Haunted pub in Edinburgh

The White Hart Inn

One of Edinburgh's oldest inns, linked by tradition to the murderers Burke and Hare, with a long reputation for a shadowy figure heading for the cellar.

ReportedRepeated accounts, but without names or detail

The ghosts

  • A dark figure seen making for the cellar
  • Doors slamming and barrels moving on their own
  • An unseen presence said to pull staff members' hair

History

There has been an inn on the site since at least 1516. The present building was put up around 1740 and is listed. Robert Burns stayed in 1791 and Dorothy Wordsworth in 1803. The Burke and Hare link is tradition only.

Visiting

Address
32-34 Grassmarket, EH1 2JU
Food
Pub food served
Children
Not confirmed yet: check with the pub
Dogs
Not confirmed yet: check with the pub

Details last checked 24 October 2026. Check opening times on the pub’s website.

Ghost tours nearby

Tours starting within a short walk of the pub.

Haunted hotels nearby

More haunted pubs in Edinburgh

A rock bar built into the South Bridge vaults that calls itself Scotland's most haunted pub. It is named after a scream builders heard in the empty vaults while renovating them.

  • 29-35 Niddry Street
  • Food
The ghost story

A Grassmarket pub named after the public hangings held nearby. Staff say it is haunted by a young girl who lived in the tenement that once stood here.

  • 74-78 Grassmarket
  • Food
The ghost story

A Royal Mile pub in part of the old Canongate Tolbooth, once a toll house, court and prison. Drinks are said to fly off tables and children's voices to be heard in the bar.

  • 167 Canongate
  • Food
The ghost story

Sources