With nearly 40% of the population of Scotland claiming to have seen a ghost, it comes as no surprise perhaps that Glasgow - a city that has quite literally been built on layer upon layer of history with today’s roads and buildings rising on the foundation of its past and those that have walked, and died, on its streets – is considered one of the most haunted ancient cities in Europe.

Do you dare to visit some of Glasgow’s most haunted locations?

The Necropolis

Perhaps the most famous of all is Glasgow’s eerily beautiful Necropolis. This ‘city of the dead’ – a Victorian graveyard situated on the hill alongside St Mungo’s Cathedral – is the final resting place to around 50,000 Glasgow souls  in its many lairs .

According to urban myth it is the home of the Gorbals Vampire – a 7 foot tall, child-eating vampire with metal teeth. At the height of this legend in the early fifties, hundreds of local children patrolled the cemetery with sticks and knives in search of the creature which they believed had apparently eaten two local boys.   

Other paranormal sightings in the Glasgow Necropolis include a ghostly white lady who has been seen floating through the cemetery at night, the whispering of voices and a strange low mist.

The Ramshorn Theatre

Follow the mystical ley lines that zig zag through the city from the Necropolis, past the Tron steeple on Glasgow Cross upon which many met their maker at the old gallows and on to The Ramshorn Theatre on Ingram Street – a one-time church dating back to 1826.  

Look closely to discover the old cages that were placed over the graves in the 18th and 19th century to prevent fresh corpses being dug up by body snatchers.  

Most recently used as a theatre, culture-fans should take care when they visit the facilities and watch out for Edie – a woman who haunts what once was the minister’s vestry – in the now visitors’ toilets. Tales of poltergeist activity and running footsteps have also been recorded at The Ramshorn.

Glasgow's Old Burial Sites

Disturbing old burial sites is a common theme in Glasgow’s gruesome past as the engineers and builders who constructed the Glasgow Subway system in 1896 found out. The tunnels are said to host no less than nine ghosts but most terrifying perhaps is The Clatter on the West Street – Shields Road track. Once home to a medieval plague pit – an impromptu mass grave, workers told hair-raising tales of a cloud-like spirit that would emerge from the wall of the newly dug tunnel, appearing as a small ball of light that would suddenly swell and engulf the entire area – its name deriving from the noise it produces – the clatter of dozens of tin pans falling from a wall at once.  Workers reported seeing the tormented faces of the long deceased in the mists that surrounded them.

Take a Spooky Bus Tour

Still feeling brave?  Why not jump on the Ghoulish Glasgow bus-tour. While it takes in all 24 stops on the city sightseeing bus’ usual tourist tour, there’s an added spooky-bonus of audio commentary from Emily and Ingleramus – two ‘ghosts’ from the city’s darker past  who share the many scary stories – from famous murders to specter-sightings – that makes Glasgow go bump in the night.

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