The Canongate Hauntings: Edinburgh’s Supernatural Hotspot

The Canongate is one of the oldest parts of Edinburgh, a street with a history stretching back almost nine centuries. Behind its familiar buildings and closes lies a remarkable collection of ghost stories. In this episode of Eerie Edinburgh, I return to the place where the channel began almost three years ago: Bible Land, home to one of the Canongate’s strangest supernatural traditions. But that story is only the beginning. From centuries-old accounts of apparitions and unexplained encounters to stories that survived into the twentieth century, we follow the Canongate through some of the hauntings that have become attached to its buildings, closes and streets. Some are well known. Others have almost disappeared. Together, they suggest that few parts of Edinburgh have accumulated quite so much supernatural folklore in such a small area. Welcome back to the Canongate.