Experience spine-tingling thrills and supernatural chills on this 1.5-hour adults-only terror walking tour in Edinburgh. Take a journey along the cobbled streets of Edinburgh’s historic Old Town with a guide and delve deep into the city’s dark past. When darkness has descended on the city, explore hidden underground vaults once used to hold criminals of deepest guilt — and others — and take in top city landmarks including St Giles’ Cathedral by night. Hear of the notorious Tolbooth Prison and the troubled souls it held, and enter the terrifying torture museum.

1.5-hour terror walking tour of Edinburgh
Explore Edinburgh’s ancient Old Town with a guide
Visit hidden underground vaults under cover of darkness
Learn of famous landmarks from past and present such as Tolbooth Prison and St Giles’ Cathedral
This tour is strictly for over 18s only

What's Included

Professional guide

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Bank of Scotland
300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH, UK
Tours start at the Tourist Information Police Box, Outside of 300 Lawnmarket. This is across the road from 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

Edinburgh Old Town

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Strictly over 18s only.
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Vaults are accessed via a 2ft stair with further average size stairs inside the vaults.

Our location and content can sometimes cause genuine distress. Customers attend at their own risk.
Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be turned away.
Alcohol and drugs are strictly forbidden on the tour.
Filming or live streaming of the tour is strictly forbidden. You may be ejected from the 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

260 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 260 reviews

great night

Abbey_S, Aug 2023

Jordan was a great tour guide, made us laugh and also gave us a good scare. the perfect balance. Had the best time definitely worth it!

Creepy

Matthew_W, Jul 2023

Ally , our guide, was very entertaining and gave us great insight into the creepier, less pleasant histories of Edinburgh. "Terror" is a bit misleading. "Creepy" as F, would be better description.

Spooky fun

Hannah_W, Jul 2023

Not overly scary, but just spooky enough to be fun. I appreciated the history mixed in, and our tour guide Ally was great.

Great Evening in Ediburgh!

Diane_W, Jun 2023

This was a great tour, Derek was informative and entertaining. The vaults were really interesting! It was a wonderful after dinner activity.

James was an amazing tour...

James_H, Jun 2023

James was an amazing tour guide and the tour flew by, was very engaging and interesting. Would recommend

Great tour

Felix_Z, May 2023

Ellie was one of the best guides on All my trips. She made the whole Tour a Real adventure and we learned a lot about the history

Great tour, incredible guide

Sarah_L, Apr 2023

This was such a cool tour and Ally was an incredible guide. Funny, informative, kept our attention, and nothing was boring. It was amazing.

Very fun evening

MARK_W, Feb 2023

Mike did a great job telling us storie and history. Very entertaining and a little suspenseful, too.

Amazing

Donald_S, Jan 2023

Ally was brilliant, very informative and was an amazing guide , a great asset to the tour . So much I didn’t know about the dark history of Edinburgh but ally did a good job of bringing us up to date.

Brilliant Ghost Tour

Emma_J, Dec 2022

Really interesting tour, the tour guide Adrian was really funny and full of information. Would definitely recommend.

Spooky

Harry_K, Nov 2022

Tour guide was really good his name was Darren. was extremely interesting, really creepy atmosphere loved it!

Fun way to spend part of an evening

Ryan_M, Oct 2022

I had heard that edinburgh had underground vaults but had no idea where they were or how to access them. The tour was great for the local culture and seeing the vaults which you would have never known were there. Josh was a great guide. Definitely on the darker side of tours but seemed pretty historically accurate.

Very knowledgeable

Linda_J, Oct 2022

He was very knowledgeable but way too much detail. He kept going over the same info at each murder sight.

Fantastic

Michael_D, Oct 2022

Fantastic tour, wonderful tales of times gone and witty anecdotes aplenty from our fantastic tour guide Nora, who was only too happy to answer any questions we had and had a great sense of humour. The vaults themselves are steeped in history and well worth a visit for them alone.

A must for dark history lovers!

Kim_I, Jul 2022

Darren was our guide; very funny and spooked us a few times. We learned a lot about Scotland’s dark history.

Fraser was a great story...

Margaret_M, Jul 2022

Fraser was a great story teller and the history of Edinburgh is fascinating. Wishing I had more time in this magical city to learn more - will most definitely travel back to Scotland and Edinburgh some day!

Scary , fun and educational

Danny_H, Jan 2022

The tour guide was brilliant !!! Really good , fun and scary tour , tour guide very knowledgeable, full of information and facts

Atmospheric, great history narrative.

Dom_S, Sep 2021

Great history and storytelling from Darren. Very atmospheric tour.... I would definitely never go to those Chambers on my own. Well worth it. 👍

Thoroughly creepy

Alan_B, Aug 2021

This was our second tour of the day previously doing a darkside tour (also good) and hoped it wasn’t going to cover the same things, it brushed on a couple of similar things but was definitely different enough to be worth it. Nora was a great guide and the tunnels were definitely creepy! Thoroughly enjoyable, the wife screamed at one point, worth it for that alone!

15 stars

Neil_G, Jun 2021

5 stars for our guide Sophie, 5 for the experience and 5 for the customer service. We booked this tour but due to ill health couldn't attend, the following day after contacting the company we were given alternative dates but couldn't make them so were offered the haunted vaults tour that evening instead. Fantastic company, amazing tour with a great guide. Book these tours now!!! So pleased from start to finish.

Response from Host, Jun 2021

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and for your recommendation. We're glad you enjoyed the tour with Sophie and will pass along your kind words.