HAUNTED SCOTLAND | Edinburgh's Most Haunted Pubs | Paranormal Podcast (Ep 329)

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The wind howls down the cobbled streets of Edinburghough's grass market. A place where time slips between the crooked, blood soaked stones. Once a bustling medieval marketplace, this square was better known for death than it was for trade. But death doesn't rest here. It drinks. It is a place where ghosts roam from gallows to the bar stools, knocking over pints, whispering names, tugging at hair, and taking one last sip. And in this episode, we're not just telling their stories, we're following in their footsteps, pint by haunted pint, on a haunted pub crawl along the grass market, the haunted heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. Tonight, we drink with the dead.

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Yeah. Yeah. Very spooky. Hi. Hi. What's up? Uh, chicken butt. This This is two girls, one ghost. Two girls, one ghost. Um, my favorite thing is to teach No, like just silly things from our childhood. So, I kept being like, "Hey, no, guess what?" And I'd say, "Chicken butt." And so, I was trying it. She loved it. And I was trying to teach her to do it when and like ask Johnny and my sister. It's still a work in progress. Sorry, I'm going to be rubbing my eye this whole episode. I don't know what just happened. You think I I hope not. No, I think it's allergies. You fart on your pillow. Sorry, I'm so Can you tell that Sabrina was just with a toddler for a few days? Um, we are Oh, yeah. Sorry.

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Uh, we are your ghostesses. That is Karen. Hello. I'm Sabrina. Did I even whisper two girls, one ghost? No, I don't think so. Do I? Maybe I I think I did. Are we okay? No, but also, is everyone else okay? Because weird [ __ ] was happening with the last episode. Sorry if you're watching on YouTube. Apologies. I'm just going to hold my eye closed for a minute. should have done like a pirate episode. Where's the eye patch that we put on Sven last year? RIP. Okay, apologies. We're not okay. We're not okay. Something was in my eye and it still is.

haunted episode

But I was going to say, so last episode we covered the Museum of Shadows and it was a weird thing because we didn't find the content overly scary, yet my whole entire research had deleted itself. Yeah. Couldn't find it anywhere. I had to redo it. And then we were nervous that something would happen and prevent us from actually being able to record it, which didn't happen. However, a ton of people have reached out saying that weird stuff happened already. Yes. Oh, cuz it's on Patreon right now. Yes. So, yeah, I saw our editor's email. Okay.

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That's what I was going to read. Okay. So, Jamie Ryan edits and produces our podcast, edits every single episode, the Patreon exclusives, all of that. And usually it's fine. It's fine. Like, we get smooth sailing. smooth sailing. Jamie's got it down. Usually the issues are because of us, not because of anything else. Yeah. It's just like you said this and is that really what you meant? But this time Jamie emailed and said, "I don't usually get activity from episodes, but during this one, I had two computer crashes. My Wi-Fi's DNS got scrambled. Then my power went out. Then I had to use my asthma inhaler three times. So I sprayed my office down with a cleansing concoction. And that is kind of the theme that at least so far with our Patreon listeners, there have been a lot of people talking about like weird glitches or weird things happening. I saw someone was like, I'm trying to play it, but it keeps pausing itself. So, I'm going to take that as a sign I shouldn't listen. I guess so. So, we're giving you the warning after the fact. I mean, we talked about it in the episode that there were some weird things and we were

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like, well, maybe it didn't want to be talked about, but nothing odd happened during the recording. I thought it was a really fascinating topic. It was fun. You did a really good job covering it. Thanks. It was just like a few haunted dolls. It was fun because we there was a bunch of evidence because the Museum of Shadows, they post a bunch of their evidence. So, it's always fun to look at that. But, but I guess some of the haunted objects didn't want to be talked about or just wanted to say hello. I don't know. So, let us know if you had any experiences because we do want to do a were the most haunted podcast cuz we are episode where people who have had experiences being haunted by our podcast, we'll read those on the podcast. I I need to stop saying podcast. Even though this is a podcast, but Oh, um I have a letter for me to

listener mail

read. Oh, great. Or us. Anyone of us can read it. But I went to the PO box and this delightful letter was in it. And it's from a nine-year-old.

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A creepy kid. One of our listeners. It's handwritten. Oh, it's from a seven-year-old. Seven. Oh my gosh. It is from our listener Liam, age seven. Wow. And I am so excited to read it. And there's a drawing at the very top and says, "This is what I saw." Good. You're already chronicling your evidence, Liam. This is exactly how you should be doing these paranormal investigations. We appreciate this. Sounds like you're already an expert. It's spooky, so I'll show it to you after. Okay. So, it says, "Hi, Sabrina and Karen. I am a fan of your podcast. Here's my story. There was a demon. I think it was called a windy boy. It's a demon that stops your heart. So, I was at a sleepover and me and my friend felt a dark presence. So, we went to investigate this presence. And worst of all, it was almost nighttime. We went to a big abandoned house. We were hanging on to the gate. We were on opposite sides. I think it says not how you're supposed to be.

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First, we heard a woman singing. Then we saw antlers and claws. We got so scared we ran back to the house. Then we didn't come out for about 1 hour and then me and my friend went back. Went back after just an hour. I know. I would have had to decompress for way longer than that. And that's when we heard the growl and that's when we saw it again. We ran back to the house and did not come out. Oh my gosh. It's like it was waiting for you. The fact that it was still there. I Well, yeah. And thank goodness Liam and his friend escaped twice. You're brave. You're braver than us. Way braver than us. Liam says, "Shout out to Ellie, my mom, and Abby, my aunt. Joey, my grandpa, and Yuki the cat." And Honey, this feels like a Golden Globes like speech award at the end. And Honey, we got to give Honey. Shout out to Honey. Bye, Liam. Age seven. Bye

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bye. Here. Dang, Liam. It sounds like we need you on our paranormal investigation crew. Here's the drawing. This is Ooh. Oh my gosh. We'll put it in the video. I'll take a picture and do a closeup of it. Yeah. This is what I saw. Ooh. Big fan of it. This is really scary. It's terrifying. I mean, the fact that it had antlers and like the woman, her voice, just like everything. This is such a classic Wendy boy encounter. It's terrifying. One thing I'm not totally clear on is were they because Liam wrote that it was an abandoned house that they were at. Was this close to their home? Did they run back to their house? Yeah. I'm very curious. And when they say they were on the opposite side of the gate, I'm curious if like they were together on the side of the gate that they weren't supposed to be on like trespassing or if they were on separated. That's kind of like the buddy system split which is even more terrifying. It is. Liam, thank you so

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much for writing this to us and for including the drawing. That's very important. Yeah. There's something also just so great about receiving a handwritten letter from a child. I know. From a creepy kid. From a creepy kid. Fellow creepy kid just like we were. Put in the envelope. Keep us safe. Thank you. Um and thank you to everyone who sends us anything to the PO box. We're truly we're blessed. Oh my gosh. Can we talk about those cookies? Yes. So, Sabrina stopped at the PO box and found a very special treat, a delivery for Noah, but also you you also had some cookies in there. Okay. So, our listener Elizabeth, who owns a company called City Gal Bakes in the Bay Area, but I think ships. I'm not sure how far, but ships hopefully because after seeing the artwork go, I was like, "Oh, I will be ordering from here." Oh, I for every event I have because also Elizabeth had emailed us and was like, "Hey, there's a perishable item coming to the PO box. Here's the shipping number just so you get it as soon as possible." And I

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thought just like regular cookies, you know, like chocolate chip, but no, these were the most elaborate, beautiful rookie of the year themed cookies for Noah's first birthday. If you're watching on YouTube, we'll include we'll put some pictures. And then there were a couple special ones for me where like there was one of Leia. I loved when you took the picture of Leia next to the Leia cookie cuz I was like it's so accurate. It's so accurate. Wow. Thank

it's a haunted pub crawl!

you for the cookies. So talented. Well, you might toss your cookies in this episode. Transition. I'm really good at transitions. I'm proud of myself for that one. Uh, no. But you won't actually toss your cookies because we're going on a haunted pup crawl. Hell yeah. I wish we were recording this later at night. It is actually 10:00 a.m., so we will not be drinking some beers. But if you're listening to this and you're just relaxing in your backyard, pop a cold one. And I mean, do you want like is it

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inappropriate to have a drink right now? I could pop a twisted tea or something. If you have one with me, I will absolutely do it if I have one with you. Yeah, I'm not going to just drink by myself. Oh, yes. Sorry. Language and English. Yeah, I do have tweeze. Get us some tweeze when I'm so excited about this. Drinking at 9:30 in the morning. Yes, we have the best job in the world. Should we stop recording and go play cornhole outside and just drink our tweez? Wait, hold on. We need to do a summer pop. Ready? I wish we were sponsored by them. All right. Usually I'm the bad influence. Cheers. It's kind of somewhat selfish of me because I overbought for Noah's party. So half of our fridge is alcohol. So we're just drinking through it. So I take that back. We will be drinking this episode. Um and we will be going on a haunted pup crawl. Happy birthday. Wasn't this your birthday wish? I'm

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giving I'm giving you a little bit of it. No, do it. It's a taste. It's a

historical background

preview. It's a twist. So we're going to venture to Edinburgh, Scotland. and we're going to specifically explore the haunted pubs of the grass market. But we're going to lay some land. Lay No, we're going to lay some groundwork. I'm already drunk. We're going to lay some groundwork first. Set up the history of Edinburgh and then of the grass market. And then we're going to go pub crawling talking about the ghosts, the history, the lore. And it's going to be so much fun. I love it. It's going to be so much fun. It's going to be the best. I planned the best event for all of us. So, Edinburgh, it is a city built upon layers of stone and stories, some of which we will journey into in this episode, many of which we will not because there's too much history. So, quick history. This area of Edinburgh has long been inhabited. Settlements date all the way back to 8,500 BC and it

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became the capital of Scotland in 1437. So, I skipped millennia of history right there. Mhm. But today it is known as a bustling city known for its rich history, its iconic castle, known for its literary inspirations, Harry Potter, and its French festival where I famously performed as juror number I think seven in 12 incompetent men and women at the Fringe Festival. I love that you traveled to Scotland for your theater group. It was in high school. Our high school was invited, which is so crazy. To go perform in the French festival. This is really, really cool. So, Edinburgh has also become a huge tourist destination with millions of visitors each year. But between the crooked streets, shadow alleys, and cobblestones lies horrors, centuries of bloodshed, rebellion, and anguish. We're talking plagues, sieges, religious persecution,

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and some seriously effed up torture tactics. And to people like us, creepy folk. The creepy folk. Edinburgh is known as one of, if not the most haunted cities in the world. Mhm. So, today we're going to focus on one of the most haunted areas of one of the most haunted cities in the world. The grass market. Sounds beautiful, right? It does. I'm like trying to understand what a grass market even is. It used to be and I think it was named the grass market because it was where weekly there was a market where people would sell and buy livestock. Oh, okay. Okay. So, the grass market is nestled just beneath the infamous Edinburgh Castle, which we'll have to do a whole episode on that itself because it's like built on volcanic rock. I didn't know that. Have we never done it? I don't think so. I think it's been such a big topic that that we just keep dancing around it, mentioning it in other episodes, but never actually covering it. Mhm. It's also just beside Grafire's Kirkyard Cemetery, which we have covered. And this is where the grass market lies. It

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is a square that has always been a place for commerce and entertainment. Although our perspective on what entertainment is qualified as has changed pretty drastically, or we you could hope, one could hope that is the case. This is like coliseumesque. Mhm. Okay. because what was once used for public hangings is now a square filled with charming pubs, boutiques, and wandering tourists. And I do want to give a content warning up front of this episode. There is a lot of talk of hangings, execution, murder, and there is one mention of a death of a child. Okay. Although I do find it a little bit beautiful that now in a spot where so many people lost their lives, there has been stuff built for people to like enjoy their lives. I think it's always been a place with like pubs and markets. Yeah. Because even when there were executions, they literally put

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built the gallows in the grass market square because it was a common place where people gathered and Okay, I take back I I for Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, like I said, the square was named the grass market because it was the city's commercial center where towns people came to trade cattle and livestock. And this weekly cattle market continued from about 1472 until 1911. Then sometime around 1660, the weekly cattle market and the grass market square became home to gallows. Now, yeah, we're not gonna get too deep into the history, like the political climate here, what was going on, but I want to paint the picture real quick. I think it's fair to say that Scotland isn't a stranger to political turmoil. There's a lot of like royalty and political turmoil and stuff that happened over the years. Yeah. And by this, they make shows about it now. You can watch them on like Netflix and places like that. Yeah. I mean, kings and queens, there's lots of drama. By the 1660s, the country was reeling and

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dealing with decades of religious and political upheaval, torn between loyalty to the monarchy and loyalty to the growing Presbyterian movement. The English Civil War had just come to a close and Charles I was executed and Charles II was reinstated into power as the king. And now the crown Charles II was cracking down on religious disscent. And basically anyone who defied authority would be punished and publicly executed. And executions were meant to be public so that they weren't just punishments, but they were warnings to everyone else to kind of like stay in line. And also again as a side note, we're not going to dive into this deeply, but around the same time this is happening tangentally, but also started before these hangings about religious descent were happening were the witch trials. And Scotland is amongst the largest witch trials that has ever happened in history. By the end of 1736,

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when the witch trials are like said to be completed in Scotland, some 3,000 to 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft, around 2500 of those were executed. It's so weird to think about like just in history, the things that are happening at the same time as each other, like even just in Scotland, which is not a large place, like no, it is. Well, that's the thing. That's why it is considered one of the largest because based on the population size of Scotland and how many people were executed, the percentage is one of the highest. Jesus. Yeah. It's so creepy. I saw something online the other day that said to like put it into perspective like when in England they were going through the Victorian era Mhm. It was the wild wild west in America. Like cowboys shooting each other and like saloons and brothel and which feel like they're Yeah. versus like woohoo. You have your big like hoopy skirt and right it feels decades apart but

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that's wild. Don't show your ankles in America were like kissing Kate Barlo. That is wild. I wish just like a couple cowboys went over to Europe and was like, "Stick them up. Stick what up?" With the witch trials, most people were executed by strangulation or burning. Mhm. So these gallows were created in 1660 separate from the witch trials specifically to execute people who were going against religious preferences of the crown. By 1660, the people of Edinburgh and the greater Scotland population were no stranger to public executions. And 1660 to 1688 are known as the killing times because of how many people were executed. It's just so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that like they already had this public space where people would go and then they're just like, you know what would be great is if we just add a show which is killing people, but then

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it also makes me think of Handmaid's Tail. And that's essentially what they did there. And this is in history, this is what they did all the time. Whereas Handmaid's Tale is fiction. This is reality. It just feels so much closer to like today though, than like the coliseum, you know, which wasn't that far off either. Why humans are [ __ ] up. I know. Over 100 covenanters, which were Presbyterian dissenters, were hanged for religious and political defiance. The exact number of executions is hard to confirm because it's the 1600s. Records are not properly kept. But yes, it is believed that over 100 people were executed in the grass market. Wow. The same place that we're

Little Spoon

about to go on a pub crawl. Hey Karen, how do you do it all? How do you balance being a mom, being a a spooky ghoul? Yeah. Um, so I don't I get help and I tell us ordering little spoon. It was actually suggested to me from a

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neighbor who was like, "When you introduce sals to Noah, this is going to change your life because they have so many different options." So they have baby blends, which is the pured foods, and then they have puffs, which Noah loves. And we've recently started on the Biteables. It saves so much time and it's also really nice because I can see the improvement over time with Noah's fine motor skills with him just like picking up and working on his little pincher grasp and eating them. I gifted No, and my sister some of the lunchers and the puffs and they love it. And Little Spoon is your one-stop shop for healthy, easy meal time and snack time for your baby, your toddler, and your big kid. And honestly, I'll confess I eat and enjoy Little Spoon as well. And did I mention it comes right to my door? It's so flexible. It's so easy. Everything stores right in the fridge and freezer. I pick the menu. I change up what I order every time so that Noah gets to try new foods. The price is right. The quality is unmatched. I love it. Noah loves it. No, Emmy loves it. You love it, Sabrina. Grandparents love

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it. It just makes life so easy. It's a huge win-winwin for our family, and it can be for yours as well. Simplify your kiddos's meal time with 30% off your first order. Go to littlespoon.com/tg and enter our code TG at checkout to get

historical background cont'd

30% off your first Little Spoon order. Thank you Little Spoon for sponsoring this episode. The gallows were the square's centerpiece, drawing thousands of people at every execution. I think at its peak and especially for those who were high-profile executions, I think there was like a record of 10,000 people gathered to watch the execution. 10,000. And this is not a big square. I think it's less than 1,000 ft by 200 ft. It's so disturbing, too, when you think about how the fact that many of those viewers were probably children. People are bringing their entire People are bringing their entire families. It makes me think of was it Sloohoot? It was one

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of the books we read with uh Asholina. Yeah. Name is like kind of around the witch trials era, but people were forced to go. So even though yes, it is perceived as during this time it was entertainment. I do feel like there was also an element of like if you don't go, you're kind of showing that you're not supporting the punishment of people who don't follow rules. And so there's like a very mixed mentality, but so you can imagine 10,000 people in this square, people are shouldertoshoulder, and the ambiance is said to not have been grim. It's not like, oh, this is really sad. People are being marched to their death. No, vendors are selling pies. Beer is flowing. People are getting drunk. It is a entire ordeal and entertainment. People are about to die. that must feel like such an out-of- body experience beyond what it already would be, right? But to like basically be the entertainment, right? Well, then there's

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also the other side of it, the flip side where it's like, well, some of these people are now being viewed as martyrs. If you are going against the crown, you see these people who are dying for their desire of religious freedom, it gives it gave a whole group of people hope and something to fight for. But yeah, literally this was such an ordeal that people who were a bit wealthier and didn't want to stand amongst the like throngs of crowds of people, there were all these inns and pubs, they would pay to get a room that overlooked the square. Yeah. And some of these rooms still exist today and are in pubs that we're going to stop at. I really wish we were there right now. There are truly some horrific and infamous stories from this time known as the killing period. And even the executioners themselves were not safe really. So one of the executioners whose surname was Dal Gleas who pulled the trap door for tons of people who were hanged at the grass market gallows got drunk and got in a

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brawl and killed a beggar and then was used as an example basically being like even those who make the rules are not exempt from the rules. And the executioner was executed in the same gallows where he had holy crap taken so many lives. So some people say his ghost still lingers in this square. And the last execution that took place in the grass market was in 1784. A man named James Andrews was hanged for robbery. But even though the gallows were dismantled, death has found a way to linger in the grass market. The grass market saw over 100 hangings. It was a site of an infamous mob and the execution of Captain Portius. It's on knife fights, drunken brawls, poverty, and two of the most infamous Scottish murderers, William Burke and William Hair, who we all know, these are the two who would lure people, basically lure intoxicated people to a place where they were living, murder them, and then sell their bodies to medical schools. Yeah, I

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was just going to say that it was the body snatcher. Yeah, the body snatchers. They used the grass market pubs as their stomping grounds. So, it is no wonder that the grass market is haunted. But these ghosts are not going to just linger in the square. No, no, no. They're good old Scots. And so, they're leaving the square, leaving the gallows, and sliding into seats at the bars. Dang. So, tonight, this

The Wee Pub

morning, we are going to take this history and this knowledge with us on a haunted pub crawl through the grass market. We're going to begin our pub crawl with a little bit of a palette cleanser. This one doesn't really have any ghost stories, but it's delightful because it is the smallest pub, smallest bar in all of Scotland. Ooh. It is called the Wee Pub. The Wee Pub. The We Pub. Oh my gosh, I love that. How many seats does it have? It only fits 20 people. That's it. Oh. It's located at 94/96 Cross Market and is a stones throw from the Gallow site. It measures just 17 by

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15 ft, accommodates at most 20 patrons, and they really play into the size, and obviously to save space, their menus are really small. Yeah, cuz that saves space, right? Well, I guess like the kitchen doesn't have to be huge, right? No, no, no. Like the size of the menus are like literally miniature. Oh, I thought like the amount of items on it. Wow. They're on postcards and they have magnifying glasses where you can read. I like that they're playing into it. Yeah, I like it. So, again, not famously known for its hauntings, but I thought it deserved

Maggie Dickson's Pub

an honorable mention. And should you go to the Grass Market Square or area of Scotland, it's worth a visit if you can get in. Okay, so back to death. Great transition. And the story I'm about to share with you is one of the most chilling, but also beautiful and miraculous stories that comes from the Grass Market Square. We're not going too far from the wee pub. We're going just across the street to Maggie Dixon's pup located at 92

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Grass Market. It too is just across from where the original gallows once stood. And I know you're all wondering, well, who is Maggie Dixon? And I say to that, hold your horses. I'm about to tell you, like, sit there, drink your beer, and shut up. So, Maggie Dixon, often called halfhang it Maggie, is among one of the many condemned to die at the Grass Market Gallows. Her story begins in 1702 when she was born just outside of Edinburgh. Maggie grew up here. She lived here. She got married, but she was abandoned by her husband and then forced to provide for herself. And I'm not saying that in like a well, women shouldn't have to provide for themselves. No, like keep in mind this is the 1700s and I looked up specifically what it was like to be a woman during this time. They lived under very strict limitations. Their roles were restricted. They were legally property of their father until they were passed on to their husband. Dang. So they were legal property of men and an unmarried, widowed or abandoned by their

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husband woman was looked down upon. But Maggie Dixon had to feed herself. She had to provide for herself. So she took a job at an inn near Kelso. But it is said that she had an affair or she got romantically intertwined with the son of the inn. M and then she got pregnant out of wedlock. And the only thing worse than an unmarried or widowed woman at this time was a woman pregnant out of wedlock. It was harshly punished. I'm pretty sure it was illegal. Knowing this, Maggie tried to conceal her pregnancy. Like she did everything she could to not tell any person that she was pregnant truly until giving birth. She kept it a secret. She even tried to give birth in secrecy. And this is where we're going to talk about the death of a child. Unfortunately, her child died shortly after birth. And then Maggie continues to try to hide this. And I'm not sure how she was caught, but ultimately Maggie was found

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out and it was discovered that she had been pregnant and that she had concealed even the death of her child. So now that's also illegal. So being pregnant out of wedlock was legal, but she wasn't charged for that. No, she was charged for concealing and hiding and lying about the death of her child and that was punishable by execution. And then in 1724, she's just 22 years old at this time. Keep that in mind. 22. She's a baby. Mhm. She is sentenced to hang in the grass market gallows. On September 2nd, 1724, a crowd gathers in the square. Maggie was led to the gallows. A noose was fitted around her neck and the trap door opened and Maggie dropped. But unlike other hangings which were usually met with cheering and celebration and just like entertainment, excitement in any way, a riot broke out and Maggie's family and loved ones from

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her hometown were here and they had a cuz I guess it was common that after the hangings medical students would and which it makes sense that like the Burke and Hart serial killers like this was such a common desire and want during the time all these medical students would try to like steal like grab the bodies to go study them and use them for schooling. So Maggie's family and loved ones are fighting off all of these students and trying to like claim her body because it's their loved one. Fortunately, they do get to take Maggie's body. I like can't even imagine like going through that. This my mind is just like trying to picture it and yeah and amongst like throngs of people who are probably drunk smell horrendous. Just the fact that you have to fight for your own loved ones body that there are other people who are aggressively trying to get the body like what right I mean there's so many things of our history

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and even present day that are [ __ ] up. Yeah. Maggie's family was able to take possession of her body. The body was placed into a coffin, loaded onto a cart, and then headed off towards her home of Musulberg. As the cart is traveling down these cobbled streets, there's a strange sound that the people aboard the cart start to hear and they're like, "Oh, maybe it's just like the rattling and banging the old squeaky wheels." But no, they hear it again. What is that? It's coming from inside the coffin. They're stopped. I think they like stopped along the the route to like I don't know, refuel, get a drink, refuel themselves energy wise. And all of a sudden, they see the top of the coffin moving from someone putting pressure inside. Once they take the top off, they find Maggie is still alive. [ __ ] yes, Maggie. Isn't this unreal? True story. She is alive after being

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hanged. Oh my god. and like essentially almost suffocated in what I presume was it's like a horribly poorly ventilated and hot coffin. And how long had she been banging for? Yeah. How long was she unconscious for? Like it it just so many things. She's an episode. Did she fain dead until she knew she was a fair distance away? Like no one you don't know. So anyway, Maggie's story because obviously they're in the town like with a bunch of people around when she comes out of the coffin. People are like, "What the heck? What now?" Also, was she was this divine intervention? Was she saved for something? Or is this when they say witch and they try to kill her again? Luckily, that did not happen. Okay, good. And legally and technically, she had already served her sentencing, which was execution by hanging. She had been hanged. They couldn't hang her again.

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So, she went on to live another 40 years. Yep. Got remarried, had more children, died at 60some years old. Oh my god. Yeah. Is this like the only example in history of this? I wonder. There's got to be other ones. I don't know. I did not look it up. That's That's a wild story. Isn't that wild? Yeah. I wonder if maybe too like the fear made her pass out and her body was like just limp enough or something because they say like, you know, like often times unfortunately when there's like an intense accident or like a car accident that involves someone who's drunk, the drunk person usually has the least amount of injuries because they are so like floppy. It's the same thing with like you know, right? babies get injured less because they just when they fall I've heard of stories and this is gruesome. I mean this whole episode is gruesome but where people who are hanged like their neck doesn't break and like they're hanging there for a

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while before they actually die. But I don't know there was like one thing that I found but I couldn't I mean again this is like rumor. There was conjecture that Maggie perhaps had befriended the person who tied the nooes or like the executioner or someone who like sewed the ropes together and they gave her a less some slack or something something. Well, it's interesting too that I guess like people had more opportunity to survive this if after like immediately after there's the rush to like grab the body because I feel like in so many other places people were left there on display as like a warning and a sign, right? But in this case, people were grabbed really quickly. So, right, if you did survive, you had the opportunity. You were basically removed from the binds, the noose. Yeah. But yeah, Maggie went on to live a very, as far as we know, nice life. And she

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became a walking legend, a woman who had crossed the threshold between this life and the next and come back. Now she is forever remembered as halfhang it Maggie. And her memory is honored by this very haunted pub in the grass market called Maggie Dixons's. And some people say her spirit still lingers there. I don't think it's her, but I understand the pub wanting to like play up that lore, right, and say it's her. But there are hauntings that have happened in this pub. Also, keep in mind it's the grass market. Hundreds of people have been executed here on top of sieges and plagues and cuz this area used to have was home to a bunch of tenementss where impoverished people lived in very overcrowded unsanitary conditions. So, my mind just went like super crazy. Like, I was just thinking about, you know, when we talk about when people have near-death experiences or when there's like a glitch and they think that they died and they like wake

36:00

up in another life and their life is suddenly a little bit different and then we're we're always questioning like, well, what happens to the soul that's like in that life? Does it reintegrate? Like, what what's going on? What if Maggie did die? But like another or like another timeline version of her like no in this current one but then something else happened in another timeline version of her where she also died but like that she somehow got like she switched she got like pushed basically like re Oh that's interesting reborn almost like I'm picturing her in our timeline our perception is that she didn't die but she did die and a different timeline version of her came into this timeline. Yeah, just like popped into her body while she was like in the casket or something like something weird. What is time and space? I do not know. I don't know. Probably not, but just just something to think about. There's always something to think about. Something to noodle on while you sip on your your twe. I've never heard it called Twe and now I really like Yeah. Tweet Twe. Again, it's hard to

37:00

know exactly who and what is haunting this bar, but patrons inside have claimed to hear soft footsteps, whispers, soft touches, like someone grazing past them. Like you know when like someone's shirt touches you but they turn around and no one's there. Some people report a watchful figure and all of them have said it has a female presence. Like they'll be alone somewhere and they'll feel like someone is watching them but when they turn to look no one is there. Yeah. So people say it's Maggie watching. It's hard cuz like I understand that Maggie like it's almost like the thing where it's like when you undergo something traumatic how a piece of residual Yeah. Like it could be a residual haunting even though she didn't pass there. A piece of her dead. Yeah. During renovations just outside the pub, that same alleyway was used to transport coffins after the hangings. So people like to say that this haunting is Maggie. Again, unsure, but there were

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some renovations happening on the alleyway, and I guess the workers kept hearing what sounded like tapping and thuting almost like on a piece of wood, which over time people have been like, "Oh, it was Maggie banging on the coffin." Like maybe she had been banging on the coffin ever since that alleyway. And it wasn't until, you know, they had been driving some distance that people realized she was banging on the coffin. I don't know. It could be so many different hauntings happening, but they like to attribute it to Maggie. I wonder in paranormal investigations what's come up if like EVPs captured have said find any. And I don't know if they're necessarily like open for investigations, but I'm sure people Yeah. Also, I think it's haunted. Like there's got to be something, right? I think they just like to feed into the hauntings of it being Maggie. And I get it. I think it's nice that they honor her. They also have like a sign inside the bar that says halfhang

39:00

it Maggie. And then they have a drink dedicated to her called the halfhang it. What's the drink? It is described as a dark elegant drink that dances between death and survival. Ooh. And I'll put the recipe copyrighting. I know. I'll put the recipe the cocktail concoction in the episode if you guys want to make it. It's a whiskey drink. Okay. So, there's also just outside of the pub a marked path called the shadow of the gibbit, which connects the execution site to the entrance of Maggie Dixon's pub. Again, are these encounters of

The Last Drop

Maggie? Are they any number of other spirits? Given the amount of death and murder that took place here, it could be anyone. But now, we're going to venture into the next bar called the last drop bar. And I want to shout out real quick to ghoul please on Tik Tok because the reason I came up with this whole episode is because I saw and you know in one of my late night midnight doom scrollings

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uh this Tik Tok by at Google please came up and it was all about the last drop in Edinburgh and I was like oh my gosh what a fun idea to do an episode about haunted pubs in Scotland. So shout out. Uh, this is located at 74-78 Grass Market. The Last Drop is a very haunted bar with a very curious name. The Last Drop, some people like to say, is a nod to The Last Drink that the people would have before being walked to their death. Oh, there was like a universal drink. Well, the last drop was a I mean, it was named something different, but I think the pub that stood here during the time of what they called the killing period. Those who were to be executed were taken here for their last drink. They would have a stiff drink and a stiff piece of bread. Wow. But there's also another homage that this name is paying itself to. It is the last drop of the trapoor before

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they are hanged. So, it's very morbid. Super. Yes. But that being said, the tavern is no stranger to ghosts. It is said that in the 1700s, those who were sentenced to die would be brought here for their last meal, and they would have their drink and their piece of bread as the noose was prepared outside. Patrons and staff have long spoken of a childlike presence. So, this is haunted by some entity that is completely separate from the execution that occurred in the grass market. But there's a ghost of a young girl who has been named Maria. I don't know how they got that name, but that's the name that they have dubbed her. And she's often seen wearing medieval style clothing, wandering between the bar and the cellar. Some people believe that Maria once lived in the tenementss that stood on the site. And like I said earlier, life in these tenementss was pretty grim, overcrowded, impoverished, poor hygiene. Then there's also lots of rumors like, "Oh, this is a the ghost of a girl who was murdered and her body is

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hidden beneath the stones of this bar." No evidence of that. Even if her story may ever be known, her presence will be because she is not a keep to herself type of ghost. No, she is like, "You're going to know I'm here. Want you to know that I exist." She's very active. She's living her life just in spectral form very much. People will be sitting at the bar like sipping their drink. So like, you know, I'll just have a drink. I'll put it down on the bar and I turn to talk to you and when I go back to reach for it, the the drink has moved by itself. She's stealing little sips. She's stealing sips. That bar should rebrand. The stolen sip. She also will like knock paintings off the walls. She'll just move things around. She seems to be very playful and just like likes to tease people. People have heard their name called by what sounds like a child, but then they'll look around and no one's there. I wonder if she knows the regulars now. if they're the ones that get the names. I think it's the bartenders, like people who work there. Got it. Okay. So, yeah, regulars in a way. This is my favorite. There is an infamous story where I think someone had

43:00

just like just made a mug of hot chocolate. Mhm. And put it on the bar and almost immediately this hot chocolate starts sliding down the bar by itself. Like Maria's like, I'll take that. Of course, I would also want Yeah. the perfect drink for her. Absolutely. One bartender was down in the cellar and heard his name whispered and looked around, panicked. No one was there. And the cellar is probably a good place to

White Hart Inn

find her because a lot of people will feel her presence down there. But all in all, she's a pleasant pleasant ghost. A good one to experience. Just keep your drink close. Otherwise, Maria will take it for herself. Now, the last pub we're going to stop at today is arguably the most haunted and has actually been given the accolade of most haunted bar in Scotland. It is called the White Heart Inn. It's just a few paces away from the last drop. It's another legendary haunted pub, the White Heart Inn, established in 1516. So, this is like a old pub. It's been here for a very long time and is the oldest licensed pub in

44:00

Edinburgh. Wow. Yep. This was not just a place to grab a drink. This was actually the primo spot to go to during the hangings and the executions because it was an inn. So people, this is one of those places where people would book a room. Yeah. Oh god. It's like you think about like parades and fireworks and concerts and like reasons why people would do that. This is such a dark dark reason to try to get a room with a view. It is. The name White Heart is in itself paranormal, which I got excited about. So, this is a infamous story. It's like one of Scotland's most beloved myths and legends, but apparently it's a true story. So, back in 1127, King David I had a vision. As the story goes, it was September 14th, 1127, the feast of the Holy Rude, which is the Holy Cross. It's what this day was. It's every year. And on this day, it was a sacred day.

45:00

hunting was prohibited. I don't know if every sacred day hunting was prohibited or what, but King David the 1 was like, "But I want to go hunting anyway." And so he did. Well, cuz he's the king. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. And I did look him up cuz I was like, "Gh, he's probably one of those kings." But no, apparently he is seen as saint. Oh, wow. St. David. Like people rever him as a So the bad things he did was just go hunting when he wasn't supposed to. Yeah. When he wasn't supposed to. Like a lot of kings, they're killing their 17 wives. Yeah. Yes. Their legacy, that's what I was looking for, that word. Their legacy is like stained in blood. But his people say like was stained in prayer. Wow. Yeah. Which also probably meant if he was very religious, probably some death because people who went against it. I don't know. It's 11:27. People were being murdered for sure. Okay. So, he decides he's going to go hunting anyway. September 14th, 11:27. and he insists on hunting in the royal forest,

46:00

which is just outside of modern-day Edinburgh. But during the hunt, he gets separated from the rest of the hunters, and he encounters a white stag. This stag is massive and angry, and it charges King David I, knocking him off of his horse. Like, his horse is startled. Throws King David from the horse. And this stag continues to charge at King David I. And King David is unarmed. He has no Yeah. no defense. So he begs, he prays and prays and prays for God to protect him. And all of a sudden, the stag stops, stands there, and apparently a glowing fiery cross appeared between its two antlers. What in the Harry Potter? I mean, Edinburgh has inspired a lot of Harry Potter. And this stag after presenting the fiery cross turns and runs off and disappears into the forest.

47:00

So he is so grateful for his salvation that he in that moment vows to build like a holy building here in honor of this moment. And so in in the next year by 11:28 he built the Hollyude which is like Holy Cross Abbey in that very spot. Now, of course, this story he tells to everyone that this like vision of a white stag came to him and the white heart, which is the name for a mythical white stag, then became a symbol of purity, divine intervention, and royal destiny. So, a lot of pubs throughout all of Scotland have adopted this name, the White Heart. But the most haunted is the White Heart in Grass Market, Edinburgh, Scotland. I really want to go to Grass Market now. I know. Same. I think I probably have been through it. Mhm. From sightings of detached legs to hair being tugged and so many EVPs, this pub has it all. It is also said to be the pub that the infamous killers Burke

48:00

and Hair would go get their victims drunk before luring them to where they would then kill them. There are plates that have been thrown from shelves. People have felt their hair being pulled. Beer taps will mysteriously shut off when they're not empty. And the cellar again is a hot bed for paranormal occurrences. And it's a cellar, so it's cold. You know, it's colder than the rest of the building. But there are people who will be down there and a rush of cold air will like go through them as if an apparition is walking through them. Barrels will move on their own. Like staff will go downstairs and barrels have completely been rearranged. And these are not light. That's they're not easy to just like move around. And a lot of people have seen a pair of disembodied legs in the cellar and occasionally the legs will be accompanied by the rest of the body. But this ghost is like being scunted clad scandy with their legs and it's like I like my legs. It's a man. But men men can be proud of their legs too. Doors

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slam shut behind people especially in the cellar. Apparently, a worker went into the fridge to grab something and the door slammed shut before behind them, locking them in there. They'd be so scared. Yeah. There have been some really notable EVPs caught in here. One spirit called out, "Help me." Another kept saying the name Connor. So, there's it's not clear if the spirit is Connor or if they're looking for a Connor. But in 2004, a group of paranormal investigators believe they uncovered two specific spirits in the White Hart Inn. A woman named Sally Begs, who is a woman believed to be from the 1700s, again believed to have died of a respiratory illness and that her body was discovered outside on the grass market in the morning one day. There's another spirit named Jack who is a shy, disfigured man, broadshouldered and cloaked, who skulks near the stairs. Again, no one really knows who he is. Some people are like, "Did he die in the great fire of Edinburgh or did he own this place?" So

50:00

many theories. People have heard loud bangings from behind walls, but when they go to investigate, no one is there. It's just dark. And then there's a photo, which y'all, I could not find for the life of me. I literally scoured the damn interwebs. I asked Reddit. I didn't ask. I searched Reddit. Like I looked everywhere and I couldn't find it. I even know like the date. It was from 2013 and there was It's like referenced online. Yeah. And then like there was one website where it's like this photo, but it's literally a photo of the exterior of the building and the photo that is talked about is the inside of the building. I hate when this happens. I know. So, if anyone can find it, basically in 2013, an Australian couple was visiting Scotland. They went to the pub and they were taking pictures as you do. You know, you're like in a touristy place. And at the time, they didn't notice anything. But later at night, when they had gotten home or when they were reviewing their photos, they were like, "What's that?" And in the background of the bar, they see this like apparition, like a translucent man

51:00

standing in the background of the pub. Again, can't find the photo. Heck, if anyone else finds it, please share. So whether it's murderers, ghosts, or the spirits of the executed, the pubs of Grass Market Square are places where the past bleeds into the present. And spirits aren't just poured from the tap.

listener story

Dang, what a good end. Thank you. Thanks for joining us for our pub crawl. Our one twisted tea. Our one twe. I think I had like three sips of it. Oh, I'm I'm about to finish mine. Ready? I'll I'll take the rest of mine. The last sip. Okay. I have a story from Liz. Hi ladies. I just started watching your YouTube videos and I'm obsessed. One of your listeners encounters took place on a haunted tour in Scotland and it made me think of my own experience on the same tour. I wonder what the tour is. I know cuz I do know I I'm pretty sure there is a haunted pub crawl. I don't know if it's contained specifically to the grass market area, but my it's it's common to go drink at the pubs in Scotland and tell those stories. Kind of like New Orleans, right? Where it's just

52:00

like a million haunted tours and crawls. Yeah. Events. Okay. Before I married my now husband, who is a straightup skeptic, which I know is super irritating. We went to Edinburgh on a trip. It's still one of my favorite places to go. It's beautiful and peaceful, and it's not too big. We did the haunted tour in these tunnels that had been under the city for a few centuries. So cool. It had been sealed up for many years due to unsavory acts and characters who inhabited it. And it opened back up and turned into a haunted tour location maybe 20 years ago. So we joined our tour in the main square and eventually made it back into the tunnels. In this group of about 20 people, we walk into the dark, but recently they had electrified the cold underground chambers. It's electrifying. It's electrifying. As the tour guy weaved his tail about the murders and the criminals who had made this area their home, my eye caught something to the left of me. In the corner of this room, I saw what I can only describe as a smoky figure squatting in the corner. The man's form was like a double

53:00

exposure when you stare at the light and you see the negative image pressed into your eyeballs. He was wearing trousers, a white shirt with suspenders and a cap. He was staring not at the floor but at everyone's feet. And as I turn to tell my husband, "This image is now gone." I excitedly began to describe exactly what I had just seen. And before I even finish my sentence, the tour guide directs everyone's attention behind me to the corner and says, "And that is the cobbler's room. He likes to sit in the corner and judge everyone's shoes." I was so excited. I pinched my husband. I just said that. Didn't I just say that? Wait, that's amazing. And now, please don't judge my husband too harshly. He is a wonderful man and he's an amazing father. But when I asked him if he could believe it, he said, "I believe you believe it." All right, I'll keep my comments to myself, but I have some Let's rates ew. I know. But like many a person before me, I know what I saw. Yeah, agreed. And

54:00

it was confirmed by the guide as well. Thank you. The timing of that too, right? And just like the fact that he was staring at everyone's feet. Thank you ladies for your community and for the fun that you bring to the scary and sometimes sad subject. Have a wonderful day, Liz. Well, Liz, we believe you. We know what you saw and we love what you saw. Wow. So cool. So cool. And I love that you got confirmation right after, too. Yeah. I want to go to Scotland and I am going to do a little ghost tour when I go because I'm going to go. Yeah, you should. I'm really saying I'm going to go places and I don't go. No, I feel like you you do you travel a lot. You're well traveled. Thank you. You're always somewhere. I am always somewhere and nowhere and everywhere. Uh we love you all so much. If you have any encounters in any of these pubs, if you can find that ghost photo, if you have encounters with the paranormal, just anywhere globally in your own home from us because we haunted you. Please email them to us at two girls one ghost podcast@gmail.com. Join us on Patreon if you want episodes

55:00

one week early and add free, plus bonus episodes every month, plus campfire stories where you can share your ghost story with us live virtually every Tuesday. And uh so much so many more things. All the things. Thank you to Jamie Ryan for enduring hauntings and also editing and producing our podcast and enduring us and adoring us. This one was a rough one. And we will see you on the other side. Very spooky.