Museum of Magic, Fortune-telling & Witchcraft Ltd

What it’s like

A small, odd museum of witchcraft artefacts, including a mummified cat and the world's oldest Ouija board, plus a walking tour of the city's witch trial sites.

This one's less hands-on and more wide-eyed. Cases full of genuinely strange stuff: a 17th-century mummified cat, voodoo dolls, what's billed as the world's oldest Ouija board, and a section on Scotland's witch trials that doesn't shy away from how grim that history actually was. It's a look-and-read museum rather than a push-button one, so it suits kids who like a proper story over kids who need something to climb on.

There's also a Witch Walking tour taking you round the city to spots tied to the witch trials, which is the bit worth saving for after you've done the cases inside, so the stories have somewhere to land. Given the subject matter and the artefacts on show, this leans towards older children rather than toddlers, and every under-18 has to be with an adult anyway, no dropping the teenagers off to wander alone.

Entry's £7.50 for an adult, £3.50 for a child, or £16.50 for a family of four, which is fair for what's a fairly compact museum. Open every day, 10 till 6. One thing to flag: no food or drink allowed inside, so eat before you go or after, not mid-visit. There's a gift shop on the way out if the mummified cat has made an impression and someone wants a souvenir.

Facilities

Need to know

Best for

Older kids and teens who like a spooky story over a play-based day

Dogs

Assistance dogs only allowed on the premises

• Every visitor under 18 must be with an adult, even older teens
• No food or drink permitted inside the museum
• Assistance dogs only, no pets
• The Witch Walking tour is worth doing after the museum, not before
• There's a gift shop if anyone wants a souvenir on the way out

Plan your visit

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