Edinburgh Vaults

The Edinburgh Vaults are known by many names; the South Bridge Vaults, the Blair Street Vaults, the Blair Street Underground Vaults, and the Niddry Street Vaults. Collectively, all these names form the Edinburgh Vaults. Located within Edinburgh's South Bridge, the Edinburgh Vaults went from being a collective of storage spaces and markets for business owners, to a hidden red-light district filled with criminal activity. The dark and damp conditions forced the businesses out and immigration, amongst other factors, caused the poor to move in. Disease and death was rife within the vaults, and murderers along with body snatchers would hide corpses here. With this information, it isn't surprising to find out that the vaults are said to be incredibly haunted. From the spirits of children to tales of a dark entity summoned through witchcraft, many kinds of spirit are said to haunt the eerie chambers today.

History

The Edinburgh Vaults date back to the 1700s and are located within the South Bridge of Edinburgh, Scotland. The city of Edinburgh straddles seven major hills with only two of these hills, Castle Hill and Calton Hill, being visible today. Castle Hill is famously the hill atop which Edinburgh Castle sits. The other hills are no longer visible because they've been masked by five bridges which were built across the valleys. The first bridge to be built was North Bridge, and the second bridge, which is the topic of this article, was South Bridge. I've found two reasons why South Bridge was built; to link Old Town's High Street with university buildings on the city's South side, and to ease overcrowding within Old Town.

The overcrowding was caused by a couple of factors; the English invasion, and the valley landscape. After the Battle of Flodden, which occured during 1513, a defensive Flodden wall was built around the city. As a result, combined with the landscape, residents had to live on top of one another; building houses upwards rather than outwards like other cities. This resulted in some buildings being fourteen stories high, and a very claustrophobic atmosphere was created. This cramped construction also led to the creation of 'closes'; narrow streets which passed between two tenement buildings.

Plans for the South Bridge were put forwards by Robert Adam, and his ideas were first published during 1752. However, it wasn't until 1785 that the South Bridge Act authorised the construction of the bridge which was to span the Cowgate valley. To make way for the new South Bridge, Marlin's Wynd, Peebles Wynd, and Niddry's Wynd were all demolished in the Cowgate area. These Wynds were all closes which dominated an area thought to be one of Edinburgh's poorest and most run-down quarters. The stones from these closes were reused in later construction, and it was on the 1st of August 1785 that the foundation stone of the South Bridge was laid by Lord Haddo, the Grand Master of Scotland. It's also been said that the Lord Provost Sir James Hunter Blair was instrumental in creating South Bridge, and this is quite possibly why the area is known as 'Blair Street' and the 'Blair Street Vaults'.

I've found that during the February of 1786, the contract to build South Bridge was awarded to the stone mason and architect Alexander Laing. I'm unsure on this year though as, to me, it seems odd for builders to be contracted roughly six months after the bridges construction began. Along with Laing, Robert Kay also worked on the building of the bridge. I have also found that Laing and Kay were both commissioned to design the bridge during 1788, however this date is clearly wrong as the South Bridge was officially completed during 1788. Another incorrect detail I've found during my research is that the South Bridge opened during 1776 following three years of construction. The detail regarding three years of construction is correct, but the South Bridge was built between 1785 and 1788.

Before the South Bridge opened, it was decided that the bridges eldest resident should be the first to cross it once open. This was likely decided not only due to her being the eldest resident, but also because she was a well known and respected judges wife. Sadly, the woman died a few days before the bridge was officially open, and so she became the first body to cross the bridge as she was transported over it in her coffin. As a result, the already fearful and superstitious residents believed the bridge to be cursed and refused to cross the bridge; instead travelling through the deep valley of the Cowgate. I honestly have no idea if there is any truth to that tale, but a number of sources have reported it. There are no names involved, so I suspect it's likely a legend that could have a bit of truth to it.

Following the bridges construction, space on the South Bridge sold at premium prices and land was fetching more per square foot than anywhere else in Europe. The finished bridge consisted of nineteen stone arches which spanned a chasm just over 1000 feet long. The highest point of the South Bridge stood at thirty-one feet above ground and the foundations went down as far as twenty-two feet. Once land was bought on the bridge, businessmen built shops on it to make the most of passing trade. Tenement houses were built along both sides of eighteen of the original nineteen arches in order to accommodate shop fronts. The only arch left visible was the Cowgate arch, and it remains this way today.

To maximise the space available, floors and ceilings were built beneath the blocked-in arches. This resulted in the construction of dark, airless, vaulted chambers; areas which were originally used as workshops and storage vaults for the businessmen. A combination of records, excavations, and found artifacts all point to the early days of the vaults featuring businessmen triving in these spaces. People worked as cobblers, cutlers, smelters, victuallers, and milliners in these spaces; plus taverns also opened and operated out of the vaults. In total there were estimated to be 120 vaults/rooms which all opened during 1788 with the bridge.

Some of these rooms, which can be seen during a tour of the Blair Street Vaults, included the Kettle Room, the Storage Room, the Double-Height Room, the Tavern Room, the Niddry Street Corridor, the Cobbler's Room, the Wine Vault, the Caretaker's Room, and the White Room. The Kettle Room contained brick shelves and a stone fireplace to keep people warm. The Storage Room was used to store goods and valuables of people who lived in the vaults. The Double-Height Room was part of the city's commerce and so was used for craftmen's workshops. The Tavern Room was often filled with oysters as they were cheap and nutritious, plus they made up a major part of the diets of poor people during the 1700s. The Tavern Room also has historical value for the social and economic classes too as, during the 1700s, it was common for these different classes to mix in the dark cellars beneath taverns when eating and drinking. The Tavern Room was also the place to go for great food and socialising.

The Niddry Street Corridor contains privately owned vaults used for pubs and clubs today, but since the 1800s this part of the vaults gained a notorious reputation due to both it's popularity and criminal element it contained. The Cobbler's Room is one of the most active paranormal rooms and is thought to be haunted by a cobbler who uses it as his workshop. The Wine Vaults and Caretaker's room were both used for wine storage as even though Edinburgh is famous for beer brewing, back during the 1700s Scotland's national drink was claret. The Wine Vault had great value for this reason as it allowed for the wine to be stored in a place both dark and cool. Finally, nothing is known about the purpose of the White Room. It's suspected that it could have been used to deliver goods into the vaults due to the presence of a large window within this room; but no one knows for sure. Each vault was marked with a plaque to make sure it was easy to remember where everything was stored.

People did live within the vaults, and it's believed this occured between the years of 1790 and 1874. However, the life expectancy of new residents was only six months due to the worsening conditions of the vaults. When the bridge was built, it was fundamentally flawed as it was not waterproof due to it's limited budget. This meant that leaks happened within the vaults, and they could become flooded. As a result, the vaults were dark, cold, and damp places to be. These conditions slowly forced what resembled an underground market of businesses out of the vaults; and without these businesses present, things became much worse within the vaults.

The abandonment began during 1795, although sources have also said the vaults became abandoned by legitimate businesses during 1796. One business owner, James Henderson, actually moved his linen drapery and haberdashery business from North Bridge into the South Bridge vaults during the late May of 1799; showing that despite the conditions, some businesses still found the vaults of potential use. In this case, it's suspected that James used the vaults as a storage area. The vaults were also used for illegal whisky distillery, and were home to an infamous distillery known as 'Whisky Row'. The vaults also served as stables to the Royal families bodyguards, the French Cavalry.

As the vaults continued to empty of legitimate business, they slowly became a form of slum and red-light district. The poorest and most disreputable sections of society called the vaults home. The kinds of people in the vaults included immigrant Irishmen, Highlanders seeking refuge from the clearances, mercenary landlords, murderers, and body snatchers. By the 1820s, legitimate businesses had completely moved out of the vaults; and it only got worse. Between te years of 1827 and 1829, although one source says more specifically during 1828, the 'West Port Murders' happened. During this time, two Irish immigrants called William Burke and William Hare alledgedly killed sixteen people who were mostly women. It's said that Burke and Hare stashed the bodies of their victims within the South Bridge Vaults to then sell at a later date to a surgeon who would dissect them during popular anatomy lectures. It's also said that Burke and Hare looked for victims within the vaults.

The Blair Street Vaults are the deepest and most extensive set of vaults within the South Bridge, and it isn't surprising that the South Bridge vaults were a common site for robbery, stabbings, and murder. It's suspected murderers looked for victims here due to how unknown the residents were, and it's suspected that body snatchers stashed the bodies they stole here due to the close proximity to the medical school, plus the Canongate and Greyfriars graveyards. The vaults were also cool enough to keep the unearthed, or freshly murdered bodies, fresher for longer.

Another murderer associated with the vaults is Mary McKinnon. She is said to have owned a tavern, or brothel, within the vaults and slashed a customer with her knife. The customer was William Howat, and the slashing came about after William and his friends refused to pay for their drinks when stopped, after they had left. William and his friends refused to pay and got into a fight with the girls who had stopped them, and so Mary knifed William to protect the girls. William was severely injured, but lived long enough to testify against Mary; leading to Mary being sentenced to death by hanging at age twenty-eight.

The vaults are thought to have had between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants. This could largely be due to the Irish Potato Famine which occured between 1845 and 1847. During this time, Scotland was flooded with refugees and many of the refugees in Edinburgh ended up living in the South Bridge Vaults. The Cowgate area became known as 'Little Ireland' during the 1840s and 1850s due to how many Irish refugees lived there.

The constant damp environment, plus lack of sanitation, also caused lots of illness within the vaults. Such illnesses which were common here included cholera, tuberculosis, smallpox, and typhus. There would be more than ten people to one room, and so it's incredibly easy to see why life expectancy was only six months for those living in these conditions. During excavations, old toys, broken medicine bottles, clay pipes, buttons, horse shoes, snuff boxes, cracked stoneware, ceramic jars, pots, and plates have all been found; showing just how lived in these vaults were.

By the 1860s, the vaults were largely abandoned by everyone due to the awful conditions. It was then decided that the vaults should be filled with rubble to prevent any squatters from living in them, plus it gave more security to the street level businesses. Apparently the vaults were used as air raid shelters during World War Two, but few sources have mentioned this detail and so it may not be true. Regardless, the Edinburgh Vaults remained untouched until they were rediscovered during 1985 by businessman and former Scottish rugby internationalist, Norrie Rowan. Norrie apparently discovered the vaults while renovating his flat and so removed the rubble by hand with his son. I don't know if this is exactly what happened as a similar story exists regarding the rediscovery of the Niddry Street Vaults, as they were discovered when a student bouncing a ball against a wall noticed that one wall was more hollow than the others, so knocked down the wall and discovered the vaults. It's also said this student was renting one of the rooms above the vaults; and so I suspect this story and the one regarding Norrie could be the same.

It is also said that during 1989, Norrie helped the Romanian rugby player Cristian Raducanu avoid the Romanian secret police by using a trap door within the Tron Tavern which led directly into the vaults. This caused Cristian to escape and emerge several hundred yards away from the tavern. Another pub with a hidden door into the vaults is the 'Banshee Labyrinth Pub', and this pub is known as being the most haunted pub in Scotland. Following the excavations, a few tour companies have gained access to the vaults. The first ghost tours were done by 'Mercat Tours' from 1996, and since then other tour groups such as 'Auld Reekie Tours', 'City Of The Dead', and 'City Of Edinburgh Tours' have also led tours through the Edinburgh Vaults. The vaults have also appeared on a number of TV programmes such as 'Abandoned Engineering', 'The Worst Jobs In History With Tony Robinson', and 'Underground Britain'.

No major reconstruction has occured to the South Bridge over the years, although it does have a few age related structural problems. Electricity has been put into the vaults, and after some reconstruction they now house nightclubs, a theatre, and a number of pubs have been opened in the vaults, such as 'The Caves' and 'The Rowantree Bar'. Nirvana and Kurt Cobain have also used the vaults as a rehearsal space when they were performing in Edinburgh.

There are multiple different sections of the Edinburgh Vaults, all located beneath South Bridge, and these are split between the businesses which use them today, the Blair Street Vaults, and the Niddry Street Vaults. Sadly, most of the vaults have been closed to the public since 2015, but the Blair Street and Niddry Street Vaults are still open for tours. The Niddry Street Vaults are not as deep as the Blair Street Vaults, but they seem to be known mostly for their hauntings.

Hauntings

The Niddry Street Vaults are the vaults said to be discovered by a student bouncing a ball against a wall. These vaults consist of four rooms which are interconnected by a main corridor. What is known as the most haunted pub in Edinburgh is above these vaults, and a witches coven used a couple of the vaults for rituals. No access is allowed into the first vault as this is where the local coven, the 'Source Coven Of The Blue Dragon' practised. This covens high priest was George Cameron, and was a Wiccan known as 'The Hermit'. He is the one who set up the temple in the vault linked with the torturing of witches, and who built the rock circle you can see in one of the other vaults. You can see the first vault through a barred window, and you can see an alter, a painted pentagon on the floor, plus other items within the room through the window. The coven stopped practicing around 2014.

The second vault was a location where families are said to have sheltered during the great fire of Edinburgh. During this event, the entrance was sealed from the outside to protect everyone within. However, this turned the vault into a giant oven and everyone who sheltered in this vault died. Stone throwing has been said to occur within this vault. The third vault is known as the poltergeist lair, and a tour group was split so that the men were to the left of the room and the women were to the right of the room as so to make it harder for the poltergeist to pick a victim from the group.

The fourth and final vault is alledgedly home to a demon. This is where the stone circle was created, and apparently the coven was originally stationed in this vault. It's said they created a portal through scrying, and as a result a demonic entity is trapped within the stone circle of protection and attacks anyone who enters. When the Most Haunted team investigated, Stuart was alledgedly attacked when he entered the circle.

Regarding the Blair Street Vaults, the haunted rooms seem to be the Double-Height Room, the Tavern Room, the Niddry Street Corridor, the Cobbler's Room, the Wine Vault, the Caretaker's Room, and the White Room. The Double-Height Room is called this because it has a high ceiling, likely due to a collapsed door, and in 2005 a woman on a tour claimed to see a man who looked like Abraham Lincoln standing infront of the upper floor's door. This spirit is known as the Aristocrat and is described as being a tall man with a top hat and beard. He's said to often be seen in this room, but is also seen within the Tavern Room. It's claimed that dogs dislike the Double-Height Room; barking, whimpering, and refusing to enter. A bird-like apparition has also been experienced here which swoops down and claws at people. Also close to the upstairs doorway, a naked man has been seen floating. Temperature changes and a menacing atmosphere are also experienced within this room.

The Tavern Room is the second dwelling of the Aristocrat. Psychics have said this spirit's name is either Finnion or Gerain McKenzie. Apparently he leans against a wall and watches people, smiling at them in a hostile way. It's also suspected that this spirit was a member of the Hell-Fire Club, which was a notorious gentleman's club located within the vaults. People have also seen a black mass moving along the ceiling, plus the apparition of a dark figure which paces around the room. Sighs and screams have been heard in this room, plus people feel unexplainable drunk in this room. When this happens, the person effected can also appear drunk and so are unable to walk in a straight line and suffer from extreme giggling.

The Niddry Street Corridor is alledgedly home to a malevolent male spirit. This spirit is said to be territorial and shouts 'get out'. The appearance of this spirit is a big man in a dirty blue overcoat, and he looks to be holding something in his hand; possibly a knife. It also seems this spirit thinks he owns this part of the vaults.

The Cobbler's Room contains what is reported to be the very happy spirit of a shoemaker from the late 1700s or early 1800s. This spirit was first seen during 1997 in the southwest corner of the room, and he appears as a short man who is stocky and bald. He's also possibly in his early 50s and wears a leather apron over a white shirt. The shoemaker sits on a bench while working on a shoe and seems to enjoy company. Apparently, the shoemaker is always laughing and smiling and is interested in footwear to the point of tugging on laces. It's said he doesn't understand velcro though. The shoemaker is also said to protect people from malevolent spirits.

Another spirit said to haunt the Cobbler's Room is the veiled woman. Small stones have been thrown at visitors, and have been seen to bounce off walls, within this room; and these incidents are attributed to the veiled woman. Some people also see stones be thrown across this room. It's said female visitors feel grief, anger, and abdominal pains while standing in the north-west corner of this room. These feelings are all linked to the veiled woman, and she is said to be a young woman dressed in black. She also wears a veil as though grieving. Psychics have said she's disturbed, and they think she's lost a child in a traumatic way.

The Wine Vault is said to be home to a little boy who goes by the name of Jack or James. The most common name I've found for this spirit is Jack. Despite commonly being spotted in this room, it's said Jack also wanders the entire area. It's thought that Jack is six, seven, or eight years old and has blonde curly hair. Apparently he wears a blue suit, knickerbocker trousers, and a white shirt. It's thought that Jack possibly died while working for illegal smugglers, is mischievous, and is in search for a new parental figure. He likes to watch visitors from the lower shelf and moves around when there are groups. He also likes other children and holds hands with women, potentially seeing them as a mother figure. It's said that Jack likes to sing and play with a red ball, and that he sometimes bounces a rubber ball which makes people jump. He is also known to tug on people's sleeves, hair, clothes, and coats. One reason for this is that he is afraid of a spirit known as 'Mr Boots' and so tries to prevent people from entering the Blair Street Corridor. I believe the Blair Street Corridor mentioned in one source is likely the same location as, and a misnaming of, the Niddry Street Corridor. Jack is also said too hide in the Cobbler's Room as he feels protected there.

The Caretaker's Room is said to be haunted by a man who sits by the fireplace. This man is relaxed with his legs outstretched and a drink in his hand. A small wiry-haired terrier-like dog sits at this man's feet and brushes against people's legs. The dog is also said to sniff at people, and apparently it's wagging tail is sometimes the only thing people see. It's also said that the wailing, crying, or moaning of children can be experienced in this room.

The White Room is said to be haunted by Mr Boots. This spirit is also known as 'The Watcher', and appears as a big man that wears knee-length leather boots which are dirty. His footsteps can be heard throughout the vaults, and he apparently sneaks up on people. He's said to have bad breath that smells like rotting teeth and whisky, and people have reported feeling his breath on their neck. He's also said to be tall, draped in a long coat, and has long hair which is tied back into a ponytail. Plus, he wears a large pointed hat. He is said to walk the entire space of the vaults, and people, such as a source mentioned earlier, think he is the same spirit that haunts the Niddry Street Corridor. It seems this isn't the case as Mr Boots is particularly protective over the White Room instead and so seems to want no one in there.

Mr Boots is said to be a strong spirit that can make batteries drain, can make cameras malfunction, can make lights go out, and can scratch people. This ability to inflict pain has led people to speculate that Mr Boots may have been a body snatcher or murderer and so hid victims within the White Room. The smell of death has been reported in this room, and apparently Mr Boots once shouted 'my name is Edward' when his nickname 'Mr Boots' was used. He also is said to avoid the Cobbler's Room, and apparently causes the sound of rattling keys. People have reported feeling him brush past them, and they've reported hearing a low menacing growl coming from him. He's also said to appear as a shadow figure and has the ability to throw rocks at people. Other theories as to who Mr Boots could have been is a city guard who patrolled the vaults, or a watchman who was hired by a wine merchant. Mr Boots is also said to have famously photo-bombed an image taken in the July of 2015 by Emma Surgenor of her sister Lauren.

Another spirit said to haunt the vaults is that of Mary McKinnon, the tavern/brother owner who murdered William Howat. It's said that people can still hear the shrieks of her pleadings. Two more spirits said to haunt the vaults are the white lady and a young girl called Annie. The white lady is said to wear a white dress and carry a perfume bottle, and is more friendly than malevolent. She also leaves a floral scent. As for who she is, I have no idea. I've found that she's linked to Edinburgh Castle though, so I'm doubtful around if she does haunt the vaults. As for Annie, apparently she's one of the most famous spirits to haunt the vaults; but again, I don't know if she definitely does. It's said Annie is a young girl who was abandoned by her parents, and that visitors and tour guides have heard the sound of a young girl laughing or crying. Some have seen the apparition of a child in the shadows, and it's said Annie is looking for her missing doll.

While researching the hauntings, I've found that a child called 'Annie' also haunts Mary Kings Close. This little girl died of sickness during 1645, way before the South Bridge was built, and is lonely due to losing her doll. While Annie could very well be one of the spirits haunting Edinburgh, it seems to me like she can't haunt the South Bridge if the date of her death is correct. The story regarding the doll is the same for both little girls, and so I feel they're likely the same and that a false medium has likely mixed up locations of the spirit at some point when doing research. I believe the same thing is said to have happened regarding an alledged haunting within the Aldwych Underground Station.

The final detail I've found regarding the hauntings is an experience revolving around a maintenance man called Jamie Corstorphine. It was written in an article from 2022 that he maintains the tunnels and works up to ten hours starting from shortly before midnight. During an interview, he said that he was working near the entrance one night and heard the sound of children laughing at roughly 3:10am. He immediately went to look at the street, but saw it was deserted. He then says he didn't finish that shift and got a taxi home. He also said that this is the only time he's done this. Sadly, he doesn't elaborate on if the laughter was male or female; but it's easy from looking at the hauntings why the BBC has called the Edinburgh Vaults 'possibly one of the most haunted places in Britain'.

Summary Of Hauntings

1. Mr Boots: aka 'the watcher', possible name Edward, murderer/smuggler/body snatcher/city guard/watchman, tall, big man, long coat, dirty knee-high leather boots, long hair tied in ponytail, large pointed hat, bad breath smells of rotting teeth and whisky, avoids the Cobbler's Room - the White Room, heard through vaults

2. Jack: possibly James, 6/7/8 yrs old, blonde curly hair, blue suit, white shirt, knickerbocker trousers, likes women and children, afraid of Mr Boots, prevents people from entering Corridor, mischievous - The Wine Vault, hides in the Cobblers Room

3. The Aristocrat: Finnion or Gerain McKenzie, tall man, top hat, beard, leans against wall, watches people, hostile grin, possible Hell-Fire Club member - The Double-Height Room, upstairs near doorway, the Tavern Room

4. Malevolent spirit: territorial, shouts 'get out', big man, dirty blue overcoat, holding something (possibly knife) - Niddry Street Corridor

5. The Shoemaker: late 1700s/early 1800s, short, stocky, bald, early 50s, leather apron, white shirt, sits on bench, enjoys company, fascinated by shoes, doesn't understand velcro, always laughing and smiling, protects from malevolent spirits - The Cobbler's Room, south-west corner

6. The veiled woman: woman in black, wears veil, possibly grieving, disturbed, possibly lost child in traumatic way - The Cobbler's Room, north-west corner

7. Man by fireplace: relaxed, legs outstretched, drink in hand - The Caretaker's Room

8. Man by fireplaces dog: wiry-haired terrier, sits at feet of man, brushes against people's legs, sniffs at people, people see wagging tail - The Caretaker's Room

9. Mary McKinnon: murdered William Howat, hung, died age 28

10. Naked Man: naked, male - The Double-Height Room, upstairs near doorway

11. Black Mass: moves along ceiling - The Tavern Room

12. Dark Figure: paces about room - The Tavern Room

13. Annie: young girl, abandoned by parents, looking for missing doll, possibly died of sickness in 1645 and instead haunts Mary Kings Close

14. The White Lady: white dress, carries perfume bottle, leaves floral scent, friendly - linked to Edinburgh Castle, may not actually haunt the vaults

15. Potential great fire of Edinburgh victims: died in vault - Niddry Street Vault two

16. The Poltergeist: unknown - Niddry Street Vault three

17. The Demonic Entity: summoned by coven - Niddry Street Vault four, stone circle

18. Children laughing - Annie, Jack/James

19. Young girl crying - Annie

20. Apparition of child - Annie

21. Sound of keys rattling - Mr Boots

22. Breath felt on neck - Mr Boots

23. Sound of boots stomping - Mr Boots

24. Low menacing growl - Mr Boots

25. Rocks thrown - Mr Boots, Veiled woman, fire victims, poltergeist

26. Smell of rotting teeth and whisky - Mr Boots

27. Floral scent - White Lady

28. Tugs on clothes/hair/sleeves/coats - Jack/James

29. Rubber ball bouncing - Jack/James

30. Hand held - Jack/James

31. Wailing/crying/moaning of children - Caretaker's Room

32. Scratch Marks - Malevolent Spirit, Mr Boots

33. Batteries drain - Mr Boots

34. Cameras malfunction - Mr Boots

35. Lights go out - Mr Boots

36. Smell of death - The White Room

37. Shrieks of pleadings - Mary McKinnon

38. Sighs - The Tavern Room

39. Screams - The Tavern Room

40. Drunken feeling - The Tavern Room

41. Shoelaces pulled - The Shoemaker

42. Temperature changes - The Double-Height Room

43. Feelings of grief, anger, and abdominal pains - the veiled woman, north-west corner of the Cobbler's Room

My Thoughts

If everything I have written about is true, which I hope it is, then the Edinburgh Vaults are a contender for one of the most haunted locations I've written about. Sadly, I highly doubt much of what I've written about regarding the hauntings is true. I always speculate about the impact tourism has when it comes to the details of hauntings, and this location has practically been owned by companies interested in selling the paranormal since the 90s. As a result, I think more than a few details and tales have likely been created or exaggerated in order to sell tickets. The reason why I have only briefly mentioned the Most Haunted teams involvement with the vaults, until now, is because I feel they likely added to the hauntings which were already likely being exaggerated as it is. I don't think Stuart was legitimately attacked when in the stone circle, and I would gladly stand in that circle while being filmed to try and prove otherwise.

I'm also wary of this location's hauntings because there are typical 'scary' tales of demons, poltergeists, murderers, body snatchers, and witches opening portals. There are also inconsistencies in my research regarding Annie, which indicate to me that psychics have muddled up information akin to what Derek Acorah did on a few occasions. The amount of detail into each spirit's appearance is a clear indication to me that this information has either been passed along by tour guides likely making up details to make it more entertaining, or it's information that's been passed around by psychics who have visited the vaults. The information coming from psychics doesn't necessarily mean the psychics are wrong, I'm just really skeptical when it comes to psychics due to Derek Acorah being shown as fake.

As always, I do think there will be spirits that haunt the vaults. If the history is accurate, which it should be, then I can absolutely see people who died of illness as a result of living in the vaults haunting the location. I think even the business owners have potential to haunt the location as they will have had a decent attachment to the location as that location was their business and their income. Out of the hauntings listed, I think the ones most likely to exist are the ones which have few details to them. The shadows are likely just tricks of the light, but I think there are likely children there along with craftsmen.

Looking at the hauntings through a much more skeptical point of view, I do think many experiences will not be legitimate. The conditions are dark, damp, cold, and seemingly claustrophobic. Combined with the ghost stories, it's incredibly easy for the mind to play tricks in this atmosphere. Shadows will move along the walls in a strange way, noises will be different and potentially unrecognisable due to the acoustics, and a feeling of being touched could just be down to a drop of water leaking onto you. 'Underground' locations like this can be strange places on your senses, and this is why many caves have tales regarding witches and the devil.

If investigating this location, it's definitely best to remove as much of the human element as possible. I know there are people who don't like devices, and who think the devices are all likely fake, but it's these types of locations where devices are an absolute requirement. You can't trust your senses at all in this location, and so technology immediately becomes more reliable; even if it can be dodgy. Personally, I would keep it simple as I don't know how certain bits of equipment would react to such a location. This means I would bring trigger objects such as toy cars and stuffed bears, anything that can be tipped or pushed with relative ease, and for the technology I would bring the Spirit Talker app combined with a few cat balls, and a camera. Some sort of voice recorder would be interesting, but if the vaults are as described then you could end up misinterpreting things like dripping water as voices. I would also bring something to record temperature given reports about temperature changes.

One really interesting, but potentially hazardous, experiment to do in this location would be to take a couple of people onto the vaults blindfolded. Many of the hauntings are connected to certain rooms and areas, so if you bring a few people into those spaces blindfolded then it would be interesting to see if they picked up on anything accurate while their sight of the location is blocked out. In theory, it's mainly going to be the visuals of the vaults which play tricks on the mind, so it would be interesting to remove that element and see if it still seems just as haunted as people claim. It would definitely be especially interesting to stand a blindfolded person into the stone circle without them knowing anything about it.

An important detail to mention is that while researching this article, I've come across a couple of photos which were being claimed as being legitimate images of spirits. I have included these images above this paragraph in order to properly discuss them and why I've included them in this article. As you can see, the first of the two images was taken within the Niddry Street Vaults, and I assume the second was also taken within the vaults. I do not know all the different photo errors which can occur and produce things that look like spirits, and so I tend not to comment on images of alledged spirits unless I'm absolutely sure I know how the effect was created.

For the two images above, I've decided to discuss them as to me they are clearly not photo evidence of spirits being within the vaults. When I saw the top image, I immediately suspected that someone's finger had gone infront of the lense. The second image confirmed this suspicion for me as the white shape clearly looks like a thumb. I assume the white effect will be caused by a camera flash, and the blur will likely be motion blur that's occured with the thumb moving as the photo was taken. Thankfully many comments featured in the article these images were from agree with my assumption, and so I felt it important to discuss the images here so that no one reads the article they're from and assumes them to be real.

It's always important to be skeptical of alledged spirit photographs, especially when news articles are claiming them to be legitimate. The news articles do not care about the legitimacy of paranormal photographs, and only care about how many people have read the article. If they can lead the article with a clearly fake image, such as these, knowing it will get the article more readers; then they will do so in order to make more money.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article! I really wasn't expecting this article to take so long to write given it's a fairly simple history, but its ended up being surprisingly chunky. In total, this article was roughly ten pages of notes long, which really is quite lengthy. I found it interesting regardless, and will hopefully visit the vaults myself one day. There were so many details on the hauntings that I had to change the format a little when it came to writing the summary of hauntings, so please let me know if this worked for you and I'll see about incorporating it into future articles. I've also added this article to the 'Locations Of Interest' tag due to the false photos and the speculation around tour groups potentially adding to and fabricating hauntings in order to increase ticket sales. Plus, the location has a stone circle with a demon in it; the easiest thing ever to test and disprove.

A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, Chris Willcx, Nicola Jada, Nita Raveling-Hamilton, David Lee Jones, theinoculator, 1141520851813892291920, Angeles Wernicke Zapiola, Ke v, Crispinfandom, Thiago Lima, Edgar Darnell, Jacks-and-graves, The Cornish Ghost Whisperers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, Codegas Codex of Curiousity, Phantom Detectives LLC, Shadow Walkers Paranormal Investigators, South Of Spooky, Don't Scare Claire, blogparanormalexpresso2stuff, Paranormal Connections, Phantom Seekers Paranormal, chatibelieveinghosts, Purbeck Paranormal Investigators, and Ghost Investigations for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to be thanked in an article, or in the monthly appreciation post I make across social media, then please share my articles and tag 'The True Paranormal'. If I see that you've shared, then I will publicly thank you!

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Sources I Have Used

1. Historic UK

2. Mercat Tours

3. Mercat Tours: Facts

4. Visit Scotland

5. Forever Edinburgh

6. The Little House Of Horrors

7. Authentic Vacations

8. The Tour Guy

9. The Scotsman

10. Spooky Things

11. Ancient Origins