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10 stops · about 1.5 km on foot · Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Dark history around Edinburgh (part 1)

Follow the stops in order. Each is a documented story set at or near this spot.

Open the walking route in Maps See it on the Dark Atlas

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  1. Start · Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh · 1440

    The Dinner That Ended With A Beheading

    Scotland's most powerful teenager accepts a dinner invitation to the royal castle, unaware it was designed to destroy his family.

  2. 266 m on · Edinburgh · 1736

    The Edinburgh Mob That Hanged Captain Porteous

    In September 1736 a crowd of over 4,000 broke into the Old Tolbooth, took a reprieved officer to the Grassmarket and hanged him. No one was ever punished, and Edinburgh still spits on the spot.

  3. 246 m on · Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh · 1679

    Bluidy Mackenzie and the Covenanters' Prison

    Edinburgh's most famous haunting is a tomb beside a prison yard. In 1679 Covenanter prisoners were penned there, and 200 drowned on a ship off Orkney. The ghost story is the lesser horror.

  4. 268 m on · Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh · 1567

    The Husband Blown Up And Strangled In A Nightgown

    Mary, Queen of Scots' hated husband was found dead in a garden after his lodging exploded — but he hadn't died in the blast.

  5. 294 m on · Edinburgh, Scotland · 1581

    The Earl of Morton and the Maiden

    The last great regent of James VI's boyhood was beheaded in 1581 by Edinburgh's Maiden. Legend says he brought the blade from Halifax. The records say the town council ordered it in 1564.

  6. 446 m on · Edinburgh · 1819

    The Bloody Scottish Law Behind Red-Handed

    A phrase now used for stolen biscuits once meant a killer caught with blood still on his hands.

  7. same spot · Edinburgh · 1650

    The General Hanged Then Scattered Across Scotland

    Betrayed and humiliated at his own execution, he turned it into a final, shaming display of unbroken dignity.

  8. same spot · Edinburgh · 1650

    The Iron Mask That Punished Women for Talking

    An iron spike rested on the tongue and any attempt to speak drove it in, and a husband alone could order it used.

  9. same spot · Edinburgh · 1828

    The Landlord Who Turned To Murder For Profit

    A simple scheme to sell a dead lodger's body to an anatomy school turns into a ten-month killing spree in Edinburgh.

  10. same spot · Edinburgh · 1591

    The Wise Wife Burned For A King's Fear

    A beloved village healer was accused of witchcraft to satisfy a paranoid young king, and lit a fire that consumed scores more.

Coordinates mark the place of each story, and some are approximate. Check opening times and access before you go.