Back to Events
Edinburgh Castle Ghosts
Scotland's most visited castle sits on an ancient volcanic rock. Centuries of bloodshed, plague victims, and prisoners of war haunt its tunnels. A headless drummer appears before disaster. A spectral piper was lost in the tunnels and never returned. He still plays.
1100s - Present
Edinburgh, Scotland
5000+ witnesses
Edinburgh Castle has over 900 years of ghosts.
The Drummer
The Headless Drummer:
- Appears before attack
- First seen 1650
- Before Cromwell’s invasion
- Warning spirit
- Still reported
The Piper
Lost in the tunnels:
- Sent to explore
- Played as he walked
- Music stopped
- Never emerged
- Still heard playing
The Tunnels
Underground Edinburgh:
- Vaults and passages
- Plague victims bricked in
- French prisoners
- Execution sites
- Extremely haunted
The Phenomena
What visitors report:
- Temperature drops
- Tugging on clothes
- Apparitions
- Unexplained sounds
- Shadow figures
Scientific Study
2001 investigation:
- Dr. Richard Wiseman
- 240 volunteers
- Blind testing
- Correlated hot spots
- Genuine anomalies found
Today
Current status:
- Major tourist attraction
- Ghost tours offered
- Still active
- Guards report sightings
- Scotland’s most haunted