The Niddry Street Vaults
WHERE: Edinburgh, Scotland
In the late 18th century, Scotland's capital city was growing. City officials ordered the construction of several large bridges to connect portions of the town previously separated by hills or ravines. One such bridge was the city's South Bridge, a monumental, yet fundamentally flawed, endeavor to connect Old Town Edinburgh with the newer section of the city.
By the 19th century, business in Edinburgh was booming, and South Bridge was the center of action. Storefronts, workshops and living quarters were established on the bridge's different levels. There were approximately 120 rooms located on South Bridge, and they were all occupied.
However, the bridge's fatal flaw soon threatened lives and livelihoods. Rain drove through cracks in the poorly constructed viaduct and carried the city's blood, water, waste and disease to the bridge's lowest levels, where Edinburgh's poor battled to survive. Seemingly overnight, the area became Edinburgh's red-light district. Prostitution, gambling and a thriving black market were commonplace in the vaults. Murder, rape and death were rampant as disease and crime took hold of the area.
By the late 19th century, the vaults were closed in an effort to drive the seedy activity out of Edinburgh's main thoroughfare. For decades the vaults sat empty and their marred past slipped into obscurity. In 1988 a local man crawled through a narrow passageway in one of his buildings and rediscovered the rooms underneath the bridge. Since then, the cavernous vaults of South Bridge have been opened to the public -- and the reports of paranormal activity have poured in.
Witnesses claimed to feel cold gusts of air, to hear voices, and to see many intangible presences. Some ghosts are bolder, like the child "Jack" who grabs visitors' hands in the wine vault. Some are more menacing presences, like "The Watcher." He is described as a faceless man who lurks in the back section of the vault and has even been spotted in nearby pubs. Some say The Watcher has shoved them, while others claim that he has thrown rocks at them.
It's even rumored that in the 1820s, the infamous serial killers William Burke and William Hare lurked within the vaults, killing some of their 17 victims. With dozens of other deaths due to disease and crime, the vaults under South Bridge remain one of the world's most haunted places. Experience the mystery of the South Bridge and Niddry Street year-round by taking a guided tour.
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