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
(204 Ratings)
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Liana
Jul 26, 2025
Gerry was exceptional! - Gerry was exceptional as our tour guide! Animated and informative. It was exciting getting special access to the Kirk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarasc625ur
Jul 26, 2025
Incredible and terrifying storytelling! Highlight of our trip! - Our guide Gerry was wonderful, 10/10. He's an amazing storyteller and gave each story such a rich history, he brought the stories of Scotland to life. Also my teenagers were amazed and terrified - it was so fun to see them actually engaged in history. They stayed afterwards and asked Gerry even more questions and he was gracious and kind. The stories behind the City of the Dead were unsettling and scary, as promised! Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arlikiel
Jun 20, 2025
Great tour! Even the second time after 23 years! - Great tour! Very creepy… and informative! Gerry was a fantastic guide and my adult son and I had a great evening. And halfway through the tour, I realised that I had done this same tour back in 2002 eith another guide and loved it just as much! (The second photo is of the 2002 tour) 😆
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolee_w
May 17, 2025
Excellent tour, guide Gerry was amazing! - Tour guide Gerry was an amazing, animated storyteller, who brought the history of the graveyard to life. Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
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!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
61kw
May 17, 2025
Graveyard giggles and ghoulishness - We enjoyed this tour - full of information and grisly facts. The time spent in the Greyfriars locked graveyard was unique and a little chilling. Our guide was certainly enthusiastic and engaging, but perhaps just a little overly enthusiastic at times. Nonetheless we had a fun and interesting evening.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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
Michelle_f
Jun 15, 2025
No show - We showed up and waited. They never did. There was no phone number to call. The returned my email the next day to let me know they had cancelled our tour. They never contacted me. I had to go back through Viator to get refunded. Would not recommend this company.
Review provided by Viator
From $27
up to 4 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).