Going Underground: Find a Hidden Edinburgh

At the heart of many a tourist’s wish list is the ability to try and discover the interesting side of any city they are visiting. Museums, art galleries and visitor centres are all excellent tourist attractions – but they don’t always teach you about the quirkier and more hidden culture of a city. And Edinburgh in particular has a fascinating – and sometimes rather murky – past waiting to be discovered.

If you visit any new city, it is advisable - and often rewarding - to do some investigating of your own, in order to get off the beaten track and find the hidden secrets it has to offer. Edinburgh is quite unique and any personal investigation may well lead you below street level and into the eerie vaults that lurk beneath the old town.

Originally used as shop stores back in the 1700s, they were then gradually abandoned and adopted by less savoury underclass dwellers and used as slums, brothels and hide-outs. Naturally things turned a little sour and in this cramped, gloomy and lifeless vault atmosphere petty crimes, robberies and murders are reported to have taken place. In the mid 1800s the vaults were closed down, but that is far from the end of their story.

Fast forward to present day and most of the vault rooms have now been re-discovered and excavated by hand; destined for an equally dark and mysterious role in present day Edinburgh. The vaults are now the most chilling area to visit in search of ghosts, spirits and poltergeists – and many of the top city ghost tours will take you down into their depths with little more than a torch for company.

The vaults are thought to be one of the most haunted places in the city. And because of the crime and unlawful activity that is said to have taken place, myth has it that many unhappy and restless souls are still lurking down there in ghostly form.

Some of the tours offer overnight stays down in the vaults, but this will likely only appeal to the very brave among you. Therefore, you can rest assured knowing that most Edinburgh hotels on the whole offer fewer dark tales and are not likely to be home to any spooks.

Edinburgh can prove the ideal location for those of you who fancy exploring the hidden depths of a city; and you can’t get much more hidden than the vaults. What’s more, the old town area of Edinburgh offers scenic and beautiful attractions to wander around in their own right, trailing down the quaint alleyways to discover the quirky old winding closes. However, just watch out for whatever – or whomever – might be lurking round that next turn.