City of the Dead Graveyard Tour

I did this two years in a row on both trips to Edinburgh. You will not be disappointed! Book one at night and it really is even scarier… not that it won’t be if you do it earlier! I’m thinking of doing it a third time when I go back this year but we’ll see what this year’s travel mates think!

Very funny guide and lots of great historical information. Highly recommend this tour. I did one of the others as well and this one blew it away.
P. S. I did the double dead tour.

Loved it — Gerry did a great job. Great history of Scotland and Edinburgh. Very entertaining.

Really enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Kate, was funny and very friendly. She answered questions and really knew how to build up the drama.
We did the Double Dead Tour, and it was great. The vaults and hearing the conditions of the people in there … in that tiny dank space … was horrifying. Then moving up to the graveyard and hearing stories about the ghosts and history was awesome. I think ghost stories are one way about hearing the history and culture of a city. I left feeling very impressed with the Scottish people and their strength.
I’d recommend this tour.

I managed to squeeze in the Double Dead Tour before getting the Caledonian Sleeper back from Edinburgh and I am SO GLAD I did! Our guide (I wish I could remember her name) was great — dressed in gothic style with a long leather coat and white makeup on she really looked the part and knew her stuff! I thought it was a real shame that louts were out in force for the festival, and tried to give her a bit of a hard time. To her credit, she dealt with it all really well, but unfortunately it cut through the tension of the tour at times and broke the atmosphere a bit.
Our guide gave great historical detail on the little-​known past of Edinburgh’s vaults and cemetry — very creepy stuff even without the ghost stories that were then added; tales of unexplainable goings on whilst on previous tours, and descriptions of the spirits that lurked in each area. I was quite disappointed by the lack of spooky happenings on our tour, but as they say they can’t predict when things will happen, and at least they don’t rely on cheap pre-​planned scares and forced jumps!
Worth a visit for believers and skeptics alike, whether to try for your own paranormal experience, have a few laughs, or just learn some of Edinburgh’s darker history.

Took an 8:30 Graveyard Tour with about 8 other people and one guide dressed in a long black trench coat, perhaps to set the mood? He was very charismatic (as I would hope for anyone who essentially charges others to hear them talk to make a living.) We started next to Giles Church where he gave us a brief run down of the history of the city and the living conditions in the from the 1400’s on, the short story — cutthroat, filthy, and overall bleak. He talked about the plague, the horrific living conditions, and the entertainment — basically public executions and torture sessions EEEWWWW. Combined with the dark, chilly, and eventually rainy night, it was kind of a downer. We made it to the graveyard after about twenty minutes of gruesome tales, by which time I was ready for it to be over. But we still had to walk all through the graveyard hearing about the gravediggers, ARGH! I wanted to leave so bad but with only a handful of people on the tour it would have been a little rude and awkward to just cut and run. So I stuck it out till the end, thereby missing dinner because all the local restaurants stop serving food at ten~! Double argh. So I would say this was a miss, and I definitely didn’t see any ghosts. Buyers beware! I am giving them two stars because it was an honest effort on behalf of the tour guide, he imparted a lot of depressing information on that hour and a half long walk.

We did the «double dead tour», which was a two hour tour. Our guide, Eliza, was very good at her job (par for the course, so far this trip). It was kind of a heavy tour — what with all the talk of murder and dismemberment and rape and slavery and body-​snatching, not to mention the talk of ghosts and poltergeists — but she made us laugh a few times that night, which helped. She also made me drop one very loud F bomb right at the end, which I did not appreciate.
The tour covered an underground city of vaults as well as a mausoleum in an old part of Greyfriar’s Kirk (the same kirk that the Harry Potter tour took us through). It was very dark, kind of treacherous, and very spooky. There was one girl who was absolutely terrified all night long, and I was afraid she’d pass out. Nothing of the sort happened — no apparitions, no voices, no proof of contact (that’s a point that’s being debated, currently). But still, it was a fun and spooky end to the night.
There was a good amount of walking over the course of the tour, and a lot of it — especially in the vaults — is done in the darkness, so make sure you have easy access to your phone’s flashlight app when you’re down there. You’re going to want it to be able to see… and to scare away the ghosts.
We only took a couple of pictures that night, but my husband swears he caught something in one of them. I post it for your interpretation. We were in the vaults, one of the first stops of the night. It was cold, but not cold enough for what showed up (or so he insists).
Did he catch something? We’d give you different answers. It was kind of freaky being where we were, hearing the ghost stories, but I never felt any kind of menace — not even when one group swore they heard growling behind them. I guess it’s all open to interpretation, and how much you want to believe.

Woooooo! I love a good spooky ghost tour & I’ve been on a few of the Edinburgh Ghost Tours now. I have to say this has been the best so far. We went on the Double Dead Tour which includes a tour of the South Bridge Vaults and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard and the Covenanter’s Prison. It cost us £13 each and lasted roughly 1 hour 45mins. We went on the 10pm tour and during the Summer this tour also runs at 8pm & 10:30pm.
We met our tour guide, Cara, outside the St. Giles’ Cathedral and it was a sold out tour so also a lot bigger than other tours I’ve been on previously. We started off by heading to the South Bridge Vaults & we had both been to these before on a previous tour but it was good to go again & be spooked by Cara’s stories about the history of the SBV. Unfortunately what spoils the SBV is that there is a bar right next door which means as you enter & exit it can be quite noisy & that takes away from the spooky atmosphere somewhat, although as soon as you’re inside the vaults its pretty damn scary… and dark, VERY dark. A few times I had to use the light from my phone screen to help guide my way so as not to fall over! Eek. You’re free to take photos whenever on the tour although they do ask that you refrain from taking too many with your flash on constantly so as not to ‘ruin’ the dark, spooktastic atmosphere.
The SBV are apparently haunted and Cara told us a few stories about these ghosts which were suitably scary & at one point she put out all the lights & candle/​s to tell us a story & I was pretty freaked out… I was convinced someTHING kept touching my bag… then she went onto tell a story about a woman on a previous tour whos bag also was touched by some naughty ghosts… Yikes! Maybe it was the guy beside me… I don’t know. Whatever it was did scare me.
We then moved onto Greyfriar’s Kirkyard which I’ve never been to before. It was about a ⁵⁄₁₀ minute walk from the SBV and it was really exciting and pretty spooky entering the Kirkyard, especially as it was late at night… Oooohh. We moved towards the Covenanter’s Prison, something I knew nothing about. Legend goes that many people died here, within what was basicially an early concentration camp and it has been thought that a certain tomb (nicknamed the ‘Black Mausoleum’) within here is seriously haunted by the MacKenzie Poltergeist. Like PROPER, ‘Most Haunted’/Ghostbusters/The Entity/​Derek Acorah– style HAUNTED *gulp* Nae Casper the friendly ghost here I’m afraid, more like MacKenzie the Malevolent Ghost! Gah.
The Prison itself is usually locked and only the City of The Dead Tour folk have keys to enter an so enter we did… I’m not going to go into too much detail as you really need to experience the full on mega CREEPINESS of this place yourself. All I know is that I would NOT have wanted to have been stuck there myself whether it be at night or daytime…
It was a brilliant tour and our tour guide done a grand job. I would most definately book another tour with this tour company again. This gets a 5 bones from me. Muhahahahaaa!

These or similar tours are performed by 3 or more different vendors. We were «stuck» at this, no idea why the guy was just likable, The tour includes a lot of really excellent stories told and if you believe in ghosts and /​or something similar, it is probably much more exciting.
It also does not run through the entire «dead city» but only by 1 – 2 selected rooms remind a bit of grandma’s basement.
The visit to the cemetery was certainly also a not to be despised entertainment value (I know, sounds macabre) but the stories and how they have been told are /​were really good.
Conclusion: Don’t expect too much to see but look forward to the stories, then it will be an entertaining 90 minutes.
There is definitely no archeology or Ghostbusters tour :)
Stayed May 2013

This review is of the Underground City Tour which is part of the same group.
According to their own brochure, this tour combines real history with true horror in subterranean passages and rooms beneath the Old Town of Edinburgh. In truth, there was only scant history and practically no horror. Even more disappointing, only about a third of the time was spent actually underground.
Much of the ‘horror’ consisted of anecdotal events that occurred during previous tours. Men were known commonly to faint while ‘everything else’ happened to women. One woman had a nosebleed that left so much blood on her face it looked as though she’d bitten the head off a rat; a young girl became ‘possessed’ acting in a manner that her mother claimed she would never do normally.

I did the double dead tour, too.
It’s hard to write a review about the City of the Dead tour when we didn’t go on any others. I really think it would be more effective to compare the tours since there seems to be hundreds in Edinburgh.
I’m easily scared and love this kind of stuff so I’m also kind of biased. I like to feel scared (sucker for Silent Hill and Resident Evil) so I went into it with a positive, I-bet-something’s-gonna-happen attitude.
I rate four stars because I think the tour guide was completely perfect in that regard. He didn’t do or say anything cheesy and definitely accentuated the feeling of fear, which I think was a nice touch. His passion and «I believe this stuff is real» perspective was also nice. Clearly, not an actor. Much like the ghost hunters on TV, he is 100% sure that the places we went are haunted. That made it all much more authentic actually.
The reason it does not get five stars is because the vault this particular tour enters is near a bar. At night, there will be sounds of the party, which kind of kills the mood. It didn’t completely destroy our experience though. Give it a try if you like this kind of stuff — don’t expect it to convert a non-​believer though. :D

I went on this with my mother and we absolutely loved the Graveyard tour. I can’t remember out tour guide’s name, but he was fabulous. I was enthralled and couldn’t stop listening! He was very informative about what we were seeing as we walked around town and shared info about the history– both accurate and kind of disturbing… This town has some haunted history.
Tour guide even showed us some extra fun stuff after the tour was over– their school that inspired JK Rowling for her vision of Hogwarts and the grave of Thomas Riddle in Greyfriars.
I’d absolutely recommend this tour to anyone wanting to learn some history and like the darker side of it. Much better than the Real Mary King’s Close tour… After this tour, the close just seemed awful and hokey.

We tried the underground tour for their last showing at 830pm. I wish we did the double dead your due to the reviews but we only has time for the underground.
My overall experience with it when we were done was disappointing and honestly, kind of lame. The girls that were scared on the tour made it more entertaining and the Indian guy who kept deep breathing but other than that, I don’t know if it was due to my jet lag from the us but I was literally falling asleep standing up. When the tour guide mentioned a story or experience about being possessed, I first considered if I was possessed by the paranormal activity going on in the caves but nope, it was my jetlag.
I’ll never know if our tourists stories were true or not, it sounded like voodoo hoodoo junk. It sure made it entertaining for her getting the audience to image that in their minds as she described her experiences with paranormal activity.
Anyways don’t waste your money on the underground tour.

We did the Double Dead tour (includes both the Underground City and Graveyard tours) with Gerry as our guide. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will probably go back to do the individual tours next time we are in Edinburgh. The Double Dead tour is a bit rushed, so you don’t get as many stories or time in each place, but it was still a great tour and I would highly recommend it if you’re pressed for time and want to do both!
Gerry was a great guide. While we were walking, he was singing a little song about the plague… it wasn’t loud enough for the whole group to hear, so if you get him as your guide, try to walk close to him and listen to the words. It was very clever!
No paranormal activity on our tour, but still very interesting and worth the price of admission. See you next time!

Highly entertaining tour with a fantastically enthusiastic guide (Gerry with a G), definitely recommended! We were lucky with the weather as the majority of the tour is outdoors (we did the double dead tour so saw the vaults too), and it is highly advisable to book online in advance (the tour sells out well in advance). Great historical information, although it is to be kept in mind that it is an entertainment tour first and foremost, having been designed and written by noted novelist J. A. Henderson.

Gerri with a G is a fun and informative guide! Unfortunately we did not experience any paranormal activity, but we did learn a good amount of Edinburgh history. Thank you Gerri with a G!

Very interesting and entertaining!!!
We did the Underground City Tour during our recent trip to Edinburgh. Our tour guide was Dave and he was full of information. He also had that dead pan kind of humor which works well with this type of tour.
Let me begin with, these vaults are HOT!!! No ventilation, so wear layers and undress the further you go. Dave said people have passed out on these tours from hauntings… I’d be willing to bet it was from heat stroke!
Anyway, the vaults are very interesting and creepy. The amount of information you are given will kind of blow your mind, but it is given in an interesting manner which helps you to retain a lot of it. One vault is said to be the most haunted and that the ghost could begin showing signs of haunting you anywhere from 10 – 12 days after your visit. Let me just say, about 6 days later we were in London finishing up our vacation when I had the strangest dream of a man hovering over our hotel bed. Later that day, my husband noticed tons of fingerprint sized bruises all up and down my right leg. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.
So, I would highly recommend this tour. Not so much for the scariness, but for the history of it. Oh, and for the chance to be haunted and get all bruised up.

We did the Underground City of the Dead tour. Is it hokey? Yes. Are the vaults actually haunted? Yes. Will the tour guide most likely annoy the crap out of you? Probably. I do not enjoy people jumping out at you or trying to make things purposely scary. Guess what, bitches? There is no need and you are ruining it.
Anyhow. It’s a cool area with a lot of history. There is a reasonable amount of walking but most people should be able to handle it. I should warn you that some areas are unstable and people were sliding (be sure to use the handles and railing).
I thought the length of the tour was about right and upon my return I would possibly consider one of the others, but I don’t think I’d re-​do this one. If you like a little spook with your tourism, I don’t see the harm in giving it a go.

Sort of a disappointment. It was hokey-​er than I expected. Not scary at all. Was hoping to experience something more interesting/​intense. I found it mildly entertaining for the novelty of it. My mom HATED it. She is afraid of supernatural everything, but not this AT ALL.

A good tour depends as much on the personality of the tour guide as it does on the subject matter at hand. On that count, our tour was good. Our guide was funny and personable, good at storytelling. As he himself said: he’s a storyteller, not a historian.
Our tour was the «double dead» tour that went into the vaults and also into the graveyard. The tour itself wasn’t that scary as others have said. It also wasn’t that informative about the history. There was a brief overview of what the vaults were, but most of the vault tour consisted of the guide trying to warn us of what a supernatural encounter would be like and trying to impress upon us the number of times other tours had suffered an attack.
To a skeptic like me, this was not all that interesting. Especially when, as expected, the tour group went through and found that nothing happened. There’s something a little strange to me about a tour that talks almost entirely about «encounters» that have happened to previous tour groups. If ghosts were real, I’d be more interested in hearing about hauntings that happened before tour groups started traipsing through the area.
In the end I think I would have been more interested in an actual history tour than a «haunted» tour. I found myself wanting to know more about the vaults and what life was like for people in there. I found the horror of the covenanters prison to be much scarier (and much more interesting) than the supposed Mackenzie Poltergeist.
Even though the substance of the tour wasn’t really what I would like (and it’s my own fault for going on a ghost tour rather than a history tour) — I think the guide did a good job with the material. If you’re the type of person who loves those ghost hunting TV shows, you’ll probably really like this tour.
If you’re not into the ghost hunting, this tour or a similar one is worth it just to be able to see and learn about the vaults.