The World Famous Underground Ghost Tour
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Edinburgh is known for its dark past, and this evening walking tour is the original one to showcase the city's historically sinister and spooky side. Discover the hidden ‘wynds’ (alleys) and closes of the Old Town as you learn their mysteries and horrors; visit the ghost-ridden Greyfriars Kirkyard; and explore the city’s underground vaults to uncover their spirits and secrets. Your tour is led by a creepily costumed guide to get everyone into the spooky spirit of things.
- See a side of Edinburgh most tourists won’t get to experience
- Great for anyone from history buffs to fans of spooky stories
- Learn more about the Edinburgh vaults and their 400-year history
- The early evening tour is a great choice for families
What's Included
- 75 Minute evening walking tour of Edinburgh’s Old Town and South Bridge vaults.
- Guide plays a real, distinct and infamous character from Scotland’s history.
- Walk through the Old Town’s distinctive closes, wynds and secluded squares.
- Visit the world-famous, eerie, unforgettable Greyfriars Kirkyard.
- Hear terrifying stories of hauntings, murders, executions and cannibalism.
- 6.45pm Evening tour is suitable for families.
- Travel back in time and descend into our section of underground street.
- None
- No under 5s
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 124 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1QS, UK
Old Police Box in front of StarBucks
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Meet your guide on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in the early evening. Your guide will be dressed as one of the Scottish capital’s most infamous historical characters, bringing an extra spook factor to your experience.
Then, set out on foot to explore the hidden wynds and closes radiating from the Royal Mile. Stroll through shadowy lanes and courtyards, and listen as your guide details their dark history and horrifying secrets, hearing tales of the criminality and murders once rife here.
Next, head to what is claimed to be the world’s most haunted cemetery: Greyfriars Kirkyard. Walk around the tombstones, and listen to stories of poltergeists, missing bodies, and the graveyard’s famously loyal dog.
Lastly, follow your guide into Edinburgh’s underground vaults. Explore the dark subterranean chambers, and uncover their 400-year history as you hear gruesome snippets about ghosts, torture, murder, witchcraft, and unexplained events.
As you walk, watch and listen or any strange events and noises: many visitors to the vaults have reported weird sensations and sightings.
When it’s time, re-emerge into the streets of the Old Town, where your tour ends when you say goodbye to your guide.
Then, set out on foot to explore the hidden wynds and closes radiating from the Royal Mile. Stroll through shadowy lanes and courtyards, and listen as your guide details their dark history and horrifying secrets, hearing tales of the criminality and murders once rife here.
Next, head to what is claimed to be the world’s most haunted cemetery: Greyfriars Kirkyard. Walk around the tombstones, and listen to stories of poltergeists, missing bodies, and the graveyard’s famously loyal dog.
Lastly, follow your guide into Edinburgh’s underground vaults. Explore the dark subterranean chambers, and uncover their 400-year history as you hear gruesome snippets about ghosts, torture, murder, witchcraft, and unexplained events.
As you walk, watch and listen or any strange events and noises: many visitors to the vaults have reported weird sensations and sightings.
When it’s time, re-emerge into the streets of the Old Town, where your tour ends when you say goodbye to your guide.
1
Edinburgh Old Town
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- guests should arrive 10 minutes prior to tours
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 9,481 reviews
Margaret_B, Mar 2026
The tour was amazing, great tour guide who made it captivating and entertaining I would definitely recommend.
Chad, Mar 2026
Jamie gave us a tour and he was brilliant. Amazing personality and energy. I would recommend this to anyone.
Bradley_C, Mar 2026
The guide was amazing. He had great knowledge of everything and kept the tour at a perfect pace. He was also very funny.
Rebecca_D, Mar 2026
The tour went to one of the vaults for some spooky stories. The room is a bit small and crowded if you don’t like small spaces it’s not for you. Although, we weren’t down there for too long.
lorna_p, Mar 2026
I thought there were too many people on the tour - 20 of us. should reduce the numbers to make it more intimate. I felt our guide wished he was somewhere else.
MRSLYNNE_D, Mar 2026
Very underwhelming. Our guide was a New Zealander - we were expecting someone from Scotland for this tour - but he just didn’t engage with any of us. He was flippant, almost tried too hard, and actually upset one of our party. The group was too big - around 20 of us. We walked the streets for a good 10 mins before heading into a basement which had a plastic skeleton and we all hung around whilst our guide told a ghost story. Then we headed over to Greyfriars churchyard (which we could have done for free!) and stood around a grave with another tour nearby (so it was difficult to hear our guide). We bailed there. Boring, not very well done. Disappointing. Another person in our group said it was as if it was being run by someone from The Apprentice. I’m sorry to leave this review as my friend & I were really looking forward to it but don’t waste your money.
Lauren_B, Mar 2026
We had a great time following Dr Robert Knox through the underground and Greyfriars Kirkyard. I particularly enjoyed confessing to witchcraft and peering into the haunted mausoleum. Highly recommend this tour for spooky historical vibes!
Nadia_B, Mar 2026
Very fun and informative tour! Lafayette was an entertaining tour guide with a wealth of knowledge. Highly recommend to get a quick overview of the history of Edinburgh in a fun fashion.
Matthew_P, Mar 2026
Jon was an entertaining guide. Did a great job keeping us engaged and was full of helpful tidbits. My wife had a very tangible paranormal experience in the doll room. Very worth it!
Anne_N, Mar 2026
We had an amazing time with The Great Lafayette! It was a fun tour where we learned a lot about Edinburgh’s history, while still getting spooked by all things haunted! Our guide was funny, entertaining and a bit scary, which only added to our experience. Awesome tour!
Maty_E, Mar 2026
Had soldier Jack as my guide. He made it so fun and was so friendly! Loved when he made everyone jump. Definitely enjoyed the tour!
David_L, Mar 2026
Excellent story telling and history. Friendly atmosphere and interacrion between audience. Worth a visit
Phillip_A, Mar 2026
It was good. Not really 5 star. Would have liked more stories of potential haunting and ghosts. A lot of history and great information just not what we expected.
Amy_S, Mar 2026
Loved it! John was a fantastic guide! Very interesting and got to see greyfriars graveyard and the underground’s.
Jakub_S, Mar 2026
Great experience and an awesome way to learn about the town's history, stories and old tales. Dr.Knox was particularly great and witty throughout the whole time, worth the price too, I highly recommend (He takes you to places not available to the regular public).
Fiona_C, Feb 2026
Fun light hearted experience - deffo do it in the dark! Host was brilliant would highly recommend if visiting Edinburgh
Grant_T, Feb 2026
We really enjoyed this Ghost tour. John the guide was very interesting and entertaining. We had two kids under 10 and the balance of scary was perfect.
Paul_W, Feb 2026
John did a great job on the tour and knew his history plus a funnny guy…………………………………………………………………………….
Christine_P, Feb 2026
The experience does not match the description of the tour. The description says participants would enjoy visiting the Wynds and courtyards of Edinburgh but we did not go down a single one!! Very disappointing. Quality and quantity of story telling also underwhelming
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Dear Christina, we have contacted the guide and he explained to us that he did indeed complete the tour as described and instructed by us. We always follow the wynds, alleys and inner courtyards to tell our stories of the past. Are you sure that this complaint was meant for this tour?
Carol_T, Feb 2026
Very entertaining, Maggie was great fun and told the stories well. It was as described on thecwebsite
Terry_H, Feb 2026
Our guide was John Kincaid who was great. Quite informative and interesting. A slightly dry sense of humour like mine. The underground cave wasn’t actually underground but a basement but the setup was very good.
Recommend though
Emilie_J, Feb 2026
It was fun interesting. Doc was entertaining and had good stories. It was very close and some of the stairs were challenging for this old lady. Tour guide was great.
Maria_K, Feb 2026
The guide did a great job with her role. However, the entire experience is so theatrical that it was unclear what was historically accurate and what was added for drama...except for the ghost stories of course. We thought the experience would focus more on how these underground areas were used in the past and crimes committed there. It wasn't that - it was just ghost stories. Maybe we misunderstood.
Jo_T, Feb 2026
Our guide James was fantastic, funny from the start and continued throughout the evening! thrown off with random questions but was great at bringing ghost stories to life. Definite must to do .
Tom_T, Feb 2026
Poor is the only word. The underground element in an old house served to purpose and both in this house and later in Greyfriers cemetery we had to reroute because of other groups. Save your money and do something else instead.
Sabrina_R, Feb 2026
Dr. Knox was extremely knowledgeable and humorous! He brought Edinburgh’s historic underbelly to life. You can’t take yourself too seriously on this tour! The tour is experiential and Dr. Knox plays his character well, so have fun with it. Note: On the previous day we were late arriving to the tour due to our travel time change error, and missed the tour. They were kind enough to accommodate us the following night with no extra charge.
Alex_H, Feb 2026
Our host, John, was absolutely amazing - we prebooked and attended to be met by John, and he was absolutely amazing, he embodies the energy and puts it across perfectly. I would absolutely recommend this.
Jessica_B, Feb 2026
Boring, not enough story telling, excitement or anything worthwhile to recommend.
IMPORTANT: It is also very dark in the cemetery, several ppl stumbled/tripped (you can just walk this yourself for free - flash light on)z
Instead: ask ChatGPT for history and walk the graveyard. You’ll get the same experience.
tiffany_w, Feb 2026
I was thoroughly disappointed in this tour. My tour guide was “Lafayette.” I learned Lafayette was a famous magician and our guide was assigned to play him because he fit into the costume- his statements we had not asked. I still have no idea how the true Lafayette relates to Edinburgh as that was the end of him being mentioned.
From walking up to check in the guide was very aggressive towards people yelling at them with no explanation as to why he was yelling at them versus just telling them or offering assistance on how to check in (no one was late in case that would have been a possible defense). I was then assigned to Lafayette’s group and learned the guide just enjoyed yelling at people and often turning and randomly screaming at people at the top of his lungs just to get a reaction from them.
We stopped at several places along the Royal Mile on our walk to Greyfriar’s Kirk. Lafayette would ask people questions about a stop site then ridicule every answer he received. Several times the answer was actually correct, but he would first ridicule the guest and then later come back and say that was actually correct. I heard several guests say something akin to ‘well that’s the last time I say anything on this tour,” due to the ridicule Lafayette gave them. There was a group of 5 younger women on the tour Lafayette was enjoying flirting with who seemed to find him funny so I am not sure if this is his general tour attitude or was egged on by his hope to impress those women. They were the only 5 on the tour seeming to enjoy themselves.
The tour is 1 hour and 15 minutes long. You will spend 1 hour of it outside/above ground. Your final tour stop is a door in the side of a building that has a spiral staircase leading to an underground apartment you will learn was bought by the tour company due to its accidental discovery of being linked to a underground crypt. You will spend 8 minutes in that entry room and another 8 minutes in the crypt. The crypt is a dark, stone room with a curved ceiling, low at the edges. Of the 8 minutes in the crypt, 4 was Lafayette telling us how other tours have complained about how “dark” his true ghost story was and can we handle it or we are welcome to leave. He then tells the story that yes, is dark, but is factual and did not need the warning. You then leave the crypt (which has super creepy dolls in it Lafayette says the tour company added to creep people out- job successful) and enter another of the underground apartment’s rooms. Lafayette then tells you your tour has ended and to get out as his next tour starts in 6 minutes and then randomly screams, again. You are let out the same spiral staircase you came up with no guidance on how to get back to where the tour started or where your next destination may be.
I have NO idea how this tour claims to be world famous, unless they mean about how infamously bad the tour guide behaved to the tour group. I HOPE the negative experience is limited to that employee’s choices on Lafayette, but suggest you choose anything else to do for your night instead.
Halina_G, Feb 2026
Great experience, interesting history lessons . Unforgettable memories and great stories . Definitely worth
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