Scotland has an amazing, often violent history. So what better way to get to know the history and get up and close personal with the former inhabitants than on a ghost tour?

Edinburgh is beautiful during the day, but it seems to come even more to life at night. Eerily lit lanterns line the quiet streets and light the architecturally stunning stone buildings. It’s an enchanting city to explore, and after discovering there was also an underground that is often overlooked, I booked myself on a ghost tour and prepared to be freaked.

Edinburgh Royal Mile

I decided to book a Hidden & Haunted Tour with Mercat Tours and was able to easily book the day before. Traveling solo means I often don’t have anyone else to do these things with, but luckily when I arrived at the meeting point on a cold and rainy Edinburgh night, I was far from alone. A small group of approximately 10 people were waiting at the meeting point, all looking a little concerned for what was to come. I fortunately began talking to a group of friends in their fifties who were visiting from London. After learning I was traveling alone, they opened their arms with glee and said I could absolutely stick with them for the duration, reducing my fear of the dark and increasing my tour enjoyment.

The Mercat Tour was led by a great Scotsman who knew his history inside and out. Our theatrical leader dressed in a dark cloak and often stereotypically holding a candle in front of his face, told us stories mixed with fact and humor during the hour long tour as we walked along The Royal Mile.

We then headed underground into the Blair Street Vaults. At times claustrophobic, the vaults are musty and damp, smelling of earth and inciting a little bit of a creepy feel. Again our tour leader continued his storytelling, making the experience interesting and no overly scary. It was at this point I realised the hour-long tour was far more a theatrical story time in the dark than a ‘ghost tour.’

For the £12 adult ticket price, Mercat Tours offer a fun night of exploring the underside of Edinburgh you may never otherwise see.