In the historic center of Edinburgh stands Greyfriars Cemetery, built in 1561 near an old hospital.
Over the centuries, many famous figures have been buried there.
What makes Greyfriars Cemetery even more macabre and unsettling are the decorations on the monuments and mausoleums inside: skeletons, skulls, and crossed bones, symbols of death and damnation.
On February 28, 1638, at Greyfriars Cemetery, the Covenanters gathered to sign the National Covenant, which demanded the maintenance of their religious faith and rebellion against the imposition of Catholicism.
Within the cemetery, there was a veritable concentration camp, where many Covenanters met their deaths.
A nauseating stench pervaded the area due to the repugnant conditions in which the prisoners were kept, exposed to the elements, tortured, and killed.
Often, the bodies were buried inside Greyfriars Cemetery.
Sir George Mackenzie
Greyfriars Cemetery is also the site of many paranormal phenomena.
It is said that one of the most haunted places in the cemetery is the so-called “Black Mausoleum” of Sir George Mackenzie (the man tasked with persecuting the Covenanters).
In 1679, following the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, Sir Mackenzie imprisoned over twelve hundred Covenanters in the prison adjacent to Greyfriars Cemetery.
The cruel and bloody manner in which he tortured and killed the unfortunate prisoners earned him the name Mackenzie the Bloody.
The Tomb of Sir George Mackenzie
Mysterious phenomena began around the end of the 1990s.
A vagrant, who became trapped in a pile of bones while trying to steal something valuable, after the floor gave way.
After being rescued, the man reported that the bones seemed to tighten around him as if animated by a mysterious force.
A few days after the incident, a curious woman tried to look inside the mausoleum through the grilles.
The unfortunate woman was violently pushed backward, again by a mysterious force, as if a paranormal entity was trying to protect the tomb.
In 1999, J. Henderson decided to organize some tours of Greyfriars Cemetery with the permission of the City of Edinburgh to better study these paranormal phenomena.
Over a span of 17 years, from 1990 to 2007, there were over 400 attacks by paranormal entities, many of which left visible physical marks on the victims.
Studies conducted by J. Henderson also recorded many sounds, such as screams and cries.
In 2000, Reverend Colin Grant, an exorcist from Edinburgh, was commissioned to perform an exorcism within the cemetery.
His testimony stated that the malevolent forces present were too powerful, and he feared for his life.
Reverend Colin died a few days later under mysterious circumstances, with many unknown marks found on his body.
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