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All the United Kingdom Scotland Edinburgh George Mackenzie's Mausoleum

George Mackenzie's Mausoleum

The tomb of one of Scotland's bloody historic villains is a magnet for bumbling desecrators.

Edinburgh, Scotland

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George Mackenzie’s Mausoleum   Kim Traynor/Wikimedia
One of the old gates at Greykirk   krutoon
George Mackenzie’s Mausoleum   www.geograph.org.uk
Tourists visiting George Mackenzie’s Mausoleum in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard in Edinburgh.   AlanW / Atlas Obscura User
George Mackenzie’s Mausoleum   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
The church outside the Mausoleum   Radicalbats / Atlas Obscura User
Photo taken through the bars of the mausoleum   Radicalbats / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Mackenzie Family Crest   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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George Mackenzie’s Mausoleum   scsheryl / Atlas Obscura User
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Interior of vault   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Interior of vault   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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The famous “Bloody MacKenzie” tomb   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
If you put your hand through the door legend had it something will grab you!   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Family crest over the door of the tomb   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
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  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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Mortsafe/foreground Alms House/background   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
MacKenzie Mausoleum   juliebarker / Atlas Obscura User
  Johan SWE / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In 17th-century Scotland, an intense religious struggle was ignited when King Charles introduced the Common Book of Prayer as the prescribed liturgy and declared all opposition to the book an act of treason. The draconian lawyer George Mackenzie was the man responsible for putting the opposition down.

George Mackenzie was a lawyer and the Lord Advocate during the rule of Charles II and quickly earned a reputation as one of the most vicious persecutors of the Covenanters, the people who rose up and signed the National Covenant in 1638. Mackenzie's brutal and unfeeling treatment of the protesters even earned him the moniker "Bluidy Mackenzie." He imprisoned many Covenanters in a section of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, where he delighted in their torture; guards were allowed to beat the Covenanters at will, and eventually, their heads would decorate the spiked gate.

After his death, Mackenzie was entombed in a mausoleum in the Greyfriars Kirkyard- the very same graveyard where he prosecuted those who resisted the new law. His mausoleum has been the site of a number of desecrations. In 1999, a homeless man sought shelter in Mackenzie's mausoleum and fell through the floor (the resulting hole can still be seen.) More recently, in 2004, a duo of teens broke in to the tomb and removed a number of unidentified remains, even beheading one corpse and using the skull like a hand-puppet. They were found and tried under a centuries-old grave-robbing law described as "violation of sepulcher." After all the disruption in the mausoleum, it has become the focus of much local superstition. People have reported ghostly activity around the tomb, including scratches and bruises- all attributed to Mackenzie's poltergeist, as horrific in death as he was in life.

Thanks to the many violations, the doors to the mausoleum remain locked, but visitors can still peek through and recite the old children's rhyme: "Bluidy Mackingie, come oot if ye daur, lift the sneck and draw the bar!”

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Graveyards Tombs Cemeteries

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The churchyard is open at all hours. Use common sense when visiting during non-daylight hours, as the enclosed location attracts dubious activities, not to mention uneven surfaces.

The mausoleum is located along the back left-hand wall of the Greyfriars Kirkyard when you enter from the main gates. Entrance to the interior is only provided by booking a spot on The City of the Dead Haunted Graveyard Tour.

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Added By

Krutoon

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SEANETTA, zydeko, Jaszmina Szendrey, EricGrundhauser...

  • SEANETTA
  • zydeko
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Radicalbats
  • juliebarker
  • rbenn250
  • katielou106
  • AlanW
  • scsheryl
  • Johan SWE
  • Snowdrop68

Published

September 9, 2014

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Sources
  • http://www.angelfire.com/amiga2/poltergeist/poltergeist.html
  • http://www.covenanter.org.uk/WhoWere/
  • http://beforeitsnews.com/paranormal/2012/12/the-curse-of-bluidy-mackenzie-2445954.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mackenzie_(lawyer)
  • http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/24/ukcrime.scotland
George Mackenzie's Mausoleum
Greyfriar's Kirk
Greyfriars Place
Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 2QQ
United Kingdom
55.946664, -3.191367
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