We have been in a lot of haunted places.
Not haunted in the touristy sense (though Mary King’s Close did have some of that and there are plenty of ghost tours in Edinburgh), but haunted in the legitimate sense.
Places where you get that feeling of history. Where spirits live inside the walls.
Where, if you close your eyes and listen closely, you can hear the echoes of the past.
The closes of Edinburgh are definitely on that list of legitimate haunts.
In fact, they are probably home to more ghosts than any other place in the city.
(Side note: A close is an alley/walkway (typically narrow with buildings rising on either side). In Edinburgh’s Old Town, many of them have stairs or just a really good slope to them.)
The Real Mary King’s Close Tour
On our walk through Edinburgh’s closes, let’s start with the most famous close in the city, The Real Mary King’s Close, famous because it’s well-preserved, and, welp, let’s face it, because it’s a tourist attraction.
To see the Real Mary King’s Close, you have to take a guided tour.
The guides perform as characters, and there is definitely a bit of cheese factor involved here.
Like they use actors on screens in one segment and encourage you to pose for a photo amusement-park-style at the end. (It’s not ideal.)
They also don’t allow you to take your own photos. Which is a bit of a bummer, but for good reason.
Much of the close lies under the City Chambers, so they have to account for ne’er-do-wells.
So, our photos come from outside the close and the restroom area.
The Tour
The tour of Mary King’s Close takes you through several rooms/old houses/old shops before winding down onto the close itself, and is really quite interesting.
Generally speaking, we are not “take a tour” type of people.
If there’s a DIY option, we’re always going to choose that. (It would have been nice in this instance.)
But, still, it was pretty informative and interesting.
I learned a thing or two. Some of them even stuck.
On the tour, your guide will tell you about the plague in Edinburgh and the night Mary Queen of Scots spent in a close nearby.
You’ll hear tales of former citizens and the plights of the poor.
As for the haunt-factor, you’ll find out which room Prince… er, King… Charles refused to go in when he visited because his safety dog, which apparently serves the same purpose as a canary in a coal mine, wouldn’t stop barking in it.
It was probably just like a gas leak or something, but still…
And there were some rooms where you could almost get the feeling something had once happened there.
Like the room where people leave toys for the little girl’s ghost.
We’ll call it “essence of haunting.”
- Walk through the Old Town’s distinctive closes, wynds and secluded squares.
- 75 Minute evening walking tour of Edinburgh’s Old Town and South Bridge vaults.
- Visit the world-famous, eerie, unforgettable Greyfriars Kirkyard. Hear terrifying stories of hauntings, murders, executions and cannibalism.
- 6.45pm Evening tour is suitable for families.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Verdict?
Overall, I do wish the experience hadn’t been quite so structured, that we’d had more time to simply stand in the rooms and absorb them, but we did learn some cool stuff and it was worth seeing a close stuck in time.
For what it was, I dug it.
But, for the record, we did not pose for a photo at the end.
Though, we did take pictures outside the toilets.
The Real Mary King’s Close Location
(Right off The Royal Mile across from St. Giles Cathedral)
The Real Mary King’s Close Opening Times
9 am – 9 pm during the high season (April through October).
Shorter hours during most of winter.
What You Should Know About The Real Mary King’s Close
- Walk through the Old Town’s distinctive closes, wynds and secluded squares.
- 75 Minute evening walking tour of Edinburgh’s Old Town and South Bridge vaults.
- Visit the world-famous, eerie, unforgettable Greyfriars Kirkyard. Hear terrifying stories of hauntings, murders, executions and cannibalism.
- 6.45pm Evening tour is suitable for families.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
You must go up and down stairs to get to it.
That mean it’s not accessible for the mobility-impaired.
Parts of it are fragile.
When we entered one area, we were asked not to touch the walls, because they were trying to preserve what was left of them.
What this meant in our experience was that maybe those younger kids who want to touch everything are best not brought on this one.
Honestly, they’ll probably be bored anyway. There really wasn’t much here to entertain the younger set.
It’s not even a little bit scary.
No need for a change of underwear.
Sadly.
Edinburgh’s Other Closes
Now, from beneath the streets of Edinburgh out into the city.
While I do think The Real Mary’s King’s Close is worthwhile enough to see, and you will definitely get some interesting history seeing it, you really don’t have to pay money or have a tour guide to experience Edinburgh’s closes as they ought to be experienced.
Many of them are still in use, and don’t look all that different than they once did. I’m assuming. I mean, they look as old as everything else.
Personally, we have used the closes off the Royal Mile to escape the crowds many a time.
Our last stay in Edinburgh, our hotel was right at the bottom of one, so it was often the quickest route. Down, at least.
It was a helluva lot of stairs to start out a day in the abnormal heat. Plus, there were plenty of local coffee shops right along the street that wound up.
The fact that the closes around Old Town are steep and often have stairs must dissuade plenty of people.
I am ever surprised by how empty the closes can be even when the streets around them are teeming.
Or maybe it’s the fact that they are typically in shadow and can look pretty foreboding, sitting there as darkened doorways or passageways off the main streets.
Even in the middle of the day.
Like this (grainy) doorway to the Writers Court/Warriston’s Close right off The Royal Mile –
Where does it lead? To hell? Probably to hell.
Only it doesn’t. It’s actually the nearest close to Mary King’s Close.
Go through that doorway, and it will take you right past the waiting area for the Mary’s King’s Close tour.
Then, down a bevy of steps.
So, yeah, Edinburgh’s closes are still active routes of travel through the city, if you’re willing to use them.
And that’s pretty much all that they are. During the day.
But, if you are looking for those ghosts of Edinburgh, just find an empty close and walk it at night.
If you can’t commune with the spirits here, I don’t know what to tell ya.
