Edinburgh: Witches & Haunted History Walking Tour
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore Edinburgh’s spookiest closes and strangest places and learn about the Old Town’s history while hearing tales of accused witches and warlocks. This walking tour takes you to some of Edinburgh's lesser-known haunted locations, letting you avoid crowds and discover a darker, mysterious side of the city.
- Go beyond the sightseeing tours and discover a different side to Edinburgh
- Learn about witch trials and hear the fascinating history of suspected Scottish witches
- Hear stories about Edinburgh's dark past that you'd otherwise miss
- Benefit from your entertaining guide's immersive storytelling style
What's Included
- Professional character guide delivering immersive storytelling
- A fully guided walking tour of Edinburgh’s Old Town
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Caffè Nero1, 192 Parliament Sqr, High St, Edinburgh EH1 1RF, UK
Meet outside Caffé Nero, 1 Parliament Square on the Royal Mile. Arrive 5-10 minutes early to check in for your tour. We are unable to provide refunds for no-shows. If you anticipate running late, please contact us as soon as possible.
End point
- 92 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2JR, UK
The tour will finish at Grassmarket.
Itinerary
1
St Giles' Cathedral
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Royal Mile
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Lady Stairs House
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
4
Edinburgh Castle
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Witches well
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Upper Bow
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Victoria Street
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Grassmarket
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Not recommended for travellers who cannot navigate the cobbles, steep streets and steps of Edinburgh's old town
- Not recommended for travellers with push-chairs or infants prams
- 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
4.9
based on 691 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Rianne_S, Aug 2026
It's very interesting and our tour guide Gale was very knowledgeable about the subject matter, it did feel a little rushed though but might have been because we had to go through crowds to get from one point to another.
Eneysis_P, Aug 2026
Lovely. Heard wonderful stories while taking a walk. Juniper is an engaging story teller. Only thing is that Viator has to be more specific with the meet up location. There are like about a dozen tours meeting up at that same spot and that same hour. Called the tour office and the person who answered the phone guide me to
the right group and stayed with me on the phone until I found them! Highly recommended.
Nitzan_G, Aug 2026
The subject of the tour includes some unpleasant history, but it managed to be both informative and entertaining. It was light and fun but in a way that respected the subject and raised awareness to it.
Our guide was excellent
Sheryl_B, Jul 2026
The tour guide was VERY funny and engaging! She told us several true stories that were very historically interesting about a disturbing time period in Scotland. I highly recommend this tour.
Kerry_S, Jul 2026
Our guide was very theatrical, fun, entertaining, engaging. Dressed for the part. We really enjoyed our tour.
Mike_W, Jul 2026
Outstanding tour of Edinburgh’s witchy history. Guide was both informative and entertaining and very much appreciated the commentary on the city’s dark history. Very knowledgeable and exactly what we were hoping to learn about on the tour.
Tone_E, Jul 2026
Engaging, atmospheric, and genuinely interesting. The guide brought Edinburgh’s witch history and the underground vaults to life without making it feel overly theatrical. As someone with a personal connection to the witch-trial history of Vardø in Norway, parts of the tour were unexpectedly moving for me. I learned a lot and would absolutely recommend it.
Margo_T, Jul 2026
So interesting and entertaining. The guide was easy to follow and made the stories come alive. Highly recommended.
Trish_Y, Jul 2026
The guide was fabulous and very entertaining and informative.
Only disappointment was not actually going to”underground”
Sabine_t, Jul 2026
11/10. An excellent and bewitching experience!
I’ve always been a bit of a history buff and this tour will definitely teach you about a darker part of Edinburgh’s history.
Rob_B, Jun 2026
Tour was so great- fascinating history presented by a guide who brought 110%! She was funny and expert on local history. Really appreciated her energy.
Sheila_M, Jun 2026
The tour was great! Informative with a witchy twist, and full of history our guide was wonderful....
Katharine_C, Jun 2026
Gale gave a most informative presentation on Scotland history as it relates to witches. We visited several sites related to accusations, trials, and killings of (mostly) women in the 1600 and 1700s..
Marina_M, Jun 2026
The tour was excellent. It definitely helped having a fun and enthusiastic he-witch/warlock tour guide (Gail? we don’t remember his name). The facts and stories were interesting, it wasn’t too much walking all the time, just the right balance of movement and rest listening to the history. The tour guide was very funny. My kids really enjoyed the tour.
Becky_E, Jun 2026
The guide was super knowledgeable and very friendly! The only complaint and it’s not on our guide at all is that it was at times very hard to hear her as the audio kept cutting in and out on her speaker.
Soli_P, May 2026
Juniper was amazing. It was such a great tour and very informational. She really brought you into the history and my husband and I really enjoyed it.
Georgia_G, May 2026
Juniper had so much fascinating knowledge and delivered it well over the busy crowds.
She kept the group safe and interested through the whole tour.
Highly recommend
Sarah_L, May 2026
Angelica was a superb guide! Fantastic tour with very interesting facts and some good laughs!! Thank you for the experience!
Susan_M, May 2026
Get experience x was so informative. , and interesting. , founf out why we don’t like John Knox xxxxx
Amanda_W, May 2026
It was such a great and enlivening way to learn more about what these poor women and men went through back in Scottish history. Highly recommend.
Kate_B, May 2026
Our guide was fabulous, knowledgeable and and entertaining. We learned so many things about witch history in Edinburgh that we would’ve never known if we hadn’t taken the tour.
laura_b, May 2026
Funny, witty and truly knowledgeable - it was time well spent and gave a good insight on historical facts and women conditions. Recommended!
Alysse_B, Apr 2026
Juniper was a lovely guide and very knowledgeable. The walking wasn’t too strenuous. We really enjoyed her and her tour.
Kelly_O, Apr 2026
Juniper was an amazing tour guide - we all loved the history and how interesting it was. Absolutely would do this tour again.
Janet_D, Apr 2026
Juniper was a terrific tour guide who kept our small group entertained for the full period we were guided around historic Edinburgh. The period covered (primarily 16-17th C) had terrible prosecutions of women (and a few men) that were healers and midwives. However, despite the alarming and sad stories told of various victims, Juniper made the telling meaningful, and poignant; yet keeping the group smiling at the conclusion of the tour. The time flew by … as we followed her broomstick around various points of interest to witches!
Joanne_A, Apr 2026
Juniper is excellent. She combines humour with history in a funny and compassionate way. We really, really enjoyed our walk around Edinburgh with her and learnt a lot about the history and tales of witches in Edinburgh. A lot of fun. Delighted to have graduated as a witch!
Robert_W, Apr 2026
A very good witch tour with Juniper!
Excellent knowledge on the poor souls who were accused of being witches just for not fitting into society ! Light hearted humour!
Demetra_N, Mar 2026
That it was a really interesting and fun experience! The lady (witch) that took us to the tour war really nice and friendly and really knew the history of the witch trials that took place in Edinburgh and even specific persons, witches, of different times!!! Worth it all the way ✨️
MariaPilar_Z, Mar 2026
Fun and enthusiastic guide. Lots of knowledge and historical facts mixed with fun and quirky story telling. For all ages. Would repeat and recommend.
Devan_A, Mar 2026
The tour was so informative and fun! Juniper was an excellent guide and was so personable. She even made a video for my 3 year old to share when I returned home. Highly highly recommend for anyone interested in Scotland’s witchy history!
From $24.73
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Edinburgh: Witches & Haunted History Walking Tour
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