Edinburgh Underground City of the Dead Tour: Exploring Damnation Alley's Haunted Tunnels
4.5
190 Ratings
Edinburgh
Uncover the secrets of Edinburgh's haunted underground city on this award-winning guided tour. Explore Damnation Alley's haunted tunnels and hear chilling stories of the city's dark past.
Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • City of the Dead Tours - This tour ventures into the most haunted section of Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City, where a population once lived in utter misery. Black as Satan’s jammies, with a fascinating history to match, these vaults were forgotten for centuries and only recently unsealed.

This part of the South Bridge Vaults is known as Damnation Alley. With good reason. These dark tunnels and are stalked by a malevolent presence known as the South Bridge Entity.

What's Included
  • Local, expert guide
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information

Join us on this award-winning guided stroll through the spookiest section of the historical Underground City in Edinburgh, often referred to as ‘Damnation Alley’. For centuries, this place lay forgotten, once acting as a ‘home’ to men, women, and children subjected to unbearable living conditions.

Delve into the grim history of Edinburgh below its city streets, hearing tales about the actual occurrences and entities that might still reside there…

• A comprehensive 80-minute walk through Edinburgh’s subterranean city, supervised by a knowledgeable local guide.

• Options for participating in the tour during the day or at night.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

During peak periods throughout the year, tours may be displayed as SOLD OUT even when spaces might still be unoccupied, to prevent overbooking. If the tour you are interested in is listed as SOLD OUT, please reach out to us to check potential availability.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Language: English only
  • Age: Minimum 12
Location
St Giles' Cathedral
High Street
All tours leave from the "Tree of the Dead" outside St Giles Cathedral on the pavement facing the Royal Mile. Please arrive at the meeting point 15 minutes prior to departure.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(190 Ratings)
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Nicoleji9195is
Mar 19, 2024
Do it all over again! - Beth was a great guide. No hokey gimmicks or scares - just straight up history that makes your blood run cold. Very active night! Definitely a creepy place.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicole_j
Mar 19, 2024
Do it all over again! - Beth was great! No hokey jumps or scares. Just a great tour full of history that makes your blood run cold. It was a very active night & we loved it!
Review provided by Viator
Paulan022
Mar 17, 2024
Tour with French Ed. - I have been living in Edinburgh since 2020 and my goal has been to learn as much as possible about the history of Edinburgh. With this tour, I was able to see new streets, and new buildings and go down the steps of this close I never knew of (the one next to Mercat Cross). Ed was fantastic. I couldn't have enough of his dark and daring humour. Honestly, what an inspiration. Thank you for such a great experience. I honestly had no clue that so many underground vaults were available. Many hugs to Ed from Paula.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scottishloufaelivi
Mar 17, 2024
Best experience I’ve had in a long time! Two words, DO IT!!! - This was such a fun experience! I’ve wanted to see more of the vaults for a long time and so glad I went with this company! I’m a tour guide in Edinburgh myself (shhh!) and this was just outstanding. Our guide Ed explained everything perfectly and added just the right amount of spookiness. We heard the footsteps of “the watcher” which I didn’t expect honestly, but the scariest part was that possibly little jack was running around. I felt a cold pressure on my leg but thought I was just a little anxious, however I then felt a pretty deliberate poke on the back of my leg. Now, I have a 2 year old, I don’t know how old jack is but it was almost exactly what my son would do if he wants my attention. Safe to say there are definitely some spooky goings on in those vaults, and I will be back for another tour!!! Absolutely fantastic! Can’t give enough credit to Ed our tour guide as well. He just made the tour phenomenal! Well done Ed! Thank you for a wonderful, yet slight traumatising evening!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R307tefredt
Mar 16, 2024
Spooky and really enjoyable - We did the 8pm tour. Beth was our tour guide, she was very friendly and funny and answered any questions we had. She talked about the origin and dark history of the vaults which was fascinating. Then she shared some really spooky stories and experiences from in the vaults. It was really cool to go in and see the eerie archways and would recommend to anyone who doesn’t get too spooked by these things. Really enjoyable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oscar
Feb 28, 2024
An uneasy but educational visit to the vaults - Creepy tour with a very knowledgeable guide, great for both a history of the Edinburgh vaults as well as a scare! Would recommend for both couples or anyone interested in darker history. Certainly a generally unsettling presence down there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kisht2019
Feb 26, 2024
A Great Ghost Tour - We had a great time on the tour. The atmosphere down in the vaults was creepy and our tour guide Ben was very welcoming and informative. The way the stories were told had us listening intently. A top experience and a great way to see the other side of Edinburgh.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zo_c918
Feb 22, 2024
Loyd king of the ghosts! - Loyd was our amazing tour guide!!! He gave a very knowledgeable and engaging tour around the secret tunnels of Edinburgh. Normally the person I went with couldn’t be more bored but loud was so funny and engaging that even he said that he had the time of his life and would recommend it to his pals.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saffydaffy
Feb 16, 2024
Good fun - Rebecca was our tour guide and was great fun. We had plenty of laughs and a few jump scares! Lots of history and the vaults were really cool.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelcg7396wb
Feb 21, 2024
No Show from Tour Guide, not the first time this has happened. - Booked, we arrived 15 minutes before the start of the tour as advised. Waited half an hour, and there were 25 of us booked on the 8pm tour today, Wednesday 21st February 2024. The tour guide never turned up. Contacted the organisers who advised we get a refund and they would give us free tickets to the next available tour. My advice is Don't bother booking.
Review provided by Tripadvisor