Greyfriars Kirkyard
Graveyard in Edinburgh, ScotlandWikipedia
39
MENTIONS
17
EPISODES
13
PODCASTS
Search complete. 39 mentions across 17 episodes found for "Greyfriars Kirkyard".
Sep 28, 2026
Steve StocktonHOST
Now, there are places in this old world where the dead rest easy, sleeping off the centuries beneath clover and soft rain.
Steve StocktonHOST
And then there's Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, a sunken, soot-choked acre where the earth has swallowed so much misery that the soil itself seems to hold a grudge.
Steve StocktonHOST
Now, if you ask the locals who wander the wet cobbles of Old Reekie, they'll tell you straight, some graves are best left well alone, and some men were so wicked in the flesh that the devil himself didn't want them stirring the ashes down below.
Steve StocktonHOST
Oh, no.
Steve StocktonHOST
Now, Mackenzie was an educated man, a scholar, and a lawyer.
Steve StocktonHOST
But beneath that powdered wig beat a heart made of cold, flinty steel.
Steve StocktonHOST
He threw those captured souls into a walled-off open-air corner of Greyfriars Kirkland, what folks now call the Covenanters Prison, where over four bitter months of sleet, rain, and snow, he kept them pinned with no roof over their heads and barely four ounces of bread a day.
Steve StocktonHOST
Hundreds starved.
Darren MarlarHOST
But beneath their serene exteriors, they hold secrets that have fascinated and frightened people for centuries.
Darren MarlarHOST
From the ancient burial practices of the Egyptians and Greeks to the haunting tales of Highgate Cemetery and Greyfriars Kirkyard, we'll explore why cemeteries are believed to be hotspots for paranormal activity.
Darren MarlarHOST
We'll touch on both the folklore and the rational theories behind ghostly encounters, as well as the three types of spirits you might encounter in a cemetery.
Darren MarlarHOST
I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness.
9 MINS LATER
Darren MarlarHOST
It is the final resting place of voodoo queen Marie Laveau, whose spirit is said to still wander the cemetery.
Darren MarlarHOST
Many visitors report seeing her ghost or experiencing other supernatural phenomena.
Darren MarlarHOST
and Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.
Darren MarlarHOST
Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland is known for its spooky history and ghostly tales.
Alice LoxtonHOST
And Bobby keeps him company on his cold night patrol, so they're great companions.
Alice LoxtonHOST
And sadly, the owner dies in the 1850s, and the owner was buried at the cemetery called Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is in the center of Edinburgh.
Alice LoxtonHOST
And the story goes that Bobby refused to leave the grave for 14 years.
Ben HendersonHOST
[laughs]
Owen InnesHOST
My name is Owen Innes, and there are plenty of places in Scotland where history and legend sit so close together that it can sometimes be difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Owen InnesHOST
Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh is certainly one of those places.
Owen InnesHOST
Walk through the gates today and you'll find a place that is beautiful, atmospheric, and depending on the time of day, just a little bit unsettling.
Owen InnesHOST
There are old gravestones everywhere that you look, great stone monuments, as well as family vaults and the remains of the old churchyard walls, but tucked away in one corner is a small, dark, domed mausoleum.
Owen InnesHOST
Because sometimes history produces people who are much more interesting than the legends that grow up around them.
Owen InnesHOST
And sometimes, unfortunately for the person involved, the legend is rather difficult to shake.
Owen InnesHOST
So tonight we're heading back to the 17th century Scotland, to the Covenanters, to the reign of Charles II, to executions, imprisonment, and religious persecution, back to Greyfriars Kirkyard, and eventually to a mausoleum that has acquired a reputation for being one of the most unpleasant places in Edinburgh to visit after dark.
Owen InnesHOST
This is the story of Sir George Bloody Mackenzie.
Steve StocktonHOST
Stay together, don't touch the stone, and if you feel the cold hand of the Advocate, run for the path.
Steve StocktonHOST
So, if you ever find yourself wandering the misty alleys of Edinburgh and the church bells strike midnight, and you hear the wind rattling the ironwork of Greyfriars Kirkyard, keep your head down and your boots moving.
Steve StocktonHOST
Don't look through the bars of the Black Mausoleum, and whatever you do, don't whisper that old rhyme into the dark.
Steve StocktonHOST
You see, some doors, once open, never truly close again.
AJ GentileHOST
This happened in Edinburgh, Scotland.
AJ GentileHOST
A homeless man slipped into an open tomb at Greyfriars Kirkyard, looking for a dry place to sleep.
AJ GentileHOST
He took a few steps and felt the floor shift.
AJ GentileHOST
Then it gave out.
AJ GentileHOST
The next winter, a group of Presbyterians wrote the National Covenant.
AJ GentileHOST
In the covenant, they swore loyalty to the king, but refused his authority over their faith.
AJ GentileHOST
Copies went to every town in the country, but it was signed at Greyfriars Kirkyard.
AJ GentileHOST
The signers were called Covenanters, and their covenant started 50 years of war.
HecklefishHOST
So where
Andrew GentileHOST
do we begin? Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.
Andrew GentileHOST
A homeless man fell through an open tomb and stumbled into a pit of bones and rotting remains.
Andrew GentileHOST
That tomb belonged to Sir George Mackenzie, the 17th century Lord Advocate who crushed the Covenanters after Charles I tried to reshape the Scottish
Owen InnesHOST
My name is Eoin Innes and this time we are on the final episode of our Covenanters series.
Owen InnesHOST
So as we begin the final episode of this series, it is worth reflecting on just how much Scotland had changed since the National Covenant was signed in Greyfriars Kirkyard in 1638.
Owen InnesHOST
More than 50 years had passed.
Owen InnesHOST
An entire generation had lived through almost continuous political and religious upheaval.
23 MINS LATER
Owen InnesHOST
The Covenanters also left their mark upon Scotland's landscape.
Owen InnesHOST
Across the country, particularly in the South West, memorials stand where ministers once preached or where men and women lost their lives.
Owen InnesHOST
Visitors can still see the Martyrs' Monument in Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard commemorating those who died during the persecution.
Owen InnesHOST
High on lonely hillsides, simple stones mark the locations of conventicles.
Steve StocktonHOST
Stay together, don't touch the stone, and if you feel the cold hand of the Advocate, run for the path.
Steve StocktonHOST
So, if you ever find yourself wandering the misty alleys of Edinburgh and the church bells strike midnight, and you hear the wind rattling the ironwork of Greyfriars Kirkyard, keep your head down and your boots moving.
Steve StocktonHOST
Don't look through the bars of the Black Mausoleum, and whatever you do, don't whisper that old rhyme into the dark.
Steve StocktonHOST
You see, some doors, once opened, never truly close again.
7 more episodes mention Greyfriars Kirkyard.
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