Eleanor Morton's Local Haunts

There is no way anyone in the world needs ANOTHER listicle of Edinburgh’s spookiest places. So here are five you probably haven’t heard of, as part of my attempt to spread out the city's over-tourism.

St Cuthbert’s Kirkyard

What the hell Eleanor? Don’t you mean Greyfriars? The one where Voldemort is buried?? No I do not. And no, he isn’t. I mean the equally eerie, Harry Potter-free St Cuthbert’s at the corner of Princes street gardens and Lothian road. Not only is the site super old (there’s been a church there since 1127) it’s a classical gothic churchyard with lots of atmosphere. Plus it's the burial place of people like opium eater Thomas de Quincey, and includes a watchtower that was built to deter body snatchers. I can’t find any reference to any specific ghosts, but there’s no way its NOT haunted.

National Museum Spooky Gallery (Scotland Transformed, Level 4)

For me, the creepiest place in Edinburgh, bar none, is this gallery on Scottish death culture at the National Museum on Chambers street. The gallery boasts a load of freaky stuff, including a hearse, witch stones, Victorian hair bracelets, and of course, the famous miniature coffins found on Arthur’s seat. Being alone in this gallery gives me the full on heebie jeebies. Plus, the rest of the museum is equally creepy – go have a look at the Maiden (a forerunner to the guillotine) and Alexander Peden’s uncanny valley preaching mask.

Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar is not perhaps Edinburgh’s most beautiful neighbourhood, but the castle is well worth a visit. Now an impressive ruin, it was home to many significant figures such as Mary, Queen of Scots (where in Scotland wasn’t?). It also allegedly hosts a menacing spirit in a cloak, last seen in the 1930s, who is said to have ‘evil eyes’ (he might just be hungover).

Corstorphine Wetherspoons

Corstorphine in west Edinburgh is home to several ghosts, most noticeably the White Lady. Before it was an affluent suburb with a zoo and a big Tesco, it was the site of Corstorphine castle, home to Laird James Forrester, who would meet Lady Nimmo next to a Doocot in the grounds for secret trysts. During a quarrel, she ran him through with his own sword (rude), and her remorseful spirit is now said to haunt the area. If you sit in the local Wetherspoons, The White Lady, long enough, you may spot her (if you drink enough Tennents). 

Leith Docks

You might think the docks are scary for other reasons, but they’re also haunted. According to several different eyewitnesses, a ‘phantom security guard’ has been seen there on several occasions (especially in the area where Bredoro Shaw House stood), as well as a mysterious dark shape. According to one source, the ghost is that of a security guard with a bad temper who died in the 80s, apparently doomed to haunt his workplace forevermore. I can’t think of a more hellish afterlife.