Edinburgh is a city renowned for its refined culture and aesthetic beauty. It wasn't always this way. Edinburgh ghost tours will take you into the murky surroundings of Edinburgh's infamous past. Edinburgh ghost tours are among the most popular walking tours of the city. Edinburgh's history spans hundreds of years and the overcrowded Old Town, home of the common and rich alike became the perfect setting for some of the richest gruesome folklore in Scotland. Most guides doing Edinburgh ghost tours are trained in history and storytelling. Most ghostly stories are based on local folklore and legends. In dramatic style the guides will begin the tours by outlining the grisly nature of historical Edinburgh's local entertainment. Public hangings, and blood curdling tortures were the popular theatre back then. The storytelling is entertaining and accurate, with occasional ghostly tales and unexplained sightings and mysteries. The multitudes gathered at the Mercat Cross to witness the accused go through their ghastly physical tests, frequently ending in death. Legends of witches, pagan rituals, dead and ghosts live to this day and the more interesting ones are included in the walking tours. With such a long and rich history, gruesome characters simply cannot miss from Edinburgh's folklore. The hauntings are allegedly backed up by psychic experts and some ghost tour companies keep a detailed record of the hundreds of independent sightings reported by tourists.
Edinburgh ghost tours take two formats. The most common one has a strong focus on the real-life historical stories of the Old Town. The Old Town in Edinburgh had ten storey-high buildings and many underground narrow streets. The tours also tell stories from centuries ago of notorious Edinburgh figures like Deacon Brodie, a burglar and murderer who was hung. Some ghost tours also take up a format of a complete theatrical show. The tour is led by a 'deceased' guide dressed as a vampire with a flair for the dramatic. The storytelling focuses more on the darker side of spirits and supernatural.
One of the best ghost tour spots in Edinburgh is Greyfriars. The Convenanters' Prison in Greyfriars is home of the Black Mausoleum, final resting place of the Bloody MacKenzie poltergeist. MacKenzie was the judge responsible for the execution of the many Covenanters that were once imprisoned.
There are a variety of ghost tours available in Edinburgh as well as other cities.
London is a world renowned for its ghost walks. With a history dating back hundreds and hundreds of years London is rich in haunted sites and spooky places. London ghost tours will take you on the trail of the sinister, the macabre, and the paranormal of Britain's premier city. The tours feature startling recreations of psychic phenomenon and you will witness much that is mysterious and inexplicable.
If you're after scares, then ghost tours are for you. Successfully blending history with humor, the overriding emphasis is the fear factor.