dead Tour: Exploring Damnation Alley's Haunted Tunnels
4.5
199 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover the secrets of Edinburgh's haunted underground city on this award-winning guided tour. Explore Damnation Alley's haunted tunnels and hear chilling stories of the city's dark past.
Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • City of the Dead Tours - This tour ventures into the most haunted section of Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City, where a population once lived in utter misery. Black as Satan’s jammies, with a fascinating history to match, these vaults were forgotten for centuries and only recently unsealed.

This part of the South Bridge Vaults is known as Damnation Alley. With good reason. These dark tunnels and are stalked by a malevolent presence known as the South Bridge Entity.

What's Included
  • Local, expert guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Join us on this award-winning guided stroll through the spookiest section of the historical Underground City in Edinburgh, often referred to as ‘Damnation Alley’. For centuries, this place lay forgotten, once acting as a ‘home’ to men, women, and children subjected to unbearable living conditions.

Delve into the grim history of Edinburgh below its city streets, hearing tales about the actual occurrences and entities that might still reside there…

• A comprehensive 80-minute walk through Edinburgh’s subterranean city, supervised by a knowledgeable local guide.

• Options for participating in the tour during the day or at night.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

During peak periods throughout the year, tours may be displayed as SOLD OUT even when spaces might still be unoccupied, to prevent overbooking. If the tour you are interested in is listed as SOLD OUT, please reach out to us to check potential availability.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Language: English only
  • Age: Minimum 12
Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes prior to departure.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.5
(199 Ratings)
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G1140ftsylviah
May 20, 2024
Edinburgh underground - We recently did this tour we found it very interesting . Nat was our tour guide and we couldn’t have asked for better she was so friendly and funny making it an enjoyable experience, she was full ok knowledge and plenty of stories. We would highly recommend if you’re looking for some history of Edinburgh.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kwoodgate
May 15, 2024
Surreal experience! - First time ever doing something like this and I’m so pleased we booked this!! Beth was our guide and she was absolutely amazing, her passion and knowledge of the history and stories of the underground vaults was incredible. The way she describes things, and tells stories, keep you captivated! The vaults were such an eerie experience, I would definitely do this again! Beth, keep doing this job, you have a gift!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thomaswk1815iz
May 15, 2024
Eerie but thrilling experience - Being somewhat sensitive to such things I was concerned this would go one of two ways, 1 nothing would happen it would be underground rooms dark and dank, or two something would happen, it was the second option, as I felt a presence trying to interact with me in the last vault that left me feeling somewhat weakened, Beth our guide was fantastic and reassuring at all times, I spoke with her afterwards to explain what had happened as I didn't want to trigger the tour group, cannot applaud her enough, very professional and informative!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinaag6291mf
Apr 26, 2024
Don't faint or whatever - We went on this tour on our honeymoon trip to Scotland. Beth was our tour guide and she was absolutely the best! It was scary and informative, and we experienced some paranormal things. No spoilers, but it took us a minute to walk it off after. Would recommend her and this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S3652xmlaurak
Apr 18, 2024
Memorable times in the Underground - Does this mean I'm no longer cursed? Joking aside I had a great time learning more about Edinburgh's history, my tour guides were Fiona and Alastair who made the tour even more memorable than I thought it would be. They spoke passionately about the history and captivated me from start to finish. Thank you Fiona and Alastair for the amazing time and for teaching us new things.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
517joannes
Apr 7, 2024
Really entertaining! - Rebecca was both funny and informative. The content was engaging, but not too scary. We would have liked to see more. (Wear good shoes, some areas are slippery) We really enjoyed our tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicoleji9195is
Mar 19, 2024
Do it all over again! - Beth was a great guide. No hokey gimmicks or scares - just straight up history that makes your blood run cold. Very active night! Definitely a creepy place.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicole_j
Mar 19, 2024
Do it all over again! - Beth was great! No hokey jumps or scares. Just a great tour full of history that makes your blood run cold. It was a very active night & we loved it!
Review provided by Viator
Paulan022
Mar 17, 2024
Tour with French Ed. - I have been living in Edinburgh since 2020 and my goal has been to learn as much as possible about the history of Edinburgh. With this tour, I was able to see new streets, and new buildings and go down the steps of this close I never knew of (the one next to Mercat Cross). Ed was fantastic. I couldn't have enough of his dark and daring humour. Honestly, what an inspiration. Thank you for such a great experience. I honestly had no clue that so many underground vaults were available. Many hugs to Ed from Paula.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mcc_controls
May 10, 2024
Double dead tour - Ryan was a fantastic tour guide. He was so theatrical in a non cheesy way. We had a blast. The tour we did was the “Double Dead” which goes through the underground close and the graveyard. With this tour you get to go beyond the locked gate at greyfriars - which is great. I wished there were more specific stories about people in the cemetery or maybe a bit more history but it was a lot to cover in less than 2 hours. Really fantastic and highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor