An Unnerving Journey through Edinburgh Dungeon

Every country has a few legends, people and events that it would much rather sweep under the carpet than have on display. And most of these undesirable situations or best forgotten historical blunders often originate from primitive times, and periods of brutality and savage punishment. Those who have not come face to face with this past can explore the realms of the frightening history of Scotland by stepping through the doors of the Edinburgh Dungeon and taking a journey back in time.

The Edinburgh Dungeon is not for the faint hearted and it is advised children under the age of fifteen be escorted by a parent, and very young children are discouraged on entering this attraction. It is a world that is filled with torment, brutality, death, pain, torture, sadism, ruthlessness and cruelty. Within the walls of the Edinburgh Dungeon lie the ghosts of the past, the legends of nightmares and the historical terror that ruled Scotland many years ago.

Not many of the youth of today are aware of the terrible plague that swept across the plains and towns of Scotland in 1646. Visitors who enter Mary King’s Close will smell the putrid stench of bodies riddled with the plague and left to die here. A few ghosts that have not found peace, as they died amongst the rotten corpses of plague victims, lurk in the shadows, waiting to take revenge. Guests who are not comfortable with viewing medical procedures should not enter the Anatomy Theatre, where surgeons of the eighteenth century dissect corpses and operate under the most barbaric and unhygienic circumstances. Visitors are also advised to watch where they are walking, so as not to slip in the spilt blood on the floor, or trip on an organ. Choose your fate, and side either with the Campbells or the MacDonalds in the Clan Wars. Here, visitors are caught in the middle of the savage slaughter of the unarmed MacDonald family, at the hands of the Campbells on 13 February 1692. Hear the cries, beg for your life and witness the murders of 38 innocents.

Meet the terrifying legendary figure of Sawney Bean. This sadistic cannibal and his incestuous family clan were brutally executed after the family was confirmed to have apparently spent twenty five years slaughtering, robbing and cannibalizing travelers. Visitors should not walk too closely past his cave. In other parts of the dungeon sinners are handed down their punishments, haunted catacombs await discovery, vampires hide in the darkness and body snatchers, Burke & Hare, go about their grisly daily work. Here, in this unnerving attraction, visitors and guests are able to experience the scary sections of Scottish history.