The metal bar called the Banshee Labyrinth is located in parts of the haunted underground vaults of Edinburgh. And today the place has some haunted stories to tell as well. Everything from ghost children, accused witches, irish folklore creatures and an annoying ghost in the ladies toilet, this pub houses them all.
What can be a more haunted place than a rock and metal bar located in the haunted old town of Edinburgh? Today it is a family run pub that promises a good drink and music all week.
The Banshee Labyrinth bar is located on Niddry Street it is close to the Royal Mile as well as the haunted underground of Edinburgh.
They are also catering to the more macabre with movie nights mostly showing horror movies. But are we to believe legends about this pub you can also expect a couple of ghostly guests as well.
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The Haunted Underground Vaults
It is located near The South Bridge Vaults where several businesses, workplace and taverns were located. However, it was built on a low budget and never waterproofed. The place eventually flooded and only the poorest people stayed there, making cheap brothels and pubs flourish instead and crime and murders were not uncommon.
It was allegedly also here the infamous serial killers Burke and Hare haunted victims to sell to the medical schools. The underground vaults have become notorious as a haunted place.
The Wailing Banshee
Part of The Banshee Labyrinth is in one of these vaults and the name the pub has comes from the legend of a banshee haunting the place. Banshee are female spirits and creatures that are an omen of death with their terrifying screams.
The Banshee: It is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member
Once when the pub was having some restoration work done, the workmen experienced something strange. The story is that a group of workmen heard this wailing scream of death and right after. According to some sources he also saw a woman in a gray dress who cried into her hands before lifting her head to show off her pale face with rotted teeth and no eyes.
After this they were terrified, but it didn’t stop there. Right after the incident, one of the workers got a call about the death of one of their family members just moments later.
There is also Molly, a six year old girl that are said to haunt the place. She is named Molly after they found a child shoe with the name written on it in one of the old bricked-up chimneys. She apparently disappeared in 1814 according to some sources.
People also report on the ghost they have named Ole Jock, who is said to haunt the ladies toilet. He keeps slamming the doors and is even said to be the one turning the hand driers on and off.
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The Witch Hunter
Since its heyday as a part of the criminal hotspot of the city, the people who once walked the vaults are said to have been of the more unsavory characters, and perhaps the ghosts can be seen as the same.
Witches: More than 3000 Scottish people who were accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 17th century. Many of them were burned at the stake in Edinburgh.
One of the neighbors of the building of The Banshee Labyrinth for instance once upon the time belonged to a man named Lord Nicol Edwards. He was a lord Provost and known to be a cruel man, especially to his wife. He is also said to have had a personal dungeon under his house he used to torture accused witches before their trial.
Many pub goers to The Banshee Labyrinth have claimed to have spotted one of these tortured women, and the story of the banshee is often linked together with these women.
There are also stories about inside the pub with some strange things happening. Classical haunted pub things like drinks flying off the tables and crashing in the walls. So bottoms up, The Banshee Labyrinth have spirits for all, both the drinkable and haunted type.
Some of them uses him more of a muse of exploring the dark sides of humanity. Some use him just for financially gain, like Jack Black himself said when saying: “Satan sells tickets.” Some have gone even further, dabbling in the occult or being straight believing in Satan and worshiping. This is mostly harmless, but then again, churches have definitely burnt down in the name of Satan.
Satan was something of a multi-instrumentalist himself, because as well as playing the fiddle, Ezekiel 28:13 states that he had his own instruments built into his very being. So perhaps not that strange that many musicians find him alluring as a character.
The Deamon Lover
This is a famous Scottish ballad about a man (usually the Devil) returns to his former lover after a very long absence, and finds her with a husband and a baby. He entices her to leave both behind and come with him, luring her with many ships laden with treasure. It can be traced back to the 1700.
Lyrics
Well met, well met, my own true love Well met, well met, cried he I’ve just returned from the salt, salt sea And it’s all for the sake of thee
I’ve come for the vows that you promised me To be my partner in life She said my vows you must forgive For now I’m a wedded wife
Yes I have married a house carpenter To him I’ve born two fine sons For it’s seven long years since you sailed to the west And I took you for dead and gone
If I was to leave my husband dear And my two babies also Just what have you to take me to If with you I should now go
I have seven ships out upon the sea And the eighth one that brought me to land With four and twenty bold mariners And music on every hand
It was then she went to her two little babes She kissed them on cheek and on chin Saying fare thee well my sweet little ones I’ll never see you again
They had not sailed much more than a week I know that it was not three When altered grew his countinence And a raging came over the sea
When they reached the shore again On the far side of the sea It was there she spied his cloven hoof And wept most bitterly
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Me and the Devil Blues
One of the most famous Made-A-Pact-With-The-Devil stories must be Robert Johnson, that made a deal for some crazy guitar skills. In the crossroad of highway 61 and 49 intersect a legend was born. In 1930 it is alleged he went out to make a Faustian pact with the devil to be the greatest guitar player. In any case, talent he got. When he died he was only 27 and it is said he was poisoned by the devil. The legend goes he heard the howling of the hell hounds, coming for him when the devil claimed him as his own.
Lyrics
Early this mornin’ When you knocked upon my door Early this mornin’, ooh When you knocked upon my door And I said, “Hello, Satan,” I believe it’s time to go.”
Me and the Devil Was walkin’ side by side Me and the Devil, ooh Was walkin’ side by side And I’m goin’ to beat my woman Until I get satisfied
She say you don’t see why That you will dog me ’round
Now, babe, you know you ain’t doin’ me right, don’cha
She say you don’t see why, ooh That you will dog me ’round It must-a be that old evil spirit So deep down in the ground
You may bury my body Down by the highway side
Baby, I don’t care where you bury my body when I’m dead and gone
You may bury my body, ooh Down by the highway side So my old evil spirit Can catch a Greyhound bus and ride
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Sympathy For The Devil
The Rolling’s stones is perhaps not remembered as a satanic rock band, but once upon the time, they kind of were. Mostly Mick Jagger was the one interested in occult books like Taoist Secret Of The Golden Flower. And in 1969 sympathy for the devil came out. There were also claims that the Church Of Satan used the song as an anthem. Hey, it was the late 60s!
Lyrics
Lyrics: Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste I’ve been around for a long, long year Stole many a man’s soul and faith
I was ’round when Jesus Christ Had his moment of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilate Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersberg When I saw it was a time for a change Killed the Czar and his ministers Anastasia screamed in vain I rode a tank Held a general’s rank When the blitzkrieg raged And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name, oh yeah What’s puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee as your kings and queens Fought for ten decades For the Gods they made I shouted out “Who killed the Kennedys?” When after all It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste And I lay traps for troubadours Who get killed before they reach Bombay
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah Well, get down, hit it
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name, oh yeah But what’s confusin’ you is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails just call me Lucifer ‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint
So if you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-learned politesse Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mmm yeah Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name, mmm yeah But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Released in 1979, the song was the most successful one for the band Charlie Daniels Band. It is a pretty upbeat song, but with a more sinister lyric. Inspired by a poem the song deals with the deal with the devil motif. The song begins as a disappointed Devil arrives in Georgia, apparently “way behind” on stealing souls, when he comes upon a fiddle-playing young man named Johnny.
Lyrics
The devil went down to Georgia He was lookin’ for a soul to steal He was in a bind ‘Cause he was way behind And he was willin’ to make a deal When he came across this young man Sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump And said, “boy, let me tell you what” “I guess you didn’t know it But I’m a fiddle player too And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with you Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy But give the devil his due I’ll bet a fiddle of gold Against your soul ‘Cause I think I’m better than you.” The boy said, “my name’s Johnny And it
The devil went down to Georgia He was lookin’ for a soul to steal He was in a bind ‘Cause he was way behind And he was willin’ to make a dealWhen he came across this young man Sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump And said, “boy, let me tell you what””I guess you didn’t know it But I’m a fiddle player too And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with youNow you play a pretty good fiddle, boy But give the devil his due I’ll bet a fiddle of gold Against your soul ‘Cause I think I’m better than you.”The boy said, “my name’s Johnny And it might be a sin But I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret ‘Cause I’m the best there’s ever been.”Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard ‘Cause Hell’s broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold But if you lose, the devil gets your soulThe devil opened up his case And he said, “I’ll start this show.” And fire flew from his fingertips As he rosined up his bowAnd he pulled the bow across the strings And it made an evil hiss Then a band of demons joined in And it sounded something like thisWhen the devil finished Johnny said, “well, you’re pretty good, ol’ son But sit down in that chair right there And let me show you how it’s done.””Fire on the Mountain” run boys, run The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun Chicken in a bread pan pickin’ out dough Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, noThe devil bowed his head Because he knew that he’d been beat And he laid that golden fiddle On the ground at Johnny’s feetJohnny said, “Devil, just come on back If you ever wanna try again I done told you once you son of a bitch I’m the best that’s ever been.”He played “Fire on the Mountain” run boys, run The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun The chicken in a bread pan pickin’ out dough Granny, will your dog bite? No child, no
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Houses Of The Holy
Songs like this made people talk aboud Led Zeppelin being a Satanic Band. Jimmy Page himself was extremly occupied of exploring the occult, attending séances, collected occult artefacts. He also bought a house in Loch Ness. Page once said that mixing in Satanic influences was like an “alchemical process”.
Lyrics
Let me take you to the movies Can I take you to the show Let me be yours ever truly Can I make your garden grow
From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white doves go From the door comes satan’s daughter, and it only goes to show, you know
There’s an angel on my shoulder, in my hand a sword of gold Let me wander in your garden and the seeds of love I’ll sow you know
So the world is spinning faster are you dizzy when you’re stoned Let the music be your master will you heed the master’s call Oh Satan and man
Said there ain’t no use in crying ’cause it will only, only drive you mad Does it hurt to hear them lying? Was this the only world you had? oh oh
So let me take you, take you to the movie Can I take you, baby, to the show Why don’t you let me be yours ever truly Can I make your garden grow, you know
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
