Ghosts of Edinburgh: Bloody Past Exploration Game and Tour

Edinburgh’s dark side comes alive through a self-guided puzzle walk that links old execution grounds, kirkyards, churches, colleges, and castle views. You use your phone to solve clues and move from one location to the next, learning the grim story attached to each place. It is part sightseeing, part scavenger hunt, with no guide setting the pace.

I like the freedom to start and stop whenever you wish, and I like that the game works offline after booking. The low price of $7.21 also makes it an easy add-on for a family or group of friends. The main caution is that the app can be fussy: clues may be hard to decipher, and one player had trouble progressing near Edinburgh Castle.

Key points to know before you play

• The Mound begins the story: Start beside the slope made from earth dug out for Edinburgh’s New Town.
• Nine atmospheric locations: The route includes Edinburgh Castle, St Giles’, Mary King’s Close, Greyfriars Bobby, the Grassmarket, New College, Modern Art, and Old College.
• No paid admissions are required: The game is designed to be played from public areas, including around the Castle.
• Play at your own speed: Start at any hour, pause for food or sightseeing, and return later.
• Best for small private groups: Only your group takes part, and groups over 15 can make multiple bookings.
• Expect puzzles, not a guided lecture: You receive no physical guide, so the phone game provides the structure and information.

A ghost walk with a puzzle-solving twist

Traditional Edinburgh ghost walks usually depend on a storyteller. This one puts you in charge. You follow prompts on your phone, inspect your surroundings, and answer questions before the next part of the story becomes available.

That format changes the mood. You are not standing in a crowd waiting for a guide to finish a tale. You are looking closely at buildings, statues, streets, and public spaces. For families and friends, that can make the hour feel playful rather than solemn.

I would think of the experience as a short city game with a spooky theme, not as a full historical tour. The stories connect to Edinburgh’s bloody past, but the depth depends on how carefully you read the material and how much time you spend at each stop.

The price is a major plus. At $7.21 per person, it costs far less than most guided walking tours, and the private format means your group does not share the game with strangers. The trade-off is simple: you do not get a human guide who can explain a confusing clue, answer questions, or adjust the route on the spot.

Starting at The Mound

The game begins on The Mound, the broad artificial slope connecting Edinburgh’s Old Town and New Town. It was formed from roughly 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated during construction of the New Town and dumped into the former Nor Loch.

That is a useful first stop because it gives you a quick sense of how Edinburgh was built. The ground beneath your feet is not simply a natural hill. It is part of the city’s long effort to drain, expand, and reshape itself.

Here, the challenge asks you to look around for an answer before moving on. This sets the pattern for the rest of the game: observe the surroundings, solve the puzzle, and then read the next piece of the story.

The Mound is central and easy to reach by public transport. If you want to begin during daylight, this is a sensible place to get your bearings. If you prefer a creepier tone, the activity is available around the clock, and one particularly positive response came from playing at night with a teenage daughter.

Edinburgh Castle without paying to enter

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city from Castle Rock, and it is one of the most important stops in the game. Archaeological evidence shows occupation of the rock at least as far back as the Iron Age, although the early settlement is not fully understood.

The challenge here focuses on looking around the area. You do not need to enter the paid attraction to continue. This point matters because one player thought access to the Castle was required and became stuck near the entrance. The provider specifically states that the game is designed to work without entering paid locations.

Still, you should pay close attention to the wording in the app. A clue may direct you toward a feature near the Castle, but the correct answer may not be at the exact place you first expect. If your progress appears blocked, check the instructions and contact the provider through the app chat or email rather than buying admission simply to continue.

This is one of the route’s strongest settings. Even from public areas, the Castle gives the game a powerful sense of place. You are dealing with military history, old stone, and stories of conflict before moving downhill toward the Royal Mile.

St Giles’ Cathedral and the city’s patron saint

St Giles’ origins reach back to about 1130, when a parish church served Edinburgh during the reign of King David I. The church was dedicated to St Giles, the patron saint of lepers and later of Edinburgh itself.

The stop adds religious history to the darker material. Ghost stories can become repetitive when every location is treated as a site of murder or punishment. St Giles’ gives the route a different note, linking the city’s spiritual life with its medieval beginnings.

You will again look for a detail to answer the challenge. Take your time here. The game is only about an hour long, but its flexible format means you can pause if you want to examine the church or nearby Royal Mile buildings.

The challenge system works best when you enjoy close observation. It works less well if you expect every question to be obvious. One response described some clues as too difficult to decipher, so I would play with at least one other person if you enjoy discussing possible answers.

Mary King’s Close and the buried Old Town

Mary King’s Close sits beneath buildings on the Royal Mile. It takes its name from Mary King, a merchant burgess who lived there during the 17th century.

This is exactly the kind of place that suits the theme. The close is associated with the dense, layered character of Edinburgh’s Old Town, where streets and buildings were repeatedly altered, built over, and packed together. You do not need to enter the paid attraction connected with the close to play the game, but the exterior area still helps establish the setting.

The puzzle asks you to inspect the surroundings and use what you find. This is a good point to remember that you are playing in a real city, not moving through a controlled attraction. Pedestrians, traffic, crowds, and changing access can affect how easily you spot a clue.

Greyfriars Bobby and the edge of the kirkyard

The Greyfriars Bobby Fountain sits near the main southern entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard. The life-size statue of the famous dog was made by William Brodie and unveiled in 1873. Baroness Burdett-Coutts paid for it.

Bobby’s story is better known for loyalty than horror, but the location keeps the game tied to death, memorials, and Edinburgh’s old burial grounds. The nearby kirkyard adds a somber atmosphere without requiring a paid visit.

This stop also gives the route a welcome change of tone. You move from churches and buried streets to a small public monument with a clear visual marker. That can make the puzzle easier to follow than a clue based on a distant building detail.

If you are playing with children, this is likely to be one of the more approachable stops. The statue is easy to recognize, and the story is less grim than the execution history waiting at the Grassmarket.

The Grassmarket and public executions

The Grassmarket dates back to the 1300s. It began with cattle fairs and stables, then became a trading point for goods around the 1670s. Its darker past comes from its long use as a place of public execution.

This is where the tour’s title earns its keep. The Grassmarket is now a lively part of central Edinburgh, but the square also carries the memory of punishment carried out in public. The contrast between its current use and its earlier role makes the stop effective.

You should pause here long enough to picture the space before modern Edinburgh filled it with shops, restaurants, and passing crowds. The game gives you a reason to look at the square as more than a convenient place for lunch.

The challenge may require you to identify a detail around the square. If you are playing at a busy time, stand safely to one side and read the prompt before moving around. The route is self-guided, so you are responsible for keeping your group together and watching the street.

New College and the changing face of Edinburgh

New College began as the theological college of the Free Church of Scotland. Classes opened in Edinburgh’s New Town on 1 November 1843, and the college soon moved to The Mound. Reverend Dr Thomas Chalmers laid the foundation stone for the current building in 1846.

This stop broadens the story beyond ghosts and executions. Edinburgh’s darker history is tied to religious disputes, political change, education, and the arguments that shaped Scotland. The grand architecture also gives you a different visual pause after the cramped Old Town locations.

You may find that the game’s history is most useful as a prompt. It points you toward a place, gives you a compact story, and asks you to notice something. If you want a full account of the Free Church of Scotland, you will need another source.

Modern One and Modern Two

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art first opened in 1960 at Inverleith House in the Royal Botanic Garden. It moved to its current site at Modern One on Belford Road in 1984. Modern Two opened across the road in 1999.

The inclusion of the modern art buildings may surprise you in a tour built around bloody legends. That is part of the route’s appeal. It does not confine you to crypts and graveyards. Instead, it uses several periods of Edinburgh’s story, from medieval religion to 20th-century cultural institutions.

The stop also changes the rhythm of the walk. After the tight lanes and old masonry of the Old Town, the galleries offer a more open setting. You are still solving a clue, but the subject has shifted from punishment and burial to the city’s artistic life.

Old College and the route’s closing stretch

Old College sits on South Bridge and houses parts of the University of Edinburgh’s administration, the School of Law, and the Talbot Rice Gallery. Robert Adam designed it as a replacement for older university buildings. It was originally called the New College.

This is a fitting final area because it returns you to the city’s long academic tradition. The route has moved through churches, royal defenses, markets, burial grounds, and art institutions, then closes near one of Edinburgh’s best-known university buildings.

The stated end point is 100 West Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH. That location is in the Old Town, so make sure you check your map before assuming the game finishes exactly beside Old College. The experience connects several central sites, but the final answer and walking direction are controlled by the app.

How the app and clues affect the experience

The game can be played offline, which is helpful if your phone signal is weak or you want to avoid using mobile data. You can book it and play at any time afterward without rescheduling, and the stated operating hours cover every hour of every day during the available date range.

That flexibility is one of the best reasons to choose this format. You can begin after breakfast, stop for a meal, or pause when a museum or shop catches your eye. You can also split the game across two outings, although the short one-hour duration makes finishing it in one go more natural.

The weak point is the technology. One poor experience involved a long delay loading the account, which pushed the game late into the night. Another person found the clues too difficult, and one player felt the points did not always seem close enough to the clues.

I would prepare before leaving by confirming that the app is installed, your booking is visible, and your phone is charged. If you are playing in a group, let one person read the prompt while another checks the surroundings. That simple system can prevent everyone from staring at the screen at once.

Who should book it?

I would recommend this for friends, couples, and families who enjoy puzzles and want a flexible way to see central Edinburgh. It is especially suitable for a small private group that wants to set its own pace rather than follow a guide holding an umbrella.

It also works well as a budget activity. At $7.21 per person, you are paying for a short game, a themed route, and a set of stories rather than admission to attractions or a full guided history lesson.

I would be more cautious if you want a polished technical experience, detailed historical commentary, or guaranteed help with every clue. The lack of a physical guide means you must solve problems yourself, and app delays can spoil the timing.

Cancellation is free if you cancel at least 24 hours before the local start time. Changes or cancellations inside that 24-hour window are not refunded. Service animals are allowed, public transport is nearby, and most people can participate.

Should you book Ghosts of Edinburgh?

Book it if you like discovering a city through questions, short stories, and a little nighttime atmosphere. The best parts are the variety of locations, the freedom to pause, and the low cost. Playing with a teenager, partner, or group of friends should make the harder clues more fun.

Skip it if you want a guide who can tell every story in person or if app problems would quickly frustrate you. For the right group, this is an inexpensive way to connect Edinburgh’s castles, churches, kirkyards, markets, and colleges into one playful hour.

FAQ

How long does Ghosts of Edinburgh take?

The experience takes approximately one hour.

Where does the game start?

It starts at The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL, United Kingdom.

Where does the game end?

The stated end point is 100 West Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH, United Kingdom.

Is a physical guide included?

No. This is a self-guided activity played through a mobile app.

Do I need to enter Edinburgh Castle?

No. The provider states that paid attractions are not required to play the game, including Edinburgh Castle.

Does the game require an internet connection?

No. The city game can be played offline.

Can I pause the experience?

Yes. You can take a break at any time and resume later.

When can I play the game?

It is available every day from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM during the stated operating period. You can play it at any time after booking without rescheduling.

Is this a private activity?

Yes. Only your group takes part.

What happens if my group has more than 15 people?

You can make multiple bookings for groups larger than 15 people.

Is the experience available in English?

Yes. It is offered in English.

Can I cancel for a refund?

Yes, if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations within 24 hours are not refunded.