Eerie Edinburgh

Peggy the Doll isn’t an old legend pulled from folklore, or a relic tied to some distant tragedy.

She’s a modern case - one that unfolded in real time, among investigators, witnesses, and viewers who found themselves reacting in ways they couldn’t easily explain.

First brought to wider attention in 2015, Peggy became associated with reports of physical and emotional reactions - headaches, nausea, anxiety, and a deep sense of unease...

Lochmaben Castle is one of Scotland’s most historic strongholds. It's a site tied to the Bruces, medieval warfare, rebellion, and some of the strangest stories to come out of Dumfriesshire.

In this episode, we explore the history of the castle before looking at the modern accounts that have made Lochmaben one of the area’s most talked-about haunted locations.

From the 12th-century tale of a medieval revenant, to legends of a phanto...

Tonight’s story comes from my new book Hidden Haunts: Ireland - a collection of lesser-known ghost stories, local legends, and accounts that have rarely, if ever, been written down.

This episode takes us to Woodstown House in County Waterford, a place better known for its famous guests than its ghosts. But behind the grand rooms and local reputation lies something far stranger - a series of experiences shared by several people who ...

The final chapter in a chilling true story of a haunting that refused to be left behind.

In this concluding episode, we follow John - a down to earth, practical man - as the strange disturbances that began at a remote industrial site grow darker, more personal… and more violent.

What started with flying stones and cryptic messages soon evolved into something far more invasive: objects moved on their own, threatening notes appeared ...

In this feature length episode, we look at real historical cases from Scotland where possession was recorded - not the Hollywood kind, but the kind found in parish records, court transcripts, and old ministerial accounts.

Some of these cases are deeply unsettling: people who claimed to see spirits, to be tormented in their sleep, to speak with voices not their own. Others sit somewhere between faith, fear, and mental collapse. Thro...

Welcome to The Possession Files - a three-part Halloween series investigating real historical accounts of alleged possession. 

These aren’t tales of spinning heads or Hollywood demons, but stories drawn from documented cases where something darker and far harder to explain seemed to take hold.

In this opening episode, we travel to Romania to examine the extraordinary story of Elenore Zugun - one of the real-life cases said to have ...

The A9 is Scotland’s longest road, stretching through the heart of the Highlands. It’s a route travelled daily by thousands — but it also carries a darker reputation.

In this follow-up to my episode on the haunted A75, Dark Miles, I trace the length of the A9, uncovering ghost stories that cling to the road and the landscapes around it. From death omens in Pitlochry and the witch of Beinn a’ Ghlo, to phantom whistles in Glen Tilt a...

Blythswood Square sits at the heart of Glasgow’s Georgian New Town - elegant, symmetrical, and steeped in history. But behind the sandstone facades, the square holds a darker story.

In this episode, we explore a haunting said to be tied to one of Scotland’s most infamous court cases: the 1857 trial of Madeleine Smith. Her secret affair with Pierre L’Angelier ended in scandal and death, and although the verdict was “Not Proven,” the...

As featured in Tales from the Crypts of Auld Reekie by John Tantalon

What if one of the most haunted streets in Edinburgh wasn’t in the Old Town, but found just beyond the Meadows — overlooked, residential, and never mentioned in ghost tour scripts?

This episode explores the eerie happenings of Arden Street, a seemingly ordinary road in Marchmont with a long history of unsettling events. From spectral footsteps and phantom dogs to ...

Beneath the streets of Alloa lies a history far stranger than most realise.

In this episode, we explore the layered past of a small Scottish town once tied to kings, conflict, and industry—and the eerie stories that have emerged from its most forgotten corners. From the imposing walls of Alloa Tower, where ghostly figures are said to appear in dungeons, bedrooms, and echoing stairwells, to the rediscovered tomb of a long-vanished f...

In this episode, we turn to Glenburn, a quiet area in Paisley, Renfrewshire—where in the 1980s, a family reported a series of disturbing and unexplained events. What began with strange noises soon escalated into something far more intense: loud crashes with no source, doors slamming, and a deep sense of unease that seemed permeate throughout the property.

Neighbours heard nothing, but friends of Alan - the young boy who lived in th...

There’s something about the land around Sanquhar that feels… different. The fields have an atmosphere to them, as if the place is waiting for something. And when the light starts to fade behind the broken walls of Sanker Castle, the stories don’t just feel like stories anymore - they come to life.

There are accounts from the east stairwell. Of a woman seen at the top - tall, dressed in white, wringing her hands. They call her the W...

While Eerie Edinburgh usually focuses on ghost stories and hauntings, sometimes a different kind of story stands out - strange, frightening, and too rooted in our folklore to ignore.

Scotland has no shortage of the supernatural: water horses in dark lochs, second sight, fairy abductions, witches blamed for failed harvests and sudden storms. But werewolves? That’s something we tend to associate with mainland Europe, not the glens an...

Every now and then, I like to branch out beyond Edinburgh and Scotland and bring you a case from further afield - one that’s too strange, too unnerving, and too well-documented to ignore. But just as importantly, I want to bring you the stories that don’t always get the spotlight. The ones that risk being forgotten.

This is one of them

In 1889, a remote farmhouse in Clarendon, Quebec became the centre of one of the most unsettling ...

In the summer of 1958, something strange stirred in a Glasgow tenement.

Three American students, renting a modest flat on Gibson Street, began experiencing something they couldn’t explain - and would never forget. It started with faint, indistinct voices echoing through empty rooms. Then came the sudden crashes, the faulty radio playing on its own, and the sense that they were not alone.

This was no ordinary haunting.

In this episo...

Hidden deep within a wooded glen near Kilmacolm stands the forgotten ruin of Duchal Castle - a fortress steeped in stories of siege, scandal, and something darker. 

In this episode, we uncover the chilling legend of the Black Robe: a ghostly monk said to haunt the castle’s crumbling walls, watching, waiting, and confronting those who dare enter its halls.

From historical battles and royal intrigue to whispers of ancient rites and s...

Somewhere between Gretna and Annan lies a stretch of road that has terrified drivers for decades. Apparitions on the verge. A phantom woman in black. A spectral coach hurtling through the night. And, most chilling of all, a silent procession of pale, tattered figures crossing in the dark.

In this episode, we dive into one of Scotland’s strangest and most persistent ghost stories: the hauntings of the A75. Drawing on real witness ac...

What if a loved one appeared to you at the very moment they died – even though they were miles away?

In this episode, we explore the eerie and emotional world of crisis apparitions – ghostly encounters from Edinburgh that occurred at the precise moment of a death, accident, or major trauma. These aren’t your typical hauntings. They’re intimate, fleeting, and often deeply personal.

We’ll delve into chilling historical cases, unc...

On a quiet farm in 1695, something woke in the night. What began as whispers and scratches soon escalated into violence—stones hurled through the air, beds dragged across the floor, children lifted screaming from their sleep. 

The spirit that plagued the Mackie family in Rerrick was relentless, calculated, and cruel.

It bore striking similarities to a more famous case across the sea—Tennessee’s infamous Bell Witch.

But this hauntin...