Haunted Edinburgh

Holyrood

Holyrood was the scene of plots, jealousy and revenge long before the politicians moved in to the area. The most famous tale concerns Holyrood Palace and is eerily reminiscent of Shakespeare's Scottish play.

Mary Queen of Scots ascended to the Scottish throne in 1542. As a young woman she grew to favour an Italian, one David Rizzio, her private secretary.

Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, became jealous and enemies of Mary were able to play on this jealousy. They managed to persuade Darnley that Mary and Rizzio had become lovers.

As a result, Darnley and accomplices plotted to dispose of Rizzio. They burst into Mary's private apartment in the Palace of Holyrood and stabbed him to death.

The bloodstains on the floor could not be permamently removed, however hard the palace servants scrubbed. They would always reappear overnight, a supernatural reminder of the foul deed that had taken place.

Darnley himself died a year later when a massive explosion destroyed his lodgings. It was never clear who instigated the killing, however many people blamed Mary and suggested that revenge for the death of Rizzio might have been a motive. Many people have also blamed James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell.

It was reported that Darnley's ghost thereafter haunted his old rooms in the palace, though skulking in the shadows as if ashamed of his foolish actions.