The Edinburgh Vaults

Beneath the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, lies a network of underground chambers built in the late 18th century and sealed for nearly 200 years. When the South Bridge Vaults were reopened in the 1980s, they revealed a hidden world of poverty, crime, plague victims, and murder. Today, the Edinburgh Vaults are considered among the most haunted locations in Scotland, with visitors reporting phenomena ranging from stone-throwing poltergeists to the gentle touch of ghostly children.

The History

Construction

The South Bridge was built in 1788 to connect Edinburgh’s Old Town to the new developments to the south. The bridge spans a ravine, but rather than leave empty space beneath the arches, the city enclosed them to create commercial and residential vaults.

The Design:

• 19 arches, each creating vault chambers
• Multiple levels of chambers stacked vertically
• No natural light, no ventilation
• Intended for storage, workshops, and taverns

Initial Use (1788-1820s)

Initially, the vaults were used for legitimate business:

• Cobblers and tradesmen set up workshops
• Taverns served local workers
• Wine merchants used chambers as cellars
• Storage for merchants above

But the vaults had a fundamental flaw: they were damp. The stone absorbed moisture from the air and from the ravine beneath. Within years, the respectable tenants moved out.

The Dark Years (1820s-1860s)

As legitimate business fled, the desperate moved in:

The Inhabitants:

• The extremely poor
• Criminals hiding from authorities
• Prostitutes and their clients
• Burke and Hare, the serial killers, reportedly used the vaults
• Disease victims quarantined from above

The Conditions:

• Complete darkness
• Standing water and sewage
• No fresh air
• Diseases flourished (typhus, tuberculosis, cholera)
• Murder and violence were common
• Children were born and died in the vaults

Sealing the Vaults (1860s)

By the mid-19th century, the vaults had become a public health nightmare. Edinburgh’s city council sealed them—bricking up entrances and essentially burying the underground city.

For over 100 years, the vaults were forgotten.

Rediscovery (1980s)

In the 1980s, former rugby player Norrie Rowan was renovating a building above the bridge when he broke through a wall and discovered the vaults. He spent years exploring and reopening the chambers.

What he found was a time capsule of human misery—and a space alive with paranormal activity.

The Ghosts

Mr. Boots

The most famous vault ghost is Mr. Boots—named for the heavy footsteps visitors hear throughout the vaults.

Characteristics:

• Heavy, deliberate footsteps
• Follows tour groups through the tunnels
• Creates a sense of malevolent presence
• Some have reported being grabbed or pushed
• More aggressive than other vault spirits

Theory: Mr. Boots may be the spirit of a murderer or criminal who preyed on the vault’s desperate inhabitants.

The Cobbler

A figure in old-fashioned clothing appears in what was once a cobbler’s workshop.

Reports:

• Appears as a shadowy figure working at a bench
• Sometimes looks up at visitors
• Vanishes when approached
• Associated with the smell of leather

Jack

A child ghost called Jack haunts the lower levels.

Characteristics:

• Tugs at visitors’ clothing
• Takes small objects (returns them later)
• Appears to women and children especially
• Not frightening—visitors describe a playful presence

A circle of stones arranged for Jack by a past visitor has become a focal point for those seeking contact.

The Watcher

A figure has been photographed standing in doorways and at the end of corridors.

Reports:

• Tall, dark figure
• Watches visitors without approaching
• Disappears when looked at directly
• Creates feelings of unease

The Woman in White

A female figure in white appears in several locations.

Theories:

• A prostitute murdered in the vaults
• A mother who lost children to disease
• A victim of Burke and Hare

The Stone-Throwing Poltergeist

One vault chamber has a reputation for aggressive phenomena.

Reports:

• Stones thrown at visitors
• Objects moved or hurled across rooms
• Physical sensations (pushing, scratching)
• Extremely negative energy

This vault is often avoided by tour guides.

The Evidence

Investigation Results

The Edinburgh Vaults have been investigated extensively:

TV Investigations:

• Most Haunted (UK) declared it one of their most active locations
• Ghost Adventures documented multiple phenomena
• Scottish Paranormal Society conducts regular investigations

Physical Evidence:

• Stone-throwing caught on camera
• Temperature drops measured
• EMF spikes recorded
• EVPs captured throughout

Witness Testimony:

• Tour guides who work there daily report consistent phenomena
• Tourists with no paranormal interest experience events
• Skeptics have been converted by vault experiences

What Investigators Experience

Common Reports:

• Footsteps following groups
• Cold spots that move
• Physical sensations (touching, pushing, hair-pulling)
• Stone-throwing
• Apparitions in corners and doorways
• Overwhelming feelings of dread or sadness
• Equipment malfunction
• Lights appearing without source

Tours and Access

The Tour Companies

Several companies offer vault tours:

Mercat Tours: The largest operator, offering historical and ghost tours.

Auld Reekie Tours: Known for intense ghost-focused experiences.

City of the Dead Tours: Combines vaults with other Edinburgh haunted locations.

What to Expect

Historical Tours: Focus on the social history of the vaults. Paranormal experiences are mentioned but not emphasized.

Ghost Tours: Conducted by candlelight, with stories of hauntings and time for visitors to experience the atmosphere.

Paranormal Investigations: Some companies offer overnight or extended investigation experiences.

Visitor Experiences

Tour participants regularly report:

• Being touched by something invisible
• Seeing shadows move
• Hearing footsteps in empty corridors
• Overwhelming emotional responses
• Photographing anomalies

Skeptical visitors have been known to leave convinced they experienced something inexplicable.

Why So Haunted?

The Trauma Factor

The vaults contain concentrated human suffering:

• Poverty at its most extreme
• Violence and murder
• Disease and death
• Children dying in darkness
• Bodies potentially still buried in sealed areas

The Stone Tape Theory

The vaults are constructed of limestone and sandstone—materials some believe record psychic impressions.

The Sealing

When the vaults were sealed, they became a contained environment. Whatever energy existed was trapped, intensifying over 100 years.

Still-Buried Sections

Many vault chambers remain sealed. What remains inside is unknown. The opened vaults may only hint at what lies in the still-buried sections.

The Spiritual Presence

Those sensitive to paranormal phenomena describe the vaults as spiritually dense:

Medium Reports:

• Overwhelming presence of spirits
• Layers of time existing simultaneously
• Both aggressive and gentle entities
• Children seeking attention and comfort
• Lost souls unaware they’ve died

Energy Quality: Different vaults have different “feels”:

• Some oppressive and threatening
• Some sad and lonely
• Some childlike and playful
• Some completely empty (or hiding something)

Edinburgh’s Underground

The vaults are only part of Edinburgh’s underground. The city sits on top of centuries of buried streets and buildings:

Mary King’s Close: A 17th-century street sealed after plague, now a tourist attraction.

Other Buried Streets: Sections of old Edinburgh remain unexplored beneath modern buildings.

The Pattern: Edinburgh has a history of burying its problems—and those problems, it seems, don’t stay buried.

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Beneath the tourist streets of Edinburgh lies another city—a dark, damp labyrinth where the poor and desperate lived and died. The vaults were sealed to hide the shame, but when they were reopened, something came out with them. Today, visitors descend beneath the Royal Mile and encounter footsteps that follow, children that tug at their clothes, and a presence that watches from the darkness. Edinburgh buried its past. But the past, it seems, is not ready to stay buried.