Surgeons' Hall Museums

The Surgeons’ Hall Museums in Edinburgh house one of the most disturbing collections in medical history, including a pocketbook made from the skin of William Burke, the infamous body-snatcher and murderer. Since the early 19th century, when Burke and Hare sold the bodies of their murder victims to anatomists, the building has been plagued by paranormal activity that staff attribute to the restless spirits of those whose bodies were dissected without consent.

The museum’s most notorious exhibit - Burke’s skeleton and the pocket book made from his tanned skin - reportedly generates intense supernatural activity. Security guards describe feeling watched by unseen eyes and experiencing sudden temperature drops near the Burke display. Several witnesses claim to have seen a tall, menacing figure lurking in the shadows near the anatomical collections, believed by some to be Burke’s ghost eternally bound to his own remains. Visitors have reported feeling nauseous and experiencing vivid, disturbing visions when viewing the human specimens.

Beyond Burke’s presence, the museum’s extensive collection of preserved organs, pathological specimens, and surgical instruments seems to harbor the spiritual energy of countless patients and anatomical subjects. Staff working alone in the collection areas report hearing whispered voices, footsteps in empty corridors, and the sound of medical procedures being performed. The Victorian pathology section experiences particularly frequent activity, with lights turning on and off independently and display cases that refuse to remain closed. Some employees refuse to work alone in certain galleries, convinced that the souls of those who died under the surgeon’s knife have never left the halls where their bodies were studied.