Random Things About Edinburgh's Bloody History (13 items)

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  (#1) A Ghost Bagpiper Lost Under Edinburgh Castle Still Haunts Its Tunnels

  Edinburgh Castle is one of the oldest fortresses in Europe, dating back to the 9th century. It sits atop a hill overlooking Edinburgh, and underneath the castle, a network of tunnels connects it with the rest of the city. But some of the secret tunnels are more mysterious than others. Where did they lead? Did they make the castle vulnerable to a surprise invasion? To learn where the tunnels went, the Scots sent a young boy with bagpipes to investigate.

  The boy played loudly as he walked deeper into the tunnel, and above ground, people used the sound to trace the tunnel's route. Then, the bagpipes suddenly fell silent. Search parties tried to find the boy, but he had vanished. Assuming he had perished, they blocked the tunnel. However, since 1650, people have reported hearing the ghostly sound of bagpipes from deep under the castle. 
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  (#3) The Black Dinner Inspired The Red Wedding

  Edinburgh Castle hosted the bloody Black Dinner in 1440. That year, the powerful Chancellor of Scotland invited two young aristocrats over for dinner. The Earl of Douglas was 16 and his younger brother David was only 10. Although they were young, the chancellor worried of a challenge from the Douglas clan. As a result, he orchestrated an ambush on the young boys.

  During the Black Dinner, the chancellor's men dropped the head of a black bull in the middle of the table. They then seized Douglas boys and removed their heads. The bloody dinner party inspired George R.R. Martin's Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.
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  (#10) Eerie Coffin Cages Protected Human Remains

  Human organs were in high demand in Edinburgh. Anatomists working at the medical school needed cadavers to examine, but in the 19th century, dissection was still thought to damn your soul to hell. Since no one wanted to donate their remains to science, some industrious individuals dug up coffins and sold their contents to medical schools.

  To protect their souls, Edinburgh's residents began using mortsafes, basically cages above their graves. The heavy iron apparatuses kept bodysnatchers away. Greyfriars Kirkyard, called the most haunted graveyard in the world, features multiple mortsafes around its many graves. The coffin bars are an eerie reminder of a time in Edinburgh's past when people sold cadavers on the black market. 
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  (#5) Edinburgh's Loch Was Full Of Human Remains

  Edinburgh used to have its own loch. Resting at the bottom of the hill, Nor' Loch was essentially an open cesspit. Butchers dumped their waste into the loch and villains disposed of their victims in the murky waters. The city even tossed the remains of prisoners into the waters of Nor' Loch.

  The ghosts of Mr. Sinclair and his two sisters were said to haunt the loch. In 1628, the siblings were taken into custody on charges of incest. The three were locked in a chest and thrown alive into Nor' Loch. Over two centuries later, workers uncovered a box sunk deep into the mud and found three skeletons inside. 
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  (#8) Edinburgh Has A Friendly Ghost Dog

  Not all of Edinburgh's ghost stories are scary. In fact, the story of Greyfriars Bobby is downright heartwarming. Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye terrier who has since been memorialized in a bronze statue outside Greyfriars Kirkyard. According to legend, Greyfriars Bobby was a loyal dog who visited his master's grave for 14 years. After his long vigil, Greyfriars Bobby was buried near his owner's grave.

  Today, the loyal dog lends his name to a Scottish pub. He's also remembered in a children's book that claims the ghost of Greyfriars Bobby still walks the Kirkyard. 
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  (#2) The Most Haunted Graveyard In The World Is In Edinburgh

  Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard is home to half a million souls. And not all of its residents received fancy stone mausoleums. In some areas, the layer of dirt covering the caskets is so thin that bones occasionally poke through. 

  The cemetery's most famous ghost is George MacKenzie. During the 17th century, MacKenzie wreaked havoc on religious non-conformists in Scotland. After his passing, MacKenzie was buried in the Black Mausoleum. When an unsuspecting man opened the tomb in 1999, he reportedly released the MacKenzie Poltergeist, who still allegedly haunts Greyfriars Kirkyard. 

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