30 Aug 2018
Tags: Halloween, Edinburgh, Scotland, Autumn, October, History, five star, Storytelling, Underground, Haunted, Families, Spooky, Scottish History, All Hallow's Eve, Traditional, Tradition, Scottish, UK, Exclusive access, what's on, Events, Scary, Gory, award wining, Dungeons and Dragons, Raising the Dead, storyteller, Storytelling events, history & culture
This October, one of Scotland's leading five-star history and ghost tour companies is raising spirits and reviving the Celtic storytelling traditions that laid the global foundations for Halloween customs we know and love today.
Edinburgh's award-winning storytellers, Mercat Tours will bring historical Edinburgh back to life through a series of tours and games nights that tell tales of gory stories, haunted happenings and a traditional Scottish Halloween. Every tour provides exclusive access to the famous Blair Street Underground vaults, often referred to as Edinburgh's most haunted site. These include:
Gory Stories - Halloween for Kids
Gory Stories is a family tour, suitable for children over five years of age. Those on the tour will discover some horrible haunts, including Mercat Tour's famous Blair Street Underground Vault, a place that remains hidden from daylight and was once frequented by some of Edinburgh's less appealing characters. They will hear tales of witches, punishment and unruly school kids, and about the truth behind a traditional Scottish Halloween – they may even discover some 'neeps lanterns' along the way. Every child on the tour will receive a special Halloween gift to take home – all treats and no tricks!
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th October
Departs at 11.30am
Duration 1 hour 15 minutes
Prices range from £9 per child to £14 per adult. Family ticket £37 for 2 children and 2 adults.
Halloween Underground
A daytime Halloween tour of Edinburgh's most haunted vaults – this descent will take visitors eerily close to the spirit world. Unsettling at the best of times, the vaults are even more so around All Hallow's Eve: the feeble candlelight barely touching the darkness, a movement in the shadows, the cling of cobwebs on a goosepimpled arm. The tour meets at the Mercat Cross, where the city's undead will gather. One of them will guide the tour, dressed in full costume, to tell tales of body snatchers, torture, murder and hangings. Those who listen hard enough in the dark silence of the vaults may even hear a faint echo of a centuries-old scream.
Date and time: Friday 26, Saturday 27, Sunday 28 & Wednesday 31 October
Departs 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm & 8pm
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Prices range from £9 per child to £14 per adult.
Spirits of Halloween
This tour raises the spirits of Halloween as a costumed guide leads the group through Edinburgh's spookier closes and wynds, before venturing into the haunted Blair Street Underground Vaults. The Vaults come alive at Halloween – mysteriously cobwebbed, candlelit, and flickering with menace. Visitors are urged to stay close to their guide as the darkness deepens: there's no telling what hides in the shadows. The tour will emerge into the warmth of Megget's cellar, where guests can recover for a moment with a cup of refreshing bat's blood, and hear more tales of Edinburgh's haunted past.
Date and time: Friday 26, Saturday 27, Sunday 28 & Wednesday 31 October
Departs 7pm, 8pm & 9pm
Duration: 2 hour full evening experience, with complimentary drink
Prices range from £11 per child to £18 per adult.
Raising the dead
The feeble candlelight is little comfort against the gloom of Halloween in the Blair Street Underground Vaults. On this tour visitors will experience Edinburgh's most haunted site at the most haunted time of year: they may see a figure in the shadows, feel a chill breath on the back of their neck, a thin draught in a deserted passage. And all the while, their expert Mercat guide, in full Halloween costume, will spin wild and haunting tales of Edinburgh's past – all of them true.
Date and time: Friday 26, Saturday 27, Sunday 28 & Wednesday 31 October. Departs 7.30pm & 8.30pm
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Prices range from £10 per child to £17 per adult.
Halloween Games Night Dungeons and Dragons
At midnight on Saturday 27 October, a unique Halloween adventure awaits Dungeons and Dragons game players in the Blair Street Vaults. Taking on a variety of guises from fighter to wizard to protect the land and appease the Ancients and the Restless – this is a story that only the game players (and the dice) can tell. It will take place two storeys below South Bridge, surrounded by century-old stones that have seen the likes of bodysnatchers, dens of iniquity, crime, despair and destitution. Will the restless spirits of those who dwelled and perished there be intrigued by the game as they come alive on Old Hallows Eve? This version of the Dungeons & Dragons Halloween game will be specially tailored to Edinburgh, the Vaults and their fascinating past. The game will be run by one of Mercat's expert storytellers, dice will be provided (although participants can bring their own) and characters can be created on the day. Dungeons and Dragons novices and veterans are welcome!
Date and time: Saturday 27 October. Tour starts at midnight to 4am
Duration: 4 hours
Price: £50 per person
Haunted Halloween (Over 18s only)
This Halloween tour is strictly adults-only. Delving into the murky depths of Edinburgh's most unsettling past, (the group will be guided through some of the lesser-known closes and wynds of Edinburgh's Old Town, finishing at the haunted Blair Street Underground Vaults. Repetitive of Spirits of Halloween) With candles casting a weak pool of light in the gloom, there will be can we edit this - there is nobody jumping out so don't want to be misleading. I've edited our web listing too, and a fully costumed expert guide will tell the true stories of outrageous misdoings from the city's troubled past.
Date and time: 28-31 October, 9pm and 9.30pm
Duration: 1 hour
Prices range from £12 for a concession to £14 for an adult.
Haunted Halloween - The Midnight Hour
This Halloween tour is only for the steely-willed: it takes serious nerve to keep your cool in the gloom, among the spirits of Halloween. From the damp medieval streets to the dark caverns beneath, the tour will descend into the Blair Street Underground Vaults. Cobwebs hang from every surface, dim figures move in the near-darkness. The candlelight hardly helps, throwing long shadows against the walls, giving little more comfort than a small pool of light… It's a dark, unsettling experience. This is a strictly adults-only tour, so expect the worst tales of misdeeds, the goriest details, the most ghoulish happenings.
Date and time: 28-31 October 10pm daily
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Price: £50 per person.
Unless otherwise indicated above, children over five years of age are welcome on most tours – but accompanying adults need to judge if they're up to it!
For more information or to book if you dare visit www.mercattours.com
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Notes to editors:
About Mercat Tours
- Mercat Tours is Edinburgh's original five-star history and ghost tour company. Established 33 years ago, the company's accredited guides bring Edinburgh's stories to life every day.
- The company was first established in 1985 by history teacher, Des Brogan, and three other history teachers, when they identified there were no other existing walking tours of Edinburgh. They researched and created four walking tours, with two of them (Secrets of the Royal Mile and Ghosts & Ghouls) still running today.
- Today, Mercat Tours is run by Des' daughter, Kat Brogan, and now offers a wide range of tours to suit any budget, group size and interest.
- Mercat Tours is the only Edinburgh tours company with access to The Blair Street Underground Vaults, which were filled with rubble in the early 19th century and were only rediscovered in the 1980s. Since then they've become known as one of Edinburgh's most famous haunted sites and offer a fascinating insight into Edinburgh's underground life.
- Groups are limited to an absolute maximum of 30 people, with tours running every day and in all weather. With each tour leaving from the Mercat Cross on the Royal Mile in the heart of the city, visitors will find the city's shops and restaurants within easy reach. Tours vary in length from 45 minutes to two hours, with specially tailored tours available for groups.
- All tours leave from the Mercat Cross on the Royal Mile – next to St Giles Cathedral.
- There are tours for every generation (from age 5 and up).
- More information on the accessibility on Mercat Tours can be found in its Access Statement.
- French, German, Italian and Spanish tours are also available for a limited number of tours. Written translations are also available in Russian and Mandarin.
Awards
- VisitScotland Five Star rating – first achieved in 2007 and maintained ever since.
- The Green Tourism Business Scheme – awarded gold every year since 2012 for the company's commitment to the environment and economic sustainability.
- Scottish Business in the Community – named SME of the Year in 2014 for the company's commitment to improving Scots' lives.
- Scottish Thistle Award 2016 – recognised for Skills and Training Development, as a third of Mercat Tours team members have been with the company for over 10 years.
Photography
Free to use photography available on request.
Social Media Platforms
Mercat Tours can be found on the following platforms:
www.twitter.com/mercattoursltd
