Body Snatchers and Tortured Spirits: Dark History of Edinburgh’s South Bridge Vaults

Beneath the ancient fortified city of Edinburgh, Scotland lie the South Bridge Vaults—notorious underground tunnels and chambers that became the dwelling places of the impoverished and the villainous.
Body Snatchers and Tortured Spirits: Dark History of Edinburgh’s South Bridge Vaults
Underground vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland. FW42/Flickr/CC BY
Liz Leafloor
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Beneath the ancient fortified city of Edinburgh, Scotland lie the South Bridge Vaults—notorious underground tunnels and chambers that became the dwelling places of the impoverished and the villainous.

At first, the dark stone vaults served as houses and workspaces for tradesmen and merchants. But as conditions deteriorated, the poorest of Edinburgh’s citizens lived, and very often died, there. Prostitution, poverty, violence, and illness consumed the vaults, and infamous serial killers hid their dirty work in the stone recesses.

Early History of the Edinburgh Vaults: Shops, Living Quarters

The city of Edinburgh straddles seven major hills. Castle Rock has been a site of human habitation since the 2nd century A.D. The iconic Edinburgh Castle and formidable fortifications were built on the site around the 12th century A.D. to protect against invaders and sieges.

Edinburgh Castle (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edinburgh_Castle_from_the_North.JPG" target="_blank">Kim Traynor</a>/<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA</a>)
Edinburgh Castle Kim Traynor/CC BY-SA
Liz Leafloor
Liz Leafloor
Author
Liz Leafloor is an Editor, Writer, Blogger and Designer based in Canada. Having worked in online media for years, Liz covers exciting and interesting subjects like spirituality, history, science, archaeological discoveries, life and death, and the unexplained. She is an editor for popular archaeology and history site Ancient-Origins, and contributing blogger for international news media organization Epoch Times.
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