EDINBURGH EXPERT WALKING TOURS
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Tours
    • Fixed Route Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
  • About Your Guide
  • Book Online
    • Tour Pricing >
      • Terms and Conditions
  • Blog

EDINBURGH EXPERT BLOG

When Telling Ghost Stories Was a Legal Matter...

30/3/2015

 
Edinburgh is well-known for its tales of supernatural occurrences and not-of-this-world presences - whether you believe in ghosts or not, there have certainly been some pretty spooky goings on in the city over the last few hundred years!

I was intrigued to come across this story of a pretty low-profile kind of a ghost, one that hasn't yet made it into the tales told at Edinburgh Dungeon. Recounted in the Caledonian Mercury, a now defunct local newspaper, the story is dated this day, March 30, 1815. 

In the story, a local man has appeared in court charged with circulating a story about a ghost that he has seen haunting a property in Jamaica Street, in the New Town. The effect (and alleged purpose) of him propagating such a story was that the proprietor of the premises was having difficulty letting them out, and this was having a negative and damaging effect upon his business and income.

Certainly many properties in the city today pride themselves on their ghostly inhabitants, and indeed trade upon the fact that they are haunted for the benefits of publicity and atmosphere! How different the spiritual climate must have been two centuries ago, that a reputed haunting could have such a detrimental effect upon a person's business that they are moved to take the teller of the ghostly tale to court!

The gentleman in question, in 1815, defended himself at the trial, insisting that he had not only seen the ghost but had spoken to it and engaged it in conversation "on several occasions". He declined to disclose the content of these conversations, however, on the grounds that the ghost had sworn him to secrecy... It certainly sounds like one of the strangest defences ever mounted in a Scottish court of law!

The magistrate hearing the case issued a curious judgement - the defendant was bound over to keep the peace (ie. not to tell any further ghost stories) for a year, under threat of a £5 fine. At this juncture the defendant asked a special permission from the magistrate - since the ghost had previously agreed that it would speak with him again on a future occasion ("to partake of his hospitality," as the article puts it...), could he have formal legal permission to engage the ghost in further conversation, if he agreed to simply not to speak of it to anyone? 

The Caledonian Mercury states that in this highly unusual matter of ghost vs. commercial interest, "We, for our part, are of the opinion, that the ghost ought to have been called into Court for its interest".

For more tales of Edinburgh's past, book one of my Up-Close and Personal Tours of the city.

Inspired by an entry in Michael TRB Turnbull's Edinburgh Book of Days.

Comments are closed.
    Buy Me a Coffee
    Enjoy the blog but can't take a tour? ​Buy me a coffee!

    Search the blog archive...

    Categories

    All
    Architecture Of Edinburgh
    Around Town
    A To Z Of Edinburgh
    City Of Literature
    Edinburgh History
    Edinburgh Local Heroes
    Edinburgh's Graveyards
    Expert Advice
    Local Flavour
    Museums And Galleries
    New Town
    Old Town
    Scottish History

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

EDINBURGH TOURS
​Customised Edinburgh Walking Tours
Fixed Route Edinburgh Walking Tours
​​Edinburgh's New Town Walking Tour
Edinburgh's Old and New Towns Tour
Old Town and Royal Mile Walking Tour
Beyond the World's End Walking Tour​
BOOK A TOUR ONLINE
​Book an Edinburgh Tour
Edinburgh Tour Pricing
​Terms and Conditions
​Interactive Edinburgh map
CONTACT​
About Your Tour Guide
Edinburgh Expert Blog
​Frequently Asked Questions
​Telephone: +44 (0) 131 235 2351
Email: gareth@edinburghexpert.com

​© COPYRIGHT GARETH DAVIES ​2014-23
Featured on KAYAK Travel Guides
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Tours
    • Fixed Route Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
  • About Your Guide
  • Book Online
    • Tour Pricing >
      • Terms and Conditions
  • Blog