The "Black Mausoleum" is really eerie, even in daylight. But if you also know the story behind it, you don't really want to set foot in Edinburgh Cemetery. And certainly not anywhere near Mackenzie's grave.
Who was the man from the "Black Mausoleum"?
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, born in Dundee, Scotland in 1636, always wanted to help justice prevail. After years of study, he was admitted to the bar in 1659. Unfortunately, fate was not kind to him (or rather his clients), as he lost one of his first cases. This did not result in years in prison for his client Archibald Campell (Marquis of Argyll). The nobleman was beheaded and his head was impaled and displayed outside the gates of Edinburgh. The 17th century was definitely not a time for cuddling. Mackenzie's career took off nonetheless: He first became a deputy judge and in 1677 even became Attorney General of Scotland (Lord Avocate of Scotland). During his time as a judge, he was merciful and even protected people by defending women in witch trials.
As public prosecutor, however, he showed his ruthless side: at the time, there were a number of religious riots in the country. The rebels were housed in Edinburgh churchyard on Mackenzie's orders. The section of Greyfriars Kirkyard set aside for the prisoners resembled something that would only become popular many decades later: it was one of the first concentration camps. The inmates received just three slices of bread a day, they were tortured and had to spend the winter outside. This was tantamount to a death sentence, considering the temperatures in Scotland. The few who survived the ordeal were sold as slaves. This inhumane treatment earned Mackenzie the name "Bloody Mackenzie". He is held responsible for the deaths of around 18,000 of his countrymen.
He died in London in 1691 and was buried in a mausoleum in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Ironically, only a few meters away from the concentration camp he had set up himself. But the story doesn't end there (and this is where it gets spooky): According to lore, his coffin moved of its own accord. People said that his soul tried to escape the spirits of the dead. The dead he had on his conscience. Shortly afterwards, the first reports of alleged assaults on visitors to the cemetery emerged.
"A scratching sound came from inside the coffin"
According to old reports, a petty criminal sought refuge in the Black Mausoleum in the 19th century. John Hayes was on the run from the police and hid in Mackenzie's final resting place. He lived there for six months and only came out to look for something to eat. When the police finally tracked him down, he was at his wits' end. Hayes claimed that the lid of Mackenzie's coffin had moved at night and that a scratching noise could be heard coming from inside the coffin. Over the next few decades, there were repeated reports of fainting spells and scratches inexplicably inflicted on visitors to the cemetery.
According to the "Daily Record" newspaper, a man broke into the mausoleum in the winter of 1999. The homeless man was just looking for shelter from the cold. He decided to search the tomb. Maybe he would even find something he could use later? After removing the iron grating in the floor of the tomb, he went down a small spiral staircase to a second chamber.
Suddenly, the floor beneath him gave way and he fell through a rotten, wooden cover into another chamber. This was so hidden that no one knew it existed until then. The homeless man fell about two meters and landed roughly on the supposed floor. As it turned out later, this room was used for the burial of the plague corpses. The bodies were carried into the chamber through the opening and the wooden flap was then sealed. So the man had landed on a collection of corpses. Although the bodies had been lying there for a hundred years, some had not yet completely decomposed due to the good sealing of the chamber and the consistency of the surrounding earth.
When he realized what he had landed on, panic set in. The man tumbled out of the tomb smeared with corpse remains and reeking of decay. He missed a nail sticking out of the entrance to the tomb and suffered a bleeding wound to his head. The cemetery guard, who was doing his usual rounds, noticed the homeless man's screams. He ran in his direction - and stopped, stunned. A man covered in blood, smelling wretchedly of decay and smeared with something disgusting, ran towards him. When the keeper realized that this disturbed figure was coming from the direction of Mackenzie's grave, it was too much. He fled headlong from the cemetery. The guard reported his experiences to the police the next day, but the homeless man was never seen again.
It got worse and worse...
Following this incident, allegations of incidents at Greyfriars Kirkyard increased. Unexplained noises, dizzy spells near the mausoleum, bruises on visitors to the cemetery were reported. Superstitious people believed that the homeless man had disturbed the repose of Bloody Mackenzie. Some also thought it was Mackenzie himself who had risen from his grave. These theories fueled the atmosphere even more. It got so out of hand that Edinburgh City Council had to take action. The Black Mausoleum was sealed and access to it was forbidden to the public. Local author Jan Andrew Henderson applied for a special permit to enter the mausoleum. He wanted to give guided tours of Mackenzie's tomb and tell his story.
Henderson's "City Of The Dead" tour was granted exclusive access to the grave - and since then the number of reported incidents has risen again. According to various media outlets and the tour's organizer, Black Heart Entertainment, there have been more than 350 cases of people being assaulted. The reported incidents range from scratches and the feeling of a cold shiver to bruises and strangulation marks. Apart from physical assaults, there have also been reports of interference with electronic devices such as cameras and the like.
We need an exorcist!
Unusual occurrences call for unusual methods. The clergyman Colin Grant was commissioned to perform an exorcism at the mausoleum. After hours of prayers and incantations, he gave up. His efforts were in vain. The incidents did not stop and - according to posts on various internet forums - continue to this day.
A 17-year-old and a 15-year-old gained access to the Black Mausoleum in 2003. They broke open Mackenzie's coffin and removed his skull with a pocket knife. The 17-year-old abused Mackenzie's skull as a hand puppet and even simulated oral sex with it. He was later caught when he returned to the cemetery to convince a girl of what he had done. She hadn't believed his story about breaking into the mausoleum. Police were called when a tourist guide saw two teenagers walking around the cemetery with "something hidden under a blanket". Police officer Graeme Bowie, 43, found the broken open coffin and Mackenzie's mummified remains in the mausoleum, but without his head. The 17-year-old was sentenced to three years' probation, the 15-year-old to two years' probation. This was the first case of grave robbery in Scotland for decades.
Bloody Mackenzie finds no peace
Another incident occurred in 2021: a Mackenzie Tour employee broke into the mausoleum, removed the lid from the coffin and took pictures of the body. He had mistakenly been sent the key by the cemetery administration. Bloody Mackenzie still can't find peace 330 years later....
Addendum:
Far be it from me to start any rumors or fuel superstitions or anything similar. However, it is my journalistic duty to describe everything. As part of my research, I visited Mackenzie's grave and recorded my impressions on tape. When I tried to play these recordings back at home, they had disappeared. "File error". All the other files, before the visit to the cemetery and immediately afterwards, were flawless.
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Copyright/Photocredit:
Picture Mausoleum: Ingrid Müller
Picture Mackenzie during his lifetime:By James Granger - A Biographical History of England: from Egbert the Great to the Revolution, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48202326
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