The Haunted Vaults of South Bridge, Edinburgh: Where Edinburgh's Dark Past Refuses to Rest

South Bridge is a road bridge which was an extension of the North Bridge, an 18th-century addition to the city to connect the Old Town with the New Town. Edinburgh’s first purpose-built shopping street, the idea was to have shops on road level, tenement housing above and storage rooms below ground. The latter now makes up the infamous Edinburgh Vaults.

The bridge itself is hidden in plain sight with the South Bridge road on top. You may not even realise you aren’t on ground level as you walk along South Bridge at street level. Only the largest and most impressive arch is left exposed, where the bridge crosses the Cowgate. Giving a strange sensation as you see ground level is actually far below where you stand.

The bridge is made of 19 arches, which are almost entirely enclosed by buildings on both sides. The remaining 18 arches were enclosed behind tenement buildings and given extra floors and entrances for the merchants above to use as storeroom vaults. In total, there are around 120 vaults completely hidden beneath the South Bridge, ranging from only a few metres in size to 40 square metres rooms. All of which are connected by stone staircases and pathways.

Eventually, due to poor air quality and damp, businesses left the vaults in the 1820s, and the vaults became home to Edinburgh's most destitute residents. A dark, windowless stone row of tunnels and corridors created a warren under the city, ripe for criminal activity. A prefect hiding place for illegal gambling taverns, illegal whisky distilleries, and rumoured body snatchers. A place where poverty, crime, and death converged in the damp darkness.

Today, the vaults can be experienced by visitors to Edinburgh in a number of ways. Visits to the vaults are now conducted by tour companies, and spooky happenings are abundantly reported by staff and guests. If you want to stay above ground, Whistle Binkies pub is made up of some vault rooms. Guests speak of the venue's unsettling atmosphere. One noted the venue is "not a pub suitable for the squeamish," describing stone walls and furniture that transport visitors five hundred years back. Staff of Whistle Binkies pub and visitors report encounters with three distinct entities: Mr Boots, The Watcher, and The Imp.

Mr Boots announces his presence through heavy, echoing footsteps trailing through the cellars. One witness standing at the bar noticed a hand beside hers—heavy, adorned with rings—only to turn and find no one there. He is considered aggressive and territorial, filling those who encounter him with sudden dread, an overwhelming figure.

The Watcher appears as a tall man in 17th-century clothing with long dark hair, silently observing from shadowed corners. This highwayman figure has been seen wearing black riding boots, a long cloak and a tri-cornered hat, a spectral sentinel who never speaks but always watches.

The Imp has been accused by Whistle Binkies bar staff over the years of many things, like chopping and peeling an orange in seconds while staff weren't looking, changing the clocks or stopping them daily at 4.45, and locking staff in the cellar. A locked door will dramatically swing open on its own, an unlocked door will somehow lock itself, shuffling footsteps can be heard, or things in the cellar being moved about.

During an overnight paranormal investigation of the vaults, researchers reported gasping breaths, a wailing baby, and disembodied voices echoing through the chambers. Local historian John Tantallon left a vigil at 1 am with "an unhealthy feeling of something following" him—a sensation that persisted for three days.

I have myself visited the vaults with my 7 & and 9-year-old children during the Edinburgh Children’s Festival and had a strange experience of our own. I was holding my younger child's hand as they switched off all the lights for 3 seconds so we could really experience how dark it would’ve been living down there. In the darkness, I felt my elder child had grabbed my other hand, holding tightly. When the torches were turned back on, my child wasn’t holding my hand, no one was. Surprised, I went to tell this to my 20-year-old cousin who had accompanied us, only to notice she had a bloody nose, which she says she's never had before and didn’t even feel. The guide told us these are both common occurrences.

Will you be brave enough to venture down into the vaults? Or stop in for a pint at Edinburgh’s most haunted pub? Whatever you get up to, we hope you have a fabulous visit and, as always, enjoy your stay!