Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh.
Laughter
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Museum of Childhood, 42 High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Laughing, crying and whispering are all said to have been heard coming from empty rooms within the building, and phantom footsteps walk on the upper floors.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9895
Chimney Sweep
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Nicol Edwards public house, Niddry Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This young lad managed to trap himself behind the old chimney stacks in the area and suffocated. He has been reported by members of the public not aware of the story or history.
Source:
Needs Review
First added: 2004-11-13
Last updated: 2004-11-13
ID: #5544
Fighting
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Old Fish Inn (no longer standing), Murrayfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1945-1957
Further Comments: This building was said to be the haunt of a gang of bandits, one figure was seen in the bar, while the sound of fighting could occasionally be heard in the evening.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2009-02-07
Last updated: 2009-02-07
ID: #9131
The Edinburgh Playhouse.
Albert
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Playhouse, Greenside Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dressed in a grey great coat when seen, Albert prefers to make his presence known by creating cold spots. He is thought to have been either a stagehand who died in an accident or a night watchman who killed himself.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2003-03-14
Last updated: 2003-03-14
ID: #3998
St John's church, Edinburgh.
Crying Girl
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Princes Street and St John's church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1987?
Further Comments: The crying girl haunts both the church and Princes Street. The little girl sobs into her hands, slowly fading away until completely gone. The gardens of Princes Street were once the 'Nor Loch' - when drained hundreds of bodies were found when the water was drained.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2003-01-23
Last updated: 2003-01-23
ID: #3695
Shadowy Figures
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Private flat in Bruntsfield Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: Several entities reportedly haunt this building, including cats, a dog, and possibly several people who were mistaken as 'real' by one witness.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2005-08-02
Last updated: 2005-08-02
ID: #6463
Footsteps
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Private flat, Bruntsfield area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2003-2008
Further Comments: Disembodied footsteps were heard by members of the family at night and in the early hours of the morning.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2015-03-08
Last updated: 2015-03-08
ID: #11765
Lurking Man
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Private residence along Glenlee Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A member of the family living in this house reported, on more than one occasion, seeing a man lurking in the kitchen doorway. On the day the family moved out, they were told that a former owner hanged himself from a wooden beam in the cellar, directly under the kitchen door.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2011-06-26
Last updated: 2011-06-26
ID: #10482
Crockery Smasher
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Private residence in The Inch
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: A poltergeist started to throw crockery around the kitchen, breaking all of it. The replaced crockery was also smashed, so the residents bought plastic utensils, but other kitchen items were still damaged by the entity. A priest tried to exorcise the spirit but failed.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2022-09-11
Last updated: 2022-09-11
ID: #14607
Vanishing Children
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Private residence, Comely Bank
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2017
Further Comments: A couple standing outside of their home had a conversation with a young boy and girl who vanished before their eyes.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2020-12-10
Last updated: 2020-12-10
ID: #14008
Ann Street, Edinburgh.
Mr Swan
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 12 Ann Street - private residence
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: As he drowned at sea hundreds of miles away, Mr Swan appeared to his family at the house and took the opportunity to wave goodbye before disappearing into thin air. Some report that he still returns once every few years to have a quick look in. As a side note, during the 1950s one house along Ann Street was said to be home to a white lady; it is unclear whether this is the same property or another.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-02-18
Last updated: 2003-02-18
ID: #3872
Curse of the Mummy
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 15 Learmonth Gardens
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 1930s
Further Comments: The figure of an ancient priest was seen in the building after the family returned from a trip to Egypt - it was said that the ghost had accompanied a bone that had been illegally removed from a tomb by a family member. When the piece of skeleton was destroyed, the haunting stopped.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-02-20
Last updated: 2003-02-20
ID: #3916
Yellow Eyes
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 25a Regent Terrace
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: The strange events which occurred in this shared flat included a voice which asked 'yes?', the sounds of a baby crying and heavy footsteps, the disappearance and reappearance of personal items, and the brief glimpse of a pair of narrow yellow eyes in the darkness.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2005-02-05
Last updated: 2005-02-05
ID: #5841
Female Form
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 36 Rutland Street
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 December 1887, 07:30h
Further Comments: A doctor who lived here reported seeing the apparition of a female patient he had seen the previous night. The doctor later found out the woman had died at the exact moment of his encounter.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9905
Soldier
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 5 Hazeldean Terrace
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1957
Further Comments: The ghost of a Prestonpans soldier was said to haunt this site and performed various poltergeist tricks to obtain attention from the media.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9911
Gnomey
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - 5 Rothesay Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: This phantom appeared shortly after the family purchased furniture which belonged to a recently deceased sailor. Another version of the story names the phantom as Merry Jack Tar.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9908
Old Lorry
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - A7 towards Stow
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-twentieth century to early twenty-first century
Further Comments: A phantom lorry has been blamed for causing a few accidents along this part of the A7. Other sources state phantom cars have also been encountered, including an orange Austin in 2010.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2003-03-20
Last updated: 2003-03-20
ID: #4050
Old Man
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Area of Muirhouse Gardens
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: A local paper reported that this area was haunted by an evil looking old man, with wild looking eyes and long matted hair.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9910
White Woman
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Area where sycamore tree once stood, Dovecote Road, Corstorphine
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This white lady stabbed her lover to death by the tree, while fending off his attack. She was executed for the crime, but her ghost holding a sword would return to the tree where the crime was committed. Another version of the story says that she was murdered here.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9904
Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh.
Resting Giant
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Arthur's Seat
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The rocky outcrop known as Arthur's Seat was once used as a resting place for a passing giant. In 1836 a group of schoolboys discovered seventeen tiny coffins hidden in the area, each containing a small carved figure inside. Their purpose is unknown.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2004-09-13
Last updated: 2004-09-13
ID: #5414
Burning Light
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Baberton House (aka Kilbaberton house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: One former occupant of the house reported that the Green Room was haunted, as lights would always be lit by something unseen. Another occupant, aged four at the time, had to be moved from their bedroom after they complained about the girl at the bottom of the bed.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2010-04-18
Last updated: 2010-04-18
ID: #9915
Cold Spot
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Bank of Scotland, George Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa January 1994
Further Comments: Two cleaners working alone in this building left the site after encountering disembodied footsteps, the sound of doors opening and closing, and an unnaturally cold room that enabled one witness to see their breath. A door that only the cleaners could access to had been deadbolted, even though none of the crew had touched it. One of the cleaners would later talk to a member of staff who said strange things happen on the site at night.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2022-12-22
Last updated: 2022-12-22
ID: #14703
The Banshee bar, Edinburgh.
Rosie
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Banshee public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Rosie was a prostitute who walked in the vaults beneath this pub and is now said to scratch and mark male members of staff. Another phantom, 'Six Finger Bill', sits under tables and grabs customer's ankles.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2011-09-11
Last updated: 2011-09-11
ID: #10560
Hound?
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Beehive Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 16 July 2012, around 16:00h
Further Comments: Someone drinking at the pub felt a firm nudge on their left leg, as if a dog had pushed against them, although no canine was present.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2012-10-07
Last updated: 2012-10-07
ID: #11123
Bell's Wynd, Edinburgh.
Mrs Guthrie
Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Bell's Wynd - building no longer stands
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth Century
Further Comments: The body of Mrs Guthrie lay undiscovered in a room along this wynd for 21 years. Her ghost manifested itself to a locksmith who broke in, curious to know why the flat was not being used. Guthrie's ghost appeared along the Wynd for many years after her body was removed.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2004-09-12
Last updated: 2004-09-12
ID: #5410
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