Hear hidden secrets from beyond the grave on this haunted vaults and graveyard walking tour in Edinburgh. As night falls across Scotland’s ancient capital, follow a guide through the streets and learn the mysteries of the city’s dark past. Visit venues believed to be haunted including Greyfriar's Kirkyard and the Nidry Street Vaults, and hear of the troubled souls of beggars, prostitutes and witches said to walk the city streets by night. Along the way, make sure to keep your wits about you for sightings of the un-dead.

Explore Edinburgh’s ancient streets with a guide by night
Visit venues where the un-dead are said to roam, including Greyfriar's Kirkyard and the Nidry Street Vaults
Learn of the beggars, criminals and witches who met with gruesome death in centuries past
Keep your eyes peeled for sightings of the city’s ghostly spirits

What's Included

Professional guide

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

300 Lawnmarket
300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH, UK
Tours meet at the Tourist Information Police Box, outside of 300 Lawnmarket. This is across the road from the Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. Please be there at least 5-10 minutes early as we depart promptly at the tour time. Tours can not wait for latecomers so please do not be late.

End point

45 Niddry St
45 Niddry St, Edinburgh EH1 1LG, UK

What To Expect

Greyfriars Kirk

35 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Auld Reekie Tours

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not suitable for children under 5 years of age
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian

Vaults are accessed via a 2ft stair with further average size stairs inside the vaults.
Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be turned away.
Filming or live streaming of the tour is strictly forbidden. You may be ejected from the tour.
• Some historical content may be of a distressing nature with regards but not exclusively to Torture, Hangings, Death
• Children under 2 years of age not allowed on tour.
The walking pace and terrain may not be suitable for those with any difficulty walking.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 32 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

824 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 824 reviews

Great tour with Ally

Marc_P, Sep 2023

Great walking tour with Ally, the rain just added to the overall atmosphere. It goes by quickly. Be prepared for a large group though.

A brilliant spooky evening

Sarah_J, Sep 2023

Ally was a brilliant tour guide. She really brought the past to life, and was so knowledgeable. The history in both the kirkyard and the vaults was so interesting. Would highly recommend.

Too many in group, tour guide e exceptional .

adeleswart, Sep 2023

Ally was an exceptional guide. She worked well to keep the group engaged and told stories with enthusiasm. Our group had 32 people, too large to hear sometimes and travel together through the busy streets of EDI. The graveyard was interesting but the vaults were rather contrived. We had no nap or directions to get back to starting place. I commend Ally for doing so well with this mediocre experience.

Brilliant!

Carli_N, Aug 2023

Tour Guide Darren was very humorous and knowledgeable, gave us a good scare. Not going to ruin anything for anyone but was brilliant!

Fantastic Non-Gimmicky Tour

Amy_T, Aug 2023

Our tour guide, James, was fantastic! He was a great storyteller and really brought the places to life. It was fun to hear the background and stories from locals in each location we visited. I liked that the tour was not gimmicky but more historical with a little spookiness sprinkled in. James was the perfect person to present the tour in this way and also made sure that everyone was safe and felt good the entire time.

Ask for Frasers tour and you won’t be disappointed

Charlrs_B, Aug 2023

Fraser was an exceptional story teller, adding humour and drama along the way. This guided tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Edinburgh!

Best way to learn about Edinburgh

Hannah_P, Aug 2023

We did our tour with Ally and we had an amazing time. The tour itself was great…getting a quick overview of the history of Edinburgh through the lens of its graveyard and its unique and spooky vaults is the perfect way to learn about the city. The vaults are such an interesting feature of the historical landscape of Edinburgh, I’ve never been in a place comparable. And, true to my expectation, the vibes down there were SCARY. Probably for sure haunted. Ally was a great guide. She has an endearingly dry sense of humor, a wealth of knowledge, and did an impressive job corralling a whole group of people through the twisty windy streets. Highly recommend!

Not worth it

Natasha_P, Aug 2023

The guide was very nice, but the tour itself was boring and the vaults felt very unhealthy and unpleasant. Air quality was dreadful and it felt like a waste of time and money. Sorry, James. Not your fault…just the overall experience.

Spooky!

lisa_j, Jul 2023

Host Frasier was very knowledgeable and clearly enjoyed his job. Tour of history, spooks and beautiful scenery 'does what it says on the tin'. Graveyard tour was really good, it rained for a few mins which added to the experience!!

Review about Haunted vaults & Graveyard walking tour

Viktoriya_S, Jul 2023

A fun tour full of very interesting facts. Jordan is a very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide. We loved it and I`d highly recommend to anyone who is in Edinburgh.

Cracking experience for the price.

Roberto_R, Jul 2023

Our tour guide Jordan was great, he gave us loads of interesting history from old Edinburgh. Not sure about his opinion on JK Rowling ?😂 , but everything else was spot on.

Ally has great stories...

Heather_H, Jul 2023

Ally has great stories and knew her stuff! Fun tour but is set at a very fast pace so wear comfortable shoes!

a great tour

Diane_C, Jun 2023

A really fun and interesting event. Knowledgeable and amusing tour guide. Would definitely recommend to others.

Deep, dark history of Edinburgh

Melissa_D, Jun 2023

The vaults are such a fascinating part of Edinburgh’s history. Yes, they have a dark and tragic history, but it is so interesting! I highly recommend this tour!

Guide with good personality

JIM_F, Jun 2023

Guide had a good personality. Disappointed that he skipped the tom riddle grave. I liked doing both graveyard and vault.

Better than I expected!! No manufactured Frights

Jenna_R, Jun 2023

If you have a curiosity for haunts, dark history and the paranormal, this is a great tour. There are no manufactured frights, and our guide, James, was very informative and theatrical. He kept it light hearted, and made sure everyone felt comfortable. Going into this tour I wasn’t all that interested in the graveyard portion and just wanted to get down in the vaults. As it happens, I really enjoyed the Kirkyard portion and the vaults had me a little on edge. Mostly because it was so dark and damp, and it truly was very creepy.

Great tour with a great guide!

Sarah_K, Jun 2023

Great tour with a great guide, really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot too. Would recommend.

Great tour

Anne_S, Jun 2023

James was great! His tour is the perfect combination of educational, spooky and fun. Highly recommend

Great ghostly tour!

Julia_G, May 2023

It was great fun and a good history of the city of Edinburgh. It involved a bit of walking and some steep stairs though. Our guide was great!

Very worthwhile!

Lee_C, May 2023

Our guide Jordan was entertaining, engaging and knowledgeable! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and recommend it to others!