City Of The Dead Tours

What it’s like

Guided ghost walks through Edinburgh's graveyards, ending with the Mackenzie Poltergeist stories that give the place its reputation.

These are walking tours, not rides or activities, so what your teenager actually does is stand in a dark graveyard listening to a guide tell them why the ground they're standing on is supposedly haunted. The Haunted Graveyard tour is the one with the reputation, built around the Mackenzie Poltergeist stories, and if that's not enough there's a Double Dead tour that combines both locations in one go, though you get less time at each stop than if you did them separately.

This is a teens-and-up outing, not a family day out. There's a strict under-12s cutoff, so younger siblings are out regardless of how brave they think they are. It's also not one for anyone who struggles with walking, since the ground is rough and the light is deliberately bad, and pregnant visitors past three months or anyone with a heart condition are asked to sit this one out. No dogs either, service dogs included, on account of the dark and the screaming.

Booking is mostly done online, by email or by phone, though you can pay the guide in person on the day if you'd rather. They'd still rather you book ahead, especially for a specific slot, since walk-ups aren't guaranteed a place. Filming isn't allowed anywhere on the tour, photos are fine, and turning up drunk or in a big group of over 13 will get you turned away at the start.

The site is upfront that the Mackenzie Poltergeist and the South Bridge Entity have caused genuine distress in people before, physical as well as mental, which tells you this isn't played for laughs the whole way through. If you cancel, they'll reschedule or refund up to a day before, and if you miss your slot they'll rebook you without a fuss.

Need to know

Best for

Twelve and up only, no exceptions for younger siblings

Booking

Book in advance online, by email or phone

• Filming isn't allowed on any tour, though you can take photos
• No one three or more months pregnant, and no one with a heart condition
• Groups of 13 or more and bachelor or bachelorette parties aren't accepted on public tours
• Anyone who's been drinking will be turned away at the start
• The graveyard tour has the creepiest reputation of the lot, according to the guides themselves

Plan your visit

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