Niddry Street Vaults, Edinburgh

Beneath the South Bridge in Edinburgh’s historic centre lies the Niddry Street Vaults. The tours are organised by Auld Reekie Tours (Auld Reekie is an old name for Edinburgh City). Curiously, access is gained by climbing a set of stairs up to a first floor apartment, but it is important to bear in mind the geography of Edinburgh and that Niddry Street slopes steeply down the side of the South Bridge and so as you reach the lower end of the street, you are actually several stories below the street level of the South Bridge. Buildings stand all the way down the side of the South Bridge, and behind these lie the underground vaults.

The story initially told on the tour surrounding the rediscovery of these vaults is that students were living in the apartment and when moving a table, they hit the rear wall. After heating a hollow noise, they decided there must have been an old cupboard or something behind the wall and they then set about opening up the wall to make the room bigger. What they discovered instead was the access door to the vaults. I don’t know if this story is true, but access is certainly gained through a hole in the wall at the back of an apartment.

The vaults consist of a long corridor with several side vaults accessed off it.



At the lowest point of the accessible section of vaults is a pagan temple, which is still in regular use today. Although visitors can view the temple, they are not permitted to enter it. The above photograph shows the main corridor from which all of the vaults are accessed (to the left), taken from outside the pagan temple, looking up. Psychics said there are three different levels of paranormal activity within the vaults. The first area, up to the steps, is considered to have the lowest level of activity, where things can often be heard or seen, but there is no real threat. Beyond the steps is the second highest level of activity, where things are likely to be seen and felt. In two areas of the vaults the highest level of paranormal activity can be found, where the psychics have warned there is a real threat of physical harm.

At the top end of the vault network (beyond the steps pictured in the photograph) is the original pagan temple, which visitors can still access. This is one of the vaults whereby the paranormal activity level is at its highest. All that remains of the original temple is a stone circle. It is reported that when the vaults were first re-opened, the pagan coven selected this top vault as their temple, as it was at the highest point available and was the driest of the vaults. However, soon after they started meeting there, they felt a dark presence in the room and despite the temple being locked up when not in use, they would frequently find items knocked over and otherwise disturbed when they re-entered the temple. The story of exactly what happened in this vault varies greatly, but it is often said a mirror that had been put in the room was acting as a portal (either because it was cracked, or it had been bought second hand) and this allowed an evil entity to enter the vault. The witches formed the stone circle and cast a spell to keep any evil spirits from entering it. The leader of the coven is said to have spent the night inside the circle, determined to finally get to the bottom of what was going on. During the night, he heard noises as though something was walking around the circle, and then heard it climb the domed wall until he realised it was just above him. He jumped from the circle, and reversed the first spell so anything evil within the circle could not leave, and thus trapped the spirit inside it, where it is said to remain to this day.

The temple was moved to the other end of the vaults so it could be as far away from this vault as possible, and it is widely understood the witches do not approve of people being allowed to visit their former temple, fearing for their safety. Visitors are allowed to stand in the stone circle at their peril, but normally not until the guide leaves the vault. Reported experiences are people being pushed around once they enter the circle, feeling nauseous, being scratched or even sometimes fainting. People also report a run of bad luck in their life starting soon after stepping in the circle.

 Greg Stuart

About the Author: 

 Greg Stuart is interested in the paranormal, he read many books on the topic and visited many reported haunted sites and participated in investigations. He writes short fictions. He likes to explore historical buildings and sites. He has recorded several tales of hauntings and also had his own unexplained experiences. 


More stories of haunted locations in Scotland are available in the e-book Scotland’s Hidden Hauntings and the paperback Scotland’s Haunted Places, both available on Amazon. Visit Greg’s Author page for more details: http://www.amazon.co.uk/G-Stewart/e/B00924LCYI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1