City of the Dead Tour: Explore Edinburgh's Haunted Graveyard & Encounter the Mackenzie Poltergeist

Embark on a spine-chilling City of the Dead Tour in Edinburgh. Explore haunted graveyards, encounter the infamous Mackenzie Poltergeist, and uncover the city’s dark history.

Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Greyfriars Kirkyard - All tours last approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes and leave from the “Tree of the Dead” located outside St Giles Cathedral on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Each guide is a local expert on Edinburgh’s fascinating and horrifying history, with their own unique style and delivery so no two tours are ever the same.
    Combining history,…
What's Included
  • Local, expert guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

A compelling fusion of historical intrigue, joviality, and terror, this narrated pedestrian journey escorts you through the enchanting history of Edinburgh and into a sealed-off area of the Greyfriars Kirkyard, notorious as the Covenanter’s Prison.
This is the dwelling of the ‘Mackenzie Poltergeist’, considered the most thoroughly recorded paranormal…

Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes prior to departure.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(202 Ratings)
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Lkelly723
Apr 26, 2025
Haunted graveyard tour! - My husband and I took the haunted graveyard tour with Ross and it was so good! It was funny, gory, spooky, with a good bit of history thrown in. The highlight was going into the locked part of the cemetery and the vault with the McKenzie poltergeist! Ross was engaging with the whole group and made sure we all had a great time! Would highly recommend to anyone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelenh8637kk
Apr 25, 2025
Eerily fun! - My daughter dragged this skeptic and I have to admit I was glad I went. Ben was amazing! Perfect combination of history, humor and BOO! Only reason for a less than perfect review was because no ghosts joined..lol Great time, thanks Ben!
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Julie
Apr 15, 2025
Greyfriers Kirkyard night walk - Whilst visiting Edinburgh we booked the City of the Dead tour to visit Greyfriers Kirkyard. We were guided by Gerry who was knowledgeable, funny, and full of fascinating historical facts. This was our first ever ghost tour but certainly not our last. His research and passion for his subject matter shone through. I would highly recommend this tour, you will not be disappointed! A truly worthwhile way to spend a few hours whilst in Edinburgh. Thank you for your storytelling, humour and knowledge. Thank you so much Gerry!
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Suse806
Apr 3, 2025
Fun and scary - This tour is excellent ,Ross the story teller is the best ,my daughter (14) loved it ,and was pulled in by the stories ,well worth doing the tour
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Magalir718
Mar 22, 2025
Fantastic Haunted Graveyard Tour - We did the Haunted Graveyard tour with City of the Dead and our guide, Ross, was fantastic. He was absolutely hilarious, engaging, and full of energy from the moment it started. He managed to get the whole group involved and created such a great vibe, spooky and eerie in parts, but also genuinely really funny and interesting. He’s a brilliant storyteller and clearly loves what he does. Even the way he delivered the historical bits made them feel exciting. I don’t think there could’ve been a better guide for this kind of tour. Would highly recommend this tour and hope you’re lucky enough to get Ross as your guide!
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Andrewgo8827pn
Feb 18, 2025
Katie gives yet another amazing tour - Another amazing tour with this company, third time we’ve done one with them and never been let down! Katie was an amazing tour guide (we actually had her before back in 2021 and she’s still amazing) the coat whipping she does is top class no matter what other reviews say! Would highly recommend this tour company.
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Evastria
Feb 16, 2025
Airdrie and Cheshire get SPOOKED in Greyfriars! A must experience tour in Edinburgh City - We did this tour on Saturday evening and it was one of the best parts of our amazing trip to Edinburgh! Ross the tour guide was engaging, funny and informative. He made sure everyone was safe and having fun throughout the tour and you can really tell he loves what he does - thanks for making our trip extra special! Roz from Airdrie, Pete from Cheshire
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Lesleym669
Feb 13, 2025
Welcome to the dark side! - Thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Some of it not for the faint hearted! Our guide Ross was fantastic. Very knowledgeable with just the right amount of dark & sarcastic humour. Would highly recommend.
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Georgiack9630ou
Feb 7, 2025
All round Fantastic - This was a fantastic tour. Our tour guide was Ross who extremely funny, very knowledgeable with the history of Edinburgh and brought such a flare to the entire tour. We would do the tour over again especially if Ross was a tour guide. Worth the money and would recommend to any one wanting to visit Edinburgh.
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Sjmegy
May 4, 2025
A must-do in Edinburgh - An excellent history of Edinburgh's storied past. Would have liked more more time in the graveyard itself, as half of the tour was walking to the graveyard, but I suppose there needed to be a background before heading into the place. Great tour guide, too. Now can't remember his name - the red haired ginger chap. Very animated, as one would expect from these tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $27
up to 4 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).