Ghosts of Edinburgh: Bloody Past Exploration Game and Tour

Edinburgh’s dark side comes to life through a phone-based puzzle trail linking Edinburgh Castle, Mary King’s Close, Greyfriars Kirkyard, and the Grassmarket. You walk between historic sights, solve clues, and receive the next story instead of following a guide with a flag.

I like the freedom to start at any hour and stop for a meal or coffee without losing your place. I also like the low price, especially for families or friends who enjoy solving puzzles together. The catch is that the app must work properly, and some clues may feel too tricky or send you farther from a landmark than expected.

Key points to know before you play

• No fixed start time: Begin whenever you choose during the stated operating period, then pause and resume later.
• A walk through Edinburgh’s darker stories: The route covers execution grounds, old closes, churches, castles, and graveyards.
• No paid entry required: You should not need to enter Edinburgh Castle or another ticketed attraction to play.
• Offline play is included: Once set up, the game can be played without an internet connection.
• Best for small groups: This is a private activity, with group discounts available. Groups over 15 need more than one booking.
• One hour is an estimate: Solving the puzzles and taking photos or breaks can affect the total time.

A self-guided ghost tour with a puzzle to solve

This is not a traditional walking tour. There is no physical guide, scheduled departure, or group of strangers waiting at The Mound. Instead, your phone gives you challenges at different places in central Edinburgh, and each answer opens the next part of the story.

That format changes the pace. You can begin at midnight, pause in the afternoon, or stop halfway through for food. The published duration is about one hour, but the flexible format means you are not being rushed from one stop to the next.

The game is designed for a private group. That makes it a good fit for friends, couples, and families who prefer to work things out together. A 15-year-old can take part, and the spooky tone is presented as an entertaining city game rather than a serious paranormal investigation.

The strongest part is the combination of movement and discovery. You are not simply reading ghost stories on a screen. You must look at the place around you for information that helps solve each challenge. That can make familiar Edinburgh landmarks feel different.

The weak point is the app. One user reported a long delay getting into the account, which pushed the activity late into the night. Another found the clues too hard to decipher. I would download and set up the app before your chosen start time, while you still have time to ask for help.

The Mound: start with Edinburgh’s built-up past

The route begins at The Mound, the broad artificial slope connecting Edinburgh’s New Town and Old Town. It was created with about 1,501,000 cartloads of earth dug from the foundations of the New Town and tipped into the former Nor Loch. The drained loch later became Princes Street Gardens.

That is a fine opening for a tour about the city’s strange layers. Under the busy streets and grand buildings is a landscape shaped by engineering, waste, water, and centuries of change. Your first task is to look around and find the answer needed to continue.

The Mound is a practical meeting point because it links several central areas. It also gives you an immediate sense of Edinburgh’s two-part character: the planned New Town on one side and the older medieval core rising above it.

Do not expect a long explanation here. The attraction is the act of noticing details and using them to move forward. If your group prefers clear facts and a guide speaking continuously, this may feel thin. If you enjoy a scavenger hunt, it gives you a quick start.

Edinburgh Castle: a major sight without the entry fee

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city from Castle Rock, a position occupied by people since at least the Iron Age. The exact nature of the earliest settlement remains unclear, but the rock has been a place of power for a very long time.

The game brings you to the castle as one of its central locations. This is also where you need to pay attention to a practical point: you do not need to buy admission or enter the castle to play. The provider specifically clarifies that paid attractions are not required.

That matters because a puzzle that appears to demand access to a ticketed site can stop a budget activity in its tracks. If the app asks you to reach a point near the castle, use the public area and follow the instructions rather than assuming you must go through the entrance.

One drawback is that the exact challenge point may not be where you expect. A poor experience can result if the app places you at a perimeter location far from the visible clue. Take your time, check your surroundings, and use the app’s support channel if the next stage does not open.

Even without entering, the castle adds drama. Its position above the Old Town gives this section a strong sense of place, and it helps connect the ghost stories to Edinburgh’s long military and royal past.

St Giles’ Cathedral: a church tied to Edinburgh’s identity

St Giles’ origins reach back to about 1130, during the reign of King David I. The church was dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of lepers and later patron saint of Edinburgh.

Here, the game asks you to inspect the setting for another answer. That simple instruction encourages you to look at the building rather than hurry past it on the Royal Mile. You may find the process especially useful if you are visiting Edinburgh for the first time and want a reason to pause at major sights.

The attraction of this stop is its connection to the city itself. St Giles’ is not merely an old church placed along a sightseeing route. Its dedication helped shape Edinburgh’s religious identity, and its long history adds weight to the supernatural stories around the Old Town.

This part of the activity is still self-guided, so you will not receive a detailed architectural tour or a full account of the church’s interior. The game offers a prompt and a story, then leaves you to observe. If you want a proper cathedral visit, treat this as an introduction rather than a substitute.

Mary King’s Close: the most natural stop for ghost stories

Mary King’s Close lies beneath buildings on the Royal Mile. It takes its name from Mary King, a merchant burgess who lived there in the 17th century.

For a tour focused on Edinburgh’s haunted reputation, this is one of the most fitting locations. A close is a narrow lane or passage in the Old Town, and the idea of streets preserved below later buildings gives the stop an eerie quality before the story even begins.

The game does not include entry to the paid attraction associated with Mary King’s Close. You should expect to use the public surroundings and solve the challenge from outside. That keeps the activity inexpensive, but it also means you will not see the underground interiors as part of this booking.

I like the way this stop rewards curiosity. You are asked to search for an answer in a place that many people might pass without understanding. It is a good example of the game’s basic value: it gives you a reason to pay closer attention to Edinburgh’s unusual street plan.

Greyfriars Bobby: a lighter moment beside the kirkyard

Near the main entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard is the Greyfriars Bobby Fountain, with its life-size statue of the famous dog. Sculptor William Brodie created the statue in 1872, and Baroness Burdett-Coutts paid for it. It was unveiled on 15 November 1873.

This is a welcome change of mood. The route moves from plague-like tales, hidden lanes, and executions to one of Edinburgh’s best-known stories of loyalty. The statue also sits beside one of the city’s most atmospheric burial grounds, so the stop still fits the overall theme.

The task remains the same: look around, find the answer, and continue. That may sound repetitive, but the rhythm works well for a group. One person spots a detail, another works out the wording, and everyone gets a short story before walking on.

If you are playing with children or a teenager, this may be one of the easiest places to keep their interest. The dog statue is instantly recognizable, and the setting gives the group something concrete to find while the app supplies the darker context.

The Grassmarket: executions and everyday trade

The Grassmarket dates to the 1300s. It was associated with cattle fairs and stables, then became a trading place for goods around the 1670s. It was also a traditional site of public execution.

That mix of ordinary commerce and public punishment gives the Grassmarket a particularly grim edge. Today, you may be more aware of its restaurants and broad open space, but the game asks you to consider what took place here before the modern city took shape.

This is one of the stops where the tour’s title makes the most sense. The story is not based only on vague ghost tales. It also draws on the hard facts of crime, punishment, trade, and public spectacle.

The open setting makes the Grassmarket easy to reach, but it can also be busy. If your group is trying to solve a clue in the middle of a crowd, step to the side and give yourself time to read the instructions carefully. The game is more enjoyable when you treat each stop as a short investigation, not a race.

New College, Modern Art, and Old College

The later locations broaden the route beyond the obvious ghost-story sites. New College began as a theological college for the Free Church of Scotland. Classes began in Edinburgh’s New Town on 1 November 1843, and the present building on The Mound had its foundation stone laid by Reverend Dr Thomas Chalmers on 3 June 1846.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art began at Inverleith House in 1960, moved to Modern One on Belford Road in 1984, and gained Modern Two across the road in 1999. These facts may seem less spooky than the Grassmarket or Mary King’s Close, but they add variety to the walk and show how the city’s cultural life occupies historic buildings and districts.

Old College, on South Bridge, is part of the University of Edinburgh. Robert Adam designed it, and it now houses university administration, the School of Law, and the Talbot Rice Gallery.

These stops may be less immediately rewarding if you came only for frightening tales. Their value is in the route itself. They give you more reasons to look up, notice facades, and connect Edinburgh’s educational and artistic institutions with the older city around them.

The supplied route information does not give a separate challenge description for New College, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, or Old College. You should expect them to form part of the wider city trail, but not assume that every stop has the same type or length of puzzle.

How the puzzles affect the experience

The quality of this activity depends heavily on how your group likes to explore. If you enjoy word games, map tasks, and shared problem-solving, the format can turn a normal walk into a small adventure. One particularly positive account praised the map and puzzles and found the experience just spooky enough for an evening outing with a 15-year-old daughter.

The clues are not guaranteed to be easy. Some people may find them clever, while others may find the wording too hard to decipher. That difference matters more here than it would on a standard guided walk because the puzzle is what moves you to the next location.

The location system can also be fussy. You need to reach the correct area before the next part opens, and one account described points near landmarks as being a long way from the obvious clue. I would keep the app open, read each instruction twice, and avoid assuming that the most famous entrance is the required point.

If the app misbehaves, contact Questo through its chat service or at [email protected]. The provider has said it can help with problems and may offer a refund in some cases, but you should not rely on that as a substitute for checking the app before you begin.

Price, timing, and who gets the best value

At $7.21 per person, this is priced far below a conventional private walking tour. You are paying for a self-guided game, not a guide’s time, live storytelling, or admission to Edinburgh Castle, Mary King’s Close, or any other paid attraction.

That makes the value strongest for a group. Four friends can split the cost of a shared activity that gives them a route, a theme, and conversation starters. A family can also use it as a short evening plan, especially if the children prefer solving tasks to listening to a long lecture.

The one-hour estimate keeps the commitment small. Still, I would allow extra time if you want to pause, take photos, eat, or untangle a difficult clue. The ability to stop and resume later is one of the best features, so there is no need to force the whole experience into a single fast walk.

The activity is available every day and is listed as operating from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM. It is offered in English, uses a mobile ticket, and can be played offline. Most people can participate, service animals are allowed, and the route is near public transportation.

You receive confirmation at booking. Cancellation is free if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time. Inside that window, the payment is not refunded and changes are not accepted.

My practical verdict on the Edinburgh ghost game

Book this if you want a cheap, flexible way to see central Edinburgh while solving clues with your own group. It is especially suited to families with older children, couples who like playful sightseeing, and friends who would rather work together than follow a guide.

Skip it if you want a polished, spoken tour with precise directions and historical detail at every stop. The app has caused problems for some users, and a difficult clue can slow the whole group.

For the best chance of a good outing, set up your account before leaving, begin with a charged phone, and remember that paid attraction entry is not part of the plan. At $7.21, the risk is modest, but the experience is only good value if you enjoy the puzzle format. Go in expecting a flexible city game with ghostly stories, not a fully narrated tour, and it makes a practical addition to an Edinburgh visit.

FAQ

How long does the Ghosts of Edinburgh experience take?

The estimated duration is about one hour. You can take breaks, so your actual outing may last longer.

Where does the activity start?

It starts at The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL, United Kingdom.

Where does the activity end?

The listed ending point is 100 W Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH, United Kingdom.

Do I need to start at a set time?

No. You can begin at any hour during the stated operating period, which runs every day from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM.

Can I pause the game?

Yes. You can take a break at any time and resume later.

Do I need an internet connection while playing?

No. The experience can be played offline, so an internet connection is not required during the game.

Do I need to pay to enter Edinburgh Castle?

No. Paid attraction entry is not required to play the game. You should be able to complete the experience without entering Edinburgh Castle.

Is a physical guide included?

No. This is a self-guided mobile activity and does not include a physical tour guide.

Can a group larger than 15 people participate?

Yes, but groups larger than 15 need to make multiple bookings.

What is the cancellation policy?

You can receive a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations or changes made within 24 hours are not accepted for a refund.