Haunted Vaults and Graveyard Walking Tour in Edinburgh
5
Haunted Vaults and Graveyard Walking Tour in Edinburgh
By Auld Reekie Tours
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About
If you’re entranced by the paranormal, look no further than this adults-only ghost tour that unlocks access to Edinburgh’s darkest places. Led by your fearless guide, venture in search of the undead into ancient Greyfriars Kirkyard, known as the most haunted cemetery in the world. Brave a sinister encounter in the Haunted Vault and learn the mysteries of the city’s dark past.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 5-99, max of 32 per group
Duration: 1h 30m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
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Highlights
- Walk Edinburgh’s haunted streets, vaults, and graveyards by night
- Hear terrifying tales of gruesome deaths—and returns from the grave
- Shiver at the ghostly horrors of Greyfriars Kirkyard
- Brave the haunted vault below the city at Niddry Street Vaults
- Professional guide
What's not included- Gratuities
- As night falls across Scotland’s ancient capital, greet your guide and embark on an adults-only journey through the city’s sinister past. Learn the grim history of Greyfriars Kirkyard, where quiet and unquiet souls have rested since the 16th century, and gothic monuments rear against the gloomy sky. Walk on through the darkening night to the Niddry Street Vaults that stretch below the city. Once home to witches, criminals, the destitute, and a hellfire club—and rumored to be the hunting ground of serial killers Burke and Hare—these echoing cellars are now the site of regular paranormal happenings. Something evil awaits in the Haunted Vault. Be warned!
- Start:
- 300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH, UKTours meet at the Tourist Information Police Box, outside of 300 Lawnmarket. This is across the road from the Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. (55.949326, -3.192912) Please be there at least 5-10 minutes early as we depart promptly at the tour time. Tours can't wait for latecomers so please do not be late.
End:- 45 Niddry St, Edinburgh EH1 1LG, UK
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 8752P4- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Not suitable for children under 5 years of age
- 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.
- office hours are 10am - 5pm for all calls and emails.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 32 travellers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 8752P4
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€29.56
per adult
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Itinerary
- 300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH, UKTours meet at the Tourist Information Police Box, outside of 300 Lawnmarket. This is across the road from the Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. (55.949326, -3.192912) Please be there at least 5-10 minutes early as we depart promptly at the tour time. Tours can't wait for latecomers so please do not be late.
- 1
- 2
- 45 Niddry St, Edinburgh EH1 1LG, UK
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- I2724UUkylen0 contributionsAmazing Tour and Great Tour-guide!Rachel absolutely made our night! Her ability to balance education, spooky stories, and uplifting entertainment kept us hooked throughout the tour. The tours itself were incredibly immersive, terrifying and interesting, and Rachel was the cherry on top, with her passionate story telling, hilarious jokes and friendly personality. Very great night!Written 10 December 2024
- andreasP359GD0 contributionsGreat tour led by James !!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Excellent your! James was an amazing tour guide ! He explained everything in a very simple and funny spooky way ! There was some funny interaction with all participants ! I highly recommend this tour ! It is one of the best in Edinburgh!Written 10 December 2024
- 535milesb0 contributionsInteresting experienceOur guide Stewart was excellent. He was interesting and very knowledgeable. It was a really interesting tour that I would thoroughly recommend.Written 10 December 2024
- leahpX3995OD0 contributionsJames tour guideJames our tour guide was absolutely amazing, very knowledgeable and made the whole experience so enjoyable, would definitely recommend booking with him and the company, well done JamesWritten 9 December 2024
- corah2880 contributionsTake the tourAmazing tour! We had James as our guide and loved every second of it. The tour was informative, spooky, and downright fun! We will be booking another tour with this group!Written 9 December 2024
- CarolynG14070 contributionsEdinburgh VaultsTour was very interesting and Kierans knowledge was impressive....excellent way to spend sometime in Edinburgh doing something different. Highly recommend!Written 9 December 2024
- 021097Colm0 contributionsgreat tourAly was our guide and relayed the information in an interesting and often humourous manner. The tour is very informative and we discovered the origin of the nickname 'auld rekkie'. Highly recommended.Written 9 December 2024
- Jude B0 contributionsThank you Kieran!Kieran was brilliant… kept us all captivated with story’s of old… we loved his talk of history around this walk- thank you 🙌Written 8 December 2024
- F6880MJmalinb0 contributionsExcitingWe enjoyed the tour, The Real Mary King’s Cross, guided of James - he was a great storyteller that gave us an interesting and exciting history lesson. We really recommend to do this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Malin & PiaWritten 8 December 2024
- 983deborahk0 contributionsWorth a visit!Great tour. Nina, our guide was brilliant! Went with a large group - young and old..everyone enjoyed it. Would recommend.Written 8 December 2024
- E6435ZEmichellee0 contributionsUnusual but interestingHad a brilliant tour with our guide Jordan. He was very knowledgeable and kept us interested throughout. Would recommend if you like something a bit different.Written 8 December 2024
- kostat8610 contributionsA tour of the "forgotton" underground vaults in EdinburghA fun and informative tour of the South Bridget "underground" vaults. Thank you, Ally, for keeping us on our toes throughout the tour. Gold!Written 8 December 2024
- louiselR5885QG0 contributionsWould recommendBrenden was our tour guide, he was very knowledgeable about the whole experience and we learned a lot, especially some old saying that we still use today, and the history to them! The volts were good, however could have had some more props in them to represent what life was really like down there, eg people sleeping rough! However all in all a very good experience and would recommendWritten 8 December 2024
- Formby700 contributionsInformative and interestingFabulous tour and Eric was a great tour guide and really informative. Learnt so much about the old town of Edinburgh. Would highly recommend.Written 8 December 2024
- 7kieferl0 contributionsVaults tour with AllyReally good tour of the underground vaults! Ally was a super informative and entertaining guide. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a little more about Edinburgh's history!Written 7 December 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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5.0
1,127 reviews
Excellent
988
Very good
75
Average
33
Poor
18
Terrible
13
Treadstone02
Stoke-on-Trent, UK21 contributions
Jul 2021
A recent graduation trip up north turned into a city break in Edinburgh for me recently and one of the pre-booked experiences was this grim and ghostly tour. I can honestly say I jumped a mile, and not in the dark historic vaults which I eventually found myself in, but when our tour guide first arrived at the meeting point as I was fumbling on the MET Office app looking ahead at the evenings' weather. Tuesday’s entrance was startling, energetic and bold and even as the rain lashed on, her enthusiasm still shone through.
Our merry band followed on once we got going and we were introduced to statues, graveyards and gated entrances through the late evening, finally ending up in the guts of Edinburgh’s past below ground. Although a little fast on her delivery, Tuesday rhymed off a wealth of knowledge at ease and I found it engaging. The more she unearthed, the more you could imagine the scene and put details together in your imagination and take a moment and think just how lucky we are now compared to then.
The tour included many character names and dates plenty, whole stories and dark tales of past events. The rain and dying light only added to the atmosphere. It was absorbing and it was like being with a female Indiana Jones whose research and knowledge of the past culture, conditions and underground movement was exceptional. There wasn’t a reference card in sight.
Due to the amount of information, Tuesday had to try and get in the time limit and above the sound of the rain, a speedy delivery can be forgiven as you do get value from the tour. Tuesday looked after our group well, giving us the heads up on dangers, hazards, COVID-19, steps and floor conditions. If any of the experience was getting too much for anyone she did offer to take you to “safety.”
Parts of the tour and history were left out to suit the audience as a whole but you could get the director’s cut after everyone dispersed if you wanted further added value and aren’t easily turned or offended. From the tip of St Giles to the underground vaults I'd certainly experienced the many highs and lows that Edinburgh offers over my few days there.
Our merry band followed on once we got going and we were introduced to statues, graveyards and gated entrances through the late evening, finally ending up in the guts of Edinburgh’s past below ground. Although a little fast on her delivery, Tuesday rhymed off a wealth of knowledge at ease and I found it engaging. The more she unearthed, the more you could imagine the scene and put details together in your imagination and take a moment and think just how lucky we are now compared to then.
The tour included many character names and dates plenty, whole stories and dark tales of past events. The rain and dying light only added to the atmosphere. It was absorbing and it was like being with a female Indiana Jones whose research and knowledge of the past culture, conditions and underground movement was exceptional. There wasn’t a reference card in sight.
Due to the amount of information, Tuesday had to try and get in the time limit and above the sound of the rain, a speedy delivery can be forgiven as you do get value from the tour. Tuesday looked after our group well, giving us the heads up on dangers, hazards, COVID-19, steps and floor conditions. If any of the experience was getting too much for anyone she did offer to take you to “safety.”
Parts of the tour and history were left out to suit the audience as a whole but you could get the director’s cut after everyone dispersed if you wanted further added value and aren’t easily turned or offended. From the tip of St Giles to the underground vaults I'd certainly experienced the many highs and lows that Edinburgh offers over my few days there.
Written 12 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such an in-depth review! We are so happy that you had such a positive experience on your tour with Tuesday regardless of the weather. We will pass along your kind words to her.
Written 13 July 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lindsey
Bath, UK6 contributions
Aug 2021
An awesome tour, our guide Nora was enthusiastic and informative, her knowledge and her passionate storytelling were a joy to listen to.
We learnt things about the city that if we hadn't have done the tour we wouldn't have ever known.
The vaults in particular were very interesting, again not something we would have known much about until Nora's guide.
It was a great way to spend 90mins in a new city, would definitely recommend doing one, especially if you like a bit of the macabre side of life.
We learnt things about the city that if we hadn't have done the tour we wouldn't have ever known.
The vaults in particular were very interesting, again not something we would have known much about until Nora's guide.
It was a great way to spend 90mins in a new city, would definitely recommend doing one, especially if you like a bit of the macabre side of life.
Written 26 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DebbieDing
18 contributions
Mar 2022 • Friends
Booked for a group of 7 for a hen party - start point was easy to find due to simple to follow instructions before hand. Our tour guide was Darren he was very knowledgeable and had us all in suspense with all the ghost stories and history of Edinburgh! The grave yard was a great insight to the history of Edinburgh & the vaults were very VERY scary!! Would highly recommend this tour for any spooky gals wanting to explore the city further. Would book again for sure!
Written 14 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marie P
Cambridge, UK3 contributions
Feb 2022 • Friends
The actual tour itself was okay, moderately too full, but otherwise with a different guide would have been interesting and worth the cost.
We were in a group ourselves amongst the larger group, although this didn't impact the tour or qnyones enjoyment/lack of. What did was the absolutely horrendous tour guide. My friend leaned down as she suffers from chronic pain, the tour guide then made a joke about how the creepiness of the crypts caused her chronic pain. No, that would be the chronic pain and perhaps there's ways to be nicer to people. She was also quite rude to another woman on the tour who tried to engage with her and ask questions. This woman had nothing to do with us, but clearly just wanted to enjoy the tour and participate. That was clearly too much.
There was also an incredibly rude couple on the tour where the man was going up to various women tapping them on the shoulder, moving away and repeating. A shoulder tap isn't as bad as it could have been but a 50 year old man praying on innocent 20 something women and nobody does anything about it? Not particularly cool.
I reached out when asked to make a review and said I would be happy to leave one but would actually like to make a complaint because between us we spent a lot of money to have an incredibly awkward time and was ignored.
We passed several other tours on this one who seemed to have better, mote interested tour guides that won't mock chronic pain or ignore legitimate complaints. Avoid this one and book elsewhere.
We were in a group ourselves amongst the larger group, although this didn't impact the tour or qnyones enjoyment/lack of. What did was the absolutely horrendous tour guide. My friend leaned down as she suffers from chronic pain, the tour guide then made a joke about how the creepiness of the crypts caused her chronic pain. No, that would be the chronic pain and perhaps there's ways to be nicer to people. She was also quite rude to another woman on the tour who tried to engage with her and ask questions. This woman had nothing to do with us, but clearly just wanted to enjoy the tour and participate. That was clearly too much.
There was also an incredibly rude couple on the tour where the man was going up to various women tapping them on the shoulder, moving away and repeating. A shoulder tap isn't as bad as it could have been but a 50 year old man praying on innocent 20 something women and nobody does anything about it? Not particularly cool.
I reached out when asked to make a review and said I would be happy to leave one but would actually like to make a complaint because between us we spent a lot of money to have an incredibly awkward time and was ignored.
We passed several other tours on this one who seemed to have better, mote interested tour guides that won't mock chronic pain or ignore legitimate complaints. Avoid this one and book elsewhere.
Written 26 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are so sorry to hear about your experience. We will have responded to such an enquiry but understand that our reply may have not have reached you for one reason or another. Please reach out to us at info@auldreekietours.com so we can follow up on your experience.
Written 28 February 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ian H
Weymouth3 contributions
Apr 2022 • Couples
Done a couple of these types of tours here in the past, this one was far and away the best mainly due to our guide Andrew who was fantastic. He was knowledgeable, funny and really engaged the audience with his his story telling. He kept us all captivated the whole time, so much so that we hardly noticed the rain. The walking was easily manageable with short distances compared to some other tours but worth remembering that it is Edinburgh old town so hills, steps and cobbles are the norm. Would 💯 per cent recommend this tour if you are interested in ghosts, ghouls witches and execution stories.
Written 7 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StevenGause
New York City, NY211 contributions
Sept 2021
Our guide Nora was fun and enthusiastic, but she seemed terribly rushed to get through the itinerary - as soon as she finished a story we were off to the next stop. There was no time allotted if you wanted to explore the graveyard on your own or take a few photos. The walk to the vaults portion of the tour was brisk and we had several stragglers. I assume the tour content as intended as spooky or scary, but to us it just came off as silly and somewhat boring. Lastly, if you have difficulty navigating stairs you should probably avoid this tour.
Written 17 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
matt milne
Aberdeen, UK9 contributions
Jun 2021 • Couples
Our tour guide was very engaging, dispatched a heckling local drunk with ease, took time to get to know everybody, answered any questions, and tailored the experience to the group's interests. We were there with 3 other couples/groups, all from different countries, and everything was very covid-safe. Thoroughly interesting, and thrilling evening, peppered with edinburgh's quick, dry wit. Can't recommend enough for families, groups, travelling companions and couples. We enjoyed it so much, we booked the later, more in-depth terror tour for the following evening, can't wait.
Written 23 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are glad you enjoyed your tour and were happy with the safety precautions we have taken regarding covid-19.
Written 25 June 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Cory
Thunder Bay, Canada4 contributions
My friend and I did a tour of the vaults with guide Fraser in October, and loved it so much that we decided to revisit again in December. We had a new guide last night, and I was a bit surprised and slightly annoyed to find that we were also getting a fairly different version of historical events. Many big details about key parts in the tour were told very differently, and some even contradicted things our previous guide had told us. I would still very much recommend this tour as the best dark history tour in the city, but as my previous review hailed it for being so factual, I felt the need to review my new experience to reflect the fact that I no longer feel certain of that. Either way, it was a great time well worth the money. Thank you!
Written 7 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy De Castillo
1 contribution
Nov 2021 • Couples
Myself, my boyfriend and my Mum decided to do this tour after wanting to visit the vaults for a very long time. Our tour guide, Stewart, was extremely kind, considerate and entertaining throughout the hour and a half spent visiting the Greyfriars Kirkyard and the underground vaults.
My boyfriend is deaf and after informing Stewart of this, he ensured that my boyfriend could hear him loud and clear catering to everybody no matter what. He also assisted my Mum at the end of the tour and did so with genuine kindness. He was extremely amusing, making light heart of some dark stories and kept us entertained throughout the cold evening. Couldn’t recommend this tour more, we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Also, p.s Stewart’s Mum, we know he sends you the reviews! Your lad is doing great! :)
My boyfriend is deaf and after informing Stewart of this, he ensured that my boyfriend could hear him loud and clear catering to everybody no matter what. He also assisted my Mum at the end of the tour and did so with genuine kindness. He was extremely amusing, making light heart of some dark stories and kept us entertained throughout the cold evening. Couldn’t recommend this tour more, we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Also, p.s Stewart’s Mum, we know he sends you the reviews! Your lad is doing great! :)
Written 25 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We’re so glad that you had such a positive experience on your tour with Stewart and that he was able to include you all in the tour.
Written 26 November 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Flare
London, UK4 contributions
Dec 2021 • Couples
It was an amazing experience, we learnt a lot about the history of the graveyards and vaults. Our guide Frazier was very enthusiastic, informative and kept the tour alive with his humour along with interesting facts about the city. There was never a dull moment on the tour and I would 100 percent recommend this to anyone visiting Edinburgh.
Written 22 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are there any scripted jump scares? Or is this just natural phenomenon that may occur?
Written 28 August 2022
Our guide did not do any jump scares. Sounds like it's up to the guide, maybe?
Written 29 August 2022
Hiya,
We've got only 1 night in Edinburgh and would.lovw to do this. Just trying to work timings. Where exactly does the tour start?
Written 29 June 2022
At the top of the Royal Mile on Lawnmarket alongside the Bank of Scotland. There is an old police box which is the meeting point.
Written 30 June 2022
Hi
I’ve bought 2 x adult tickets for Saturday 18/09/21 for the 8pm tour.
However my daughter is 12 years old.and Is more than happy to accompany me on this tour.
Will this be an issue?
Please let me know?
Thank you
Thomas Batten
Written 17 September 2021
Sorry…..1st time on Tripadvisor since last review, hope your experience went well, John
Written 5 September 2024
bonjour y a t il des audios guides ou visites en francais?merci
Written 13 August 2019
Bonjour y a t il une visite en français nous sommes 3 pour le 10 juin? Ce serait sympa car je ne parle pas anglais merci
Written 29 May 2019
Such a good tour to do. Sven, our tour guide, was so knowledgeable, with the right amount of spooky and fun - great job! Would definitely recommend - for a real informative tour of the vaults and graveyard with a spooky feel!
Thank you!
Written 23 January 2019
Thank you! I enjoyed showing you around and I hope to see you again!
Written 7 February 2019
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