Multi-Sensory Witches Trials & Truth Tour in Edinburgh
Overview
Available languages
1 hour 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
The witching hour has come — it’s time for a reckoning.
Edinburgh’s Master Storytellers, Mercat Tours, are redefining the walking tour, promising to enrich and deepen your connection with Edinburgh’s people and its past far beyond your visit.
Take the Story Home: evoke the memories:
- Listen to the tour playlist
- Light your Remembrance Candle
Accused, tried, and tortured. Step into Scotland’s shadowy past on this immersive five-star Edinburgh history tour. Follow in the final tragic footsteps of those condemned as ‘witches’ and bear witness to the devastating truth.
History and Hysteria: Their Trials and Truth Told
There was no justice in court, nor truth in tribunals for accused ‘witches’. On this tour, our award-winning master Storytellers shine a light on the truth behind the trials and the real reasons behind the witch crazes that swept like a plague for centuries, across Scotland and beyond.
The past is calling. Will you bear witness?
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
What To Expect
Royal Mile
You’re invited to listen carefully and perhaps think again... You’ll be transported back to a dark time ruled by a crazed king and his obsession with the dark arts, ‘otherworldly phenomenon’. Join us to walk the cobbled paths of Edinburgh’s Old Town and its centuries-old closes.
St Giles' Cathedral
Hear stories about the persecution of the weak, the wise and skilled, inflamed by religious zeal.
Options
Multi-Sensory Witches Trials & Truth Tour in Edinburgh
What‘s Included
Visit the locations where Scotland’s witches were once executed, and are now remembered
Take home a Remembrance Candle
Small-Group tour
Enhanced with hand-picked sounds of Edinburgh and delivered through TourTalk audio devices
Exclusive Sounds of Edinburgh Tour Playlist
Exclusive multi-sensory tours; with master Storyteller guides
This tour is not suitable for those under the age of 18
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
31 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Highly recommend!
tiffanybA2552KX,May 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was amazing! Our guide, Linda, was very knowledgeable and hilarious! I felt like I was taking a tour with one of my best girlfriends. One of the things I enjoyed was the respect Linda paid to the women who were unjustly persecuted. Amazing overview of the history, including a glimpse of the lives of women during this time. Also, my medical scooter battery was running low at the last stop and I sent my husband ahead to finish the tour. Linda came back and finished where I was! ❤️
Linda was an engaging and...
Corinna G,May 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Linda was an engaging and knowledgeable guide who made the experience both informative and empowering. Highly recommend if you’re looking for an in-depth perspective on this time period.
Worthwhile and informative tour
425emw,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I really enjoyed the Witches: Trial and Truth tour with Linda. I found the stories to be interesting and I definitely learned more about the witchcraft accusations and how sad some of the stories were. If you’re interested in learning more about the local history from many angles then do this tour. Learning about the witchcraft accusations opened my eyes and enabled me to see this part of history in a different light. Thanks to Linda for sharing these incredible stories.
Great Tour Option!
J8130WQsarahl,Apr 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An amazing tour, our tour guide, Linda, was incredibly knowledgeable and gave a great tour!
A peek into the grisly world of the witch trials
Road693171,Mar 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An absolutely fantastic tour. I learned so much about a dark period of history that seemed to delight in the suffering of the weak. The walk was gentle, not too many hills and steps. Definitely a tour worth taking!
Mercat Witches Walking Tour. Excellent!
G7226RBannh,Mar 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent witch tour led by Linda who was a total star guide. She was informative and passionate about the subject of the Scottish women and men accused of witchcraft etc. She interacted with the group and did not rush us ftom one stop to another. Would not hesitate in recommending this walking tour to others thinking of booking it. Go ahead, book it and you will not be disappointed! Five stars all round.
Witches Trial and Truth
Footprints231704,Mar 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mercat Tours meeting place was very easy to find next to St Giles Church on the approach to Edinburgh Castle. I was early for the tour and given a friendly greeting by staff .. on check in I was given my audio pack and met Linda our tour guide. Linda and I chatted about the tour and she asked me about my personal interest in the plight of the accused Scottish witches. Linda is a very knowledgeable guide and gave us a very detailed account of the political background together with reformation of the church in Scotland that exacerbated fear and distrust especially of women. I would really recommend this tour and I will bring along friends next time … a story that must be told
Witchy witchy
Climber26641370114,Feb 23, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We went on the witches tour with Steph as our guide. She was really captivating in telling the stories and taking us back to the time of the witches trails. It was a casual stroll around, but we saw some places with history which we otherwise wouldn’t have known. I can highly recommend this tour!
Witchcraft tour
eleanorray2802,Feb 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00As usual Mercat tours do not disappoint. Myself and my partner have attended a tour every time we've been in Edinburgh. Our guide Linda was very passionate on the subject which made the tour all the more engaging. Linda was conscious of keeping the group out of the rain as much as possible to keep everyone comfortable. The history and information given around people accused of witchcraft in Scotland was brilliant, and has inspired further reading into the topic, Linda was happy to recommended some books which are now on order!
Well told stories
597ellenm,Feb 17, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very interesting and well told stories. Linda was an excellent tour guide who told the stories about the women of Scotland in an interesting and enchanting way without being tabloid. She paid the history and the victims of this dark chapter of human history respect at the same time as it was told with dramaturgy.
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Operated by Mercat Tours