Considering my morbid tendencies, its surprising that this wasn’t one of the first things I did in Edinburgh, but a few nights ago I was walking through Grassmarket and saw a sign for a free ghost tour outside the Last Drop pub. Haymarket used to be home to the city’s gallows.
William Burke/the actor playing William Burke was our tour guide. It would be hard for the real William Burke to lead the tour since he was hanged, disected and buried in 1829. A black comedy is coming out later this year based on the story, with Simon Pegg playing Burke.
I was a little disappointed that the tour didn’t go down to the vaults, apparently haunted by a nasty poltergeist, but thoroughly everything else. The guide told some of the more gruesome stories about Edinburgh past. I’d even heard a few of them as there is a blog about Edinburgh’s Dark Side that I really enjoy.
I even met a Canadian on the tour (from Cape Breton) who was proudly sporting his Canadian flag on his backpack.
The guide told a story that I had to check out, and it was about Sawney Bean and his incestuous family of cannibals who were robbing, murdering and eating travellers that they came across over a number of years. According to that blog I mentioned the story is probably not true; it was most likely made up by the english newspapers trying to depict Scots as more barbaric than they actually were. I was happy to hear that one of the more gruesome stories was likely not true, but the guide spun a few more tales that were almost as disgusting and also true. Edinburgh has had a very violent history.
Overall, I really liked the tour and would definitely do another.
With Halloween coming in about a month, I have to plan something creepy for myself and for Dimitri’s visit.
Wright After Reading 