Martyn M.
Yelp
This is without a doubt the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life. I've always been fascinated in the supernatural and what not, and when I heard there was a tour of the vaults in Edinburgh where hundreds of impoverished people burned to their deaths, I simply had to go.
I've been twice now and had two different tour guides, both of whom were great. They're not the sort of guide that dresses up and puts on a weird Goosebumps character, but instead they're just dressed normally and act completely normal. There's a large outdoor portion of the tour when you walk down to the (I think) Grassmarket, then back up in a circle to the Royal Mile, and then you go into the Vaults.
The vaults aren't underground as most would think, they're actually up a flight of stairs and underneath the Royal Mile. It's a very claustrophobic atmosphere, and after briefly stopping in a museum of torture devices used back then, you're led into the vaults. There's various vaults there; one that a pagan group use for religious practice, another few they don't let you enter for safety purposes, the one with the stone circle that is supposedly horrifically cursed if you step foot it in, and another 2.
I've always been a massive believer in all things ghost-orientated, but even if I hadn't been I would be after my second vault visit to the room with the stone circle. I started sweating but the vaults are freezing cold, my whole body felt really uncomfortable and I felt really faint. After we left and were returning to our hotel, I noticed a set of bite marks on my arm, that looked like they belonged to a child, that I didn't even feel happening, which sort of freaked me and everyone else out. The tour guide said he'd seen it before though.
Go here for a good scare, but stay open minded. Nothing worse than someone ranting about being a non-believer the whole time!