A traditional celebration in Edinburgh for Halloween
A traditional celebration in Edinburgh for Halloween - staying true to Samhuinn
Mercat Tours has confirmed two new tours for Halloween, from Thursday, 29 October until Sunday, 1 November. Tickets go on sale today, Monday, 5 October.
Join Mercat Tours and take part in the ancient pagan storytelling custom - recall those who have past before us, and what they may have left behind...
Hangman’s Haunts
Murderers. Witches. Vagabonds. Edinburgh’s gallows had no shortage of candidates – and visitors will meet some of them on this Halloween tour of Edinburgh.
Meet an expert guide at the Mercat Cross – they’ll be in the full costume of Edinburgh’s most ghoulish figures from times past. Visitors will stand in the exact spot of the former gallows and learn of the many people who met their fate with a rope around their neck.
Visitors will feel the anticipation, excitement and horror of the gallows crowd. The guide will bring the stories to life – from death-cheating Deacon Brodie to Maggie Dickson, who sprang back to life. Then visitors will tread the stones once worn smooth by the body wagon as the tour heads for the Canongate kirkyard. There, visitors will listen for the soft tread of spirits, watching for graves freshly vacated by their restless inhabitants.
- Delve into the gore of Edinburgh’s worst punishments
- Explore the Canongate graveyard on Halloween
- Hear of crime, punishment and bloody history of the Old Town
TICKETS:
Adult; £19
Concession £17
(No children)
Halloween Underground
A seasonal Halloween tour of Edinburgh’s most haunted vaults – this descent will take you eerily close to the spirit world.
Unsettling at the best of times, the vaults are even more so around All Hallow’s Eve: the feeble candlelight barely touching the darkness, a movement in the shadows, the cling of cobwebs on a goose pimpled arm.
Prepare for the fright
Visitors will meet at the Mercat Cross, where the city’s undead will have gathered. One of them will be the tour guide, dressed in full costume. First, visitors tread the quieter closes and wynds of Edinburgh’s Old Town, full of ghoulish tales.
And then move underground. Descending into the Blair Street Underground Vaults, visitors will hear of the city’s most sinister side: body snatchers, torture, murder, hangings. Listen hard enough in the dark silence of the vaults, and you may even hear a faint echo of a centuries-old scream.
Experience a Halloween ghost tour…
- Get up close to Edinburgh’s haunted past, at the spookiest time of year
- Explore the Blair Street Underground Vaults
- Learn about torturers, murderers, and witches
TICKETS:
Adult; £17
Concession; £15
Child; £12