Haunted Places: Greyfriars Kirkyard

April 19, 2018

Hello Everyone,

Well I know I said I was going to also focus on some other topics this month and I will. Don’t worry. But as I was looking through some information, trying to remember a few things, I stumbled upon a picture that reminded me of Greyfriars Kirkyard. As I opened the picture for a more detailed view, to my surprise it was. So here we are with some more information on a haunted cemetery.

A little about Greyfriars Kirkyard:

Okay, well first thing is, is that this cemetery is really old. It dates back with burials to the 16th century. That’s a lot of time for spirits to live in unrest if they were buried there with reasons to be in an unrest state of being.

The cemetery is located in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is a traditional style cemetery that also houses a church onsite that is, was, the primary place to conduct the services for the recently departed.

The name derives from the friary that was initially on site but was dissolved in 1559 a couple years before the cemetery was created. These friars traditionally wore the grey robes. If your curiosity gets the best of you and you decided to look into some pictures, you can only imagine the eeriness of seeing a group of friars walking around the gloomy area.

It’s enough to send some chills down your spine.

The Hauntings:

As most cemeteries there are many stories that surround Greyfriars Kirkyard as to hauntings. Poltergeist stories are a particular reoccurrence at Greyfriars Kirkyard. Ever since the movie “Poltergeist” I have had a little different opinion about hoe the hauntings of spirits/ghost and poltergeists vary. Poltergeist seem to be more bent on pure devastation and corruption than trying to gain attention or bring to someone’s attention that they are there. So since this is mentioned in a somewhat different contest it seems to bring up a particular type of feeling with me.

Another story is the one behind “Bloody MacKenzie’s Tomb. This is the burial site of Sir George MacKenzie. In 2004 some teenagers broke into the tomb and stole a skull from one of the lower coffins. When police arrived they were found playing soccer/football with the skull.

In many past tales that is enough alone to bring the spirits to unrest and seek revenge. Most of remember the tales of Sleepy Hallow and the Headless Horseman. Right?

Thoughts:

The cemetery actually has ghost tours that run during the night time. Kind of interesting if you think about it. They are willing to possibly make people unhappy by the touring of their ancestor’s graves to the public because there is that much of a possibility that the place is haunted. Of course these are by special arrangement to prevent vandalism.

I think that this cemetery has a better chance than many to possibly have some real haunted attributes. The length of time the cemetery was used is enough alone to convince me of that. I’, just considering this from a statistical point of view. The numbers don’t lie.  Along time for dead people in one spot and a lot of them. Some famous people were buried there and you can check the list. But who I wonder about are the killers, the twisted, the deranged souls that found a cold muddy grave there and still seek to carry out their Earthly doings even after they are deceased.

That my friends, is how you get your pissed off poltergeists.

Thanks for reading,

Joshua Crane Dowidat

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