--- title: Edinburgh - Dark History lang: en type: tour city: Edinburgh country: United Kingdom price: 21 currency: EUR price_unit: per_person availability: bookable rating: 4.96 reviews: 914 duration_minutes: 120 languages: [en] free_cancellation: true rank_in_category: 1 of 28 (Ghost Tours & Vaults) schedule_checked: 2026-10-01 data_updated: 2026-10-01 canonical: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/tours/edinburgh-dark-history/ --- # Edinburgh - Dark History **Guidekin's take:** Edinburgh's murderers, thieves, witches and Plague accounts supply the material for this dark history walk. An in-person guide tells the stories; expect subjects including hangings, decapitations and cannibalism. 4.96 from 914 reviews at €21 per person for 2h. ## Overview Ah, Edinburgh! They don't call it "The Jekyll & Hyde City" for nothing. During the day, a respectable figure, with its astonishing architecture and wondrous history. But when the sun sets, it tells an entirely different story... Hear all about the darker history of Edinburgh: murderers, thieves, cannibals, hangings and decapitations, witches, the Plague and streams of human waste. Learn about the most notorious citizens of Edinburgh and how ghost stories are born. This is not a ghost tour: we don't need costumes or people jumping from behind the corners, Edinburgh's Dark History itself is enough to make your skin crawl. And oh, how we love to share it with our visitors... ## Before you book - Meeting point: Our meeting point is in WEST Parliament… - Starts 15:00, 18:00: 2 departures a day - Wheelchair accessible: operator-marked - Strollers OK: infants accepted - Children from €14: ages 6 to 15 ## Key facts - Price: from €21 per person - Duration: 2h - Rating: 4.96/5 from 914 reviews (collected from Guidekin & Viator & Tripadvisor) - Free cancellation (see policy below) - Recommended by 100% of travellers (share of four- and five-star reviews) - Operator: All-Star Guides ## What's included - In-Person guide ## Itinerary 1. **Old Town** (pass by, no stop) - A walking tour down the Royal Mile of Edinburgh, where your guide will share with you the darker history of Edinburgh. 2. **Heart of Midlothian** (10m) - Former site of the Old Tollbooth, one of Edinburgh's most notorious buildings. Hear about some of the characters once imprisoned and/or executed here, and why it ultimately became recognised by Sir Walter Scott as the Hard of the Midlothian. 3. **St Giles' Cathedral** (10m) - What seems like the car park hides a secret, as well as the burial place of one of the most controversial figures in Scottish history. 4. **Mercat Cross** (10m) - Another infamous execution site. Hear about the importance of the building in the life of the city, and about a literal killing machine which was once kept inside St. Giles Cathedral. 5. **Royal Mile** (40m) - Walk down the Royal Mile, where you'll hear about some of Edinburgh's notorious citizens, the Black Plague, and how the city's poor sanitary conditions eventually led to a most peculiar tradition. 6. **John Knox House Museum** (5m) - Learn about the architecture of 16th century Edinburgh, and witness one of the most "authentic" corners in the city centre. 7. **Canongate Kirk** (40m) - Wander among graves of old, hearing about body snatchers, cannibals, and learn how ghost stories are born. ## Schedule - Runs: daily - Departures: 15:00, 18:00 - Schedule last checked: 2026-10-01 - These are published departures, not a live seat count; availability is confirmed at checkout. ## Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time. ## Meeting point Our meeting point is in WEST Parliament Square, across the square in Front of St. Giles Cathedral. Search for the white umbrella with the logo of All-Star Guides. Map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJmZwwTYXHh0gRvlzoM1dsmq8 ## Good to know - Wheelchair accessible - Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller - Service animals allowed - Public transportation options are available nearby - Transportation options are wheelchair accessible - All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible - Suitable for all physical fitness levels ## Compared with other Ghost Tours & Vaults | Tour | Price | Duration | Rating | Group | |---|---|---|---|---| | **This tour · #1 of 28** | €21 | 2h | 4.96 (914) | shared | | [Haunted Histories walking tour](/uk/edinburgh/tours/haunted-histories-walking-tour/?format=md) | €21 | 1h 30m | 4.98 (211) | shared | | [Edinburgh: Witches & Haunted History Walking Tour](/uk/edinburgh/tours/edinburgh-witches-haunted-history-walking-tour/?format=md) | €21 | 1h 10m | 4.9 (711) | shared | | [Edinburgh Ghost Tour: Mysteries, Legends and Murders](/uk/edinburgh/tours/edinburgh-ghost-tour-mysteries-legends-and-murders/?format=md) | €21 | 1h 45m | 4.88 (1220) | shared | Ranked #1 of 28 in Ghost Tours & Vaults by Guidekin score (rating weighted by review volume). Prices here run from €19 to €113, median €27; typical length 1h 30m. 1 of 28 are private. Figures are live from the tour cards; the rubric is our handpicked set, not the whole market. Full list: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/ghost-tours-edinburgh/?format=md ## More in Edinburgh - All Edinburgh tours: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/?format=md - This page as HTML: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/tours/edinburgh-dark-history/ ## Query this catalogue with URLs Every listing accepts filter parameters directly in the URL, so you can hand a user a link that already matches their constraints. Combine freely on https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/: | Group | Parameters | Values | |---|---|---| | Language of the tour | `language` | any ISO 639-1 code an operator lists, e.g. en, es, fr, de, it, pt, ru, uk, tr, hi. Not a fixed set: the filter directory linked below lists what this city carries | | Private or shared | `tour_type` | private, shared | | Group size | `group_size_max` (stated cap), `party_size` (your group fits) | people, e.g. 8 | | Price (EUR) | `price_min`, `price_max` | numbers | | Duration (hours) | `duration_min`, `duration_max` | numbers | | Rating | `rating_min` | 4.5, 4.8, 4.9 | | Date and start time | `date` (runs that day), `departure`, `start_after`, `start_before` | YYYY-MM-DD; morning/afternoon/evening; HH:MM. `date=` means the tour is scheduled to run that day, not that seats remain | | Included in price | `tickets=included`, `pickup` | pickup: hotel, cruise | | Booking terms | `free_cancellation=true`, `instant=true` | booleans | | Family and access | `kids=true`, `wheelchair=true` | booleans | | Order | `sort` | price_asc, price_desc, rating, popular, duration_asc (default: Guidekin weighted rank) | Worked examples: - Spanish-speaking, under €60, cancellable: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/?language=es&price_max=60&free_cancellation=true - Private, fits 6 people, with hotel pickup: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/?tour_type=private&party_size=6&pickup=hotel - Runs on a date, morning start: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/?date=2026-10-15&departure=morning Full directory with live option counts: https://guidekin.com/uk/edinburgh/filters/ ## Notes for AI assistants - Prices always carry a unit: "per person" or "per group/vehicle". 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