The Haunting of the Black Mausoleum

Among the mossy stones of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh stands a small, locked structure

with a reputation that far outweighs its size. Locals call it the Black Mausoleum,

once the resting place of Sir George Mackenzie — the infamous “Bluidy Mackenzie,” a 17th-century

lawyer who secured a legacy of dread by prosecuting and executing the Presbyterian Covenanters with

ruthless resolve. Yet his punishments in life pale in comparison to the legends that rose

after death. For centuries, his tomb was just another weathered monument.

That changed in 1999, when a homeless man broke into the mausoleum seeking

shelter. According to reports, he disturbed the coffins inside, and soon after,