City of the Dead Tour: Explore Edinburgh's Haunted Graveyard & Encounter the Mackenzie Poltergeist

Embark on a spine-chilling City of the Dead Tour in Edinburgh. Explore haunted graveyards, encounter the infamous Mackenzie Poltergeist, and uncover the city’s dark history.

Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Greyfriars Kirkyard - All tours last approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes and leave from the “Tree of the Dead” located outside St Giles Cathedral on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Each guide is a local expert on Edinburgh’s fascinating and horrifying history, with their own unique style and delivery so no two tours are ever the same.
    Combining history,…
What's Included
  • Local, expert guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

A compelling fusion of historical intrigue, joviality, and terror, this narrated pedestrian journey escorts you through the enchanting history of Edinburgh and into a sealed-off area of the Greyfriars Kirkyard, notorious as the Covenanter’s Prison.
This is the dwelling of the ‘Mackenzie Poltergeist’, considered the most thoroughly recorded paranormal…

Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes prior to departure.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(210 Ratings)
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Mateogarzon003
Oct 4, 2025
Haunted tour - Ben is a really good guide, he even made us laugh while maintaining the vibe of the tour, had a good time. Very good storytelling skills
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nikitay193
Sep 27, 2025
A real chiller - We had a new guide assigned last minute, and I could not have asked for a better storyteller than Sara. She has an obvious passion for the history of her city, and a real knack for making it come to life with her words. Most of the visit takes place at the Greyfriars cemetery, which is a foreboding place at night compared to its serenity during the day. The history you learn is haunting, but things got really interesting when we got into the normally locked area of the Covenanters' prison. As we entered one of the locked crypts, Sara warned that it's a site of supernatural experiences, with people claiming to have been attacked by a poltergeist. Within a few minutes of staying in that damp forsaken place I felt a sharp pain in my temple, and got hot and dizzy. It passed in a few minutes. I don't really believe in the supernatural, but I have to say the timing was uncanny. You decide if it was truly supernatural, or just Sara's amazing storytelling.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Osamaz2018
Sep 20, 2025
Ross the guide for the win. - The tour was absolutely amazing. We were a little sceptical before the tour however once it started it felt like walking through history. From St Giles Cathedral to Greenfriars Kirkyard cemetery, our guide Ross made sure that the tour was as immersive as possible. Highly recommended. 10/10 for the overall experience and 100/10 for how good Ross was. Will absolutely do it again next time we visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Liana
Jul 26, 2025
Gerry was exceptional! - Gerry was exceptional as our tour guide! Animated and informative. It was exciting getting special access to the Kirk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarasc625ur
Jul 26, 2025
Incredible and terrifying storytelling! Highlight of our trip! - Our guide Gerry was wonderful, 10/10. He's an amazing storyteller and gave each story such a rich history, he brought the stories of Scotland to life. Also my teenagers were amazed and terrified - it was so fun to see them actually engaged in history. They stayed afterwards and asked Gerry even more questions and he was gracious and kind. The stories behind the City of the Dead were unsettling and scary, as promised! Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arlikiel
Jun 20, 2025
Great tour! Even the second time after 23 years! - Great tour! Very creepy… and informative! Gerry was a fantastic guide and my adult son and I had a great evening. And halfway through the tour, I realised that I had done this same tour back in 2002 eith another guide and loved it just as much! (The second photo is of the 2002 tour) 😆
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolee_w
May 17, 2025
Excellent tour, guide Gerry was amazing! - Tour guide Gerry was an amazing, animated storyteller, who brought the history of the graveyard to life. Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
61kw
May 17, 2025
Graveyard giggles and ghoulishness - We enjoyed this tour - full of information and grisly facts. The time spent in the Greyfriars locked graveyard was unique and a little chilling. Our guide was certainly enthusiastic and engaging, but perhaps just a little overly enthusiastic at times. Nonetheless we had a fun and interesting evening.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pickleone11
Aug 2, 2025
Don't waste your time and money - Sorry but it was awful. We gave it an hour and left. We were not alone. Nothing scary about it. Maybe as we are not your usual tourist (daughter at Edi Uni) and we know the area well. But it just lacked energy. Sorry!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle_f
Jun 15, 2025
No show - We showed up and waited. They never did. There was no phone number to call. The returned my email the next day to let me know they had cancelled our tour. They never contacted me. I had to go back through Viator to get refunded. Would not recommend this company.
Review provided by Viator
From $27
up to 4 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).