It’s scary to be mugged, chased down a dark ally, or forcibly asked to leave a club, but it’s not spooky. Spooky is something that happens that his beyond comprehension, something frightening in a supernatural way, it’s that feeling of being watch from a dark place. The spookiest thing that has ever happened to me while traveling was being scratched by a poltergeist in Edinburgh. Do I think that’s cool? Yes, yes I do. I think it’s freakin’ awesome! It happened on a ghost walk, which I don’t usually go on (and I’m not entirely certain why I choose to to on this particular one), but it was totally worth it.
The City of the Dead walking tour is the only tour that has the keys to the Covenanters Prison, the Black Mausoleum, and the poltergeist. The tour starts like every other ghost walk, walking around the city being told general stories about murder and death in the places we were passing. Edinburgh is one of the most haunted cities in the world, but, honestly, doesn’t every ghost walk make that same claim. I need something shocking and I want proof. As the Greyfriars Cemetery gate was opened, the atmosphere took a turn. No longer were we looking at buildings that had once been home to something frightening or the location of a horrific event, we were walking across the ground and the graves where murder, grave robbery, and torture actually happened; the corpses are there to prove it. Also, unlike the rest of the tour, this place was and is haunted…true story, no joke – there’s proof. FYA.
Greyfriars was the only cemetery in Edinburgh for a long time, which means that the graves held within its walls are filled with bodies, and if you believe in restless or disrespected spirits that haunt the living, this place is one of the most likely places in the world to find them. As we walked through the cemetery, the guide told us stories about grave robbers and coffins that have since been opened to find their lid madly clawed at by a person who had been entombed within while alive. In fact, being buried alive was such a problem, that people were sometimes buried with a bell attached to them, so if they awoke buried alive, they could try and signal for help….no one was ever there to help and no one was ever saved by the bell (except maybe Zach). I have also since been told that there are so many remains interred beneath the dirt that during hard rains, bones will sprout from the ground. Creepy but not spooky…yet.
In the back corner of the Greyfriars is the Covenanters Prison. This section is kept locked by the city, is only accessible on the City of the Dead tour, and is no laughing matter. Beyond the iron gate is the exact location where 1,200 Covenanters were tortured, murdered, and buried by the English in the late 1600′s. The worst perpetrator of these horrific actions was Bloody George Mackenzie. While alive, he was personally responsible for the deaths of Covenanters through torture and mutilation on these very grounds. While dead, he will attack you…possibly much worse than he attacked me.
There are two explanations for the appearance of the poltergeist; kids stealing his skull or a vagrant breaking into a tomb and falling through the floor into a hidden layer of bones. Either way, there are been thousands of recorded attacks since 1999. Needless to say, I was pumped to get into its stronghold, the Black Mausoleum. Before we entered, the tour guide advised our group to be aware of our bodies as we and, if anyone felt cold, a sudden pain, or the feeling of being pushed or pulled they should move or leave the tomb entirely. I stood inside, unsure if I wanted to get dragged along the back wall or if I wanted it to happen to someone else in the group. As the minutes passed, I was sure I wanted it to happen to me, but still nothing occurred. Let down and beginning to loose faith in the whole experience, I left, went back to my hostel, and jumped in the shower.
As soon as the water hit my back, I was stuck with intense pain. I had no idea what caused it and jumped out of the shower to take a look. Down the right side of my back was a three inch long blood red scratch, possibly 1/2 inch thick. Hell yes, Poltergeist scratch! I quickly ran though my day and tried to remember if I had bumped into anything or possibly been hurt in any way, but there was nothing I could remember (also, I’m pretty sure I would remember whatever had caused such an injury). I went back to the tour company to report the incident, and asked to go back in the Black Mausoleum to have a picture taken…hopefully to find ghostly orbs in the print. There weren’t any when I got the roll developed, but I still got my mark!
My scratch is just a drop in the bucket compared to what others have experienced in this mausoleum, and I would highly recommend anyone interested in ghosts and the supernatural check out the Mackenzie Poltergeist.
Do you have any ghost stories from your travels? Have you ever been spooked? Tell me all about it in the comments.
