Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Group sizeUp to 18 travelers
Overview
The witching hour has come — it’s time for a reckoning.
Edinburgh’s Master Storytellers, Mercat Tours, are redefining the walking tour, promising to enrich and deepen your connection with Edinburgh’s people and its past far beyond your visit.
Take the Story Home: evoke the memories:
- Listen to the tour playlist
- Light your Remembrance Candle
Accused, tried, and tortured. Step into Scotland’s shadowy past on this immersive five-star Edinburgh history tour. Follow in the final tragic footsteps of those condemned as ‘witches’ and bear witness to the devastating truth.
History and Hysteria: Their Trials and Truth Told
There was no justice in court, nor truth in tribunals for accused ‘witches’. On this tour, our award-winning master Storytellers shine a light on the truth behind the trials and the real reasons behind the witch crazes that swept like a plague for centuries, across Scotland and beyond.
The past is calling. Will you bear witness?
What's included
Visit the locations where Scotland’s witches were once executed, and are now remembered
Take home a Remembrance Candle
Small-Group tour
Enhanced with hand-picked sounds of Edinburgh and delivered through TourTalk audio devices
Exclusive Sounds of Edinburgh Tour Playlist
Exclusive multi-sensory tours; with master Storyteller guides
This tour is not suitable for those under the age of 18
What to expect
Royal Mile
1h
You’re invited to listen carefully and perhaps think again... You’ll be transported back to a dark time ruled by a crazed king and his obsession with the dark arts, ‘otherworldly phenomenon’. Join us to walk the cobbled paths of Edinburgh’s Old Town and its centuries-old closes.
St Giles' Cathedral
15m
Hear stories about the persecution of the weak, the wise and skilled, inflamed by religious zeal.
Witches well
15m
Our tour ends at the location where Scotland’s witches were once executed, and are now remembered. The Witches' Well is a monument to accused witches burned at the stake in Edinburgh, and is the only one of its kind in the city.
Meeting and pickup
Meeting point
Look for the 8-sided structure with white Unicorn on top (in between Café Nero and St. Giles Cathedral).
End point
Additional information
Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
