Greyfriars Kirkyard
Situated on the edge of Edinburgh’s Old Town, the eerie yet beautiful Greyfriars Kirkyard dates back to the 1600’s and is said to be one of the most haunted graveyards in the entire world! It’s renowned for being the final resting place for many of Edinburgh’s most notorious figures, with one of the most famous being a four-legged fellow named Bobby (but more on that later).
The site is filled with hundreds of fascinating headstones and macabre tombs, but, for your first stop I’d recommend a visit to the black domed mausoleum of George Mackenzie, which can be found on the southern side of the graveyard.
In the 17th Century George Mackenzie became Lord Advocate and soon gained notoriety for being one of the most brutal and vicious persecutors of Covenanters (protestants who resisted the King’s control of the Church) there was. One of his most merciless actions involved imprisoning and torturing 100’s of Scots in a makeshift ‘Covenanters prison’, which can still be seen through the locked iron gates in the Southwest corner of the graveyard. Most of the prisoners who were held here unfortunately died during the traumatic experience and are said to be buried in a mass grave in the kirkyard. Due to the torturous deeds he exacted across the city he was nicknamed George "Bluidy" Mackenzie and was thought to have been responsible for more than 15,000 deaths during a period in history known as ‘The Killing Time’.
In 1998 a homeless man decided to take shelter in the mausoleum, causing the floor to collapse, which in turn unearthed the bone pit releasing the supposed poltergeist of Mackenzie himself! Since then, the burial site has been steeped in ghost stories, with hundreds of reports of paranormal activity surrounding the tomb with visitors being bitten, scratched, cut and bruised with many experiencing a feeling of cold rush through their body. It also probably didn’t help bring peace to Mackenzie, when a few years later two teenage boys broke into the tomb and cut the head from the mummified corpse and were reported to have been seen playing football with the skull in Greyfriars – you couldn’t make this stuff up could you?
One of the best ways to learn more about the history surrounding this unnerving chain of events is to book one of Edinburgh’s spooky ghost tours.
Aside from the ghost stories, the graveyard is filled with numerous skull carvings, making it a must visit if only for this reason! One which particularly gained my attention was that of the anatomist ‘James Borthwick of Stow’, which is located on the Eastern end of the ‘Kirk’ (which is old Scottish for Church). The master surgeon’s tombstone showcases a full-length skeleton who looks to be dancing whilst holding ‘the book of life’ representing the good deeds of the departed, as well as a weathered scythe connoting the harvesting of souls. Also, if you look closely at the side panels you will see various surgical instruments depicting his profession.
My final tale to tell from this historic site is that of Greyfriars Bobby. A little Skye Terrier who was known to keep watch over his master’s grave for a whole 14 years. There are many urban legends surrounding this story, but it is thought that the loyal hound guarded the City Policeman’s grave morning, noon and night until he died himself in 1872. A year later a memorial statue of Bobby was erected just outside the graveyard, which can be found on the junction next to Candlemaker Row.
Tip: Make sure to look out for the Mortsafes (the graves which had bars put over them to stop grave robbers from snatching the bodies back in the day).
Address: 26A Candlemaker Row, EH1 2QQ