Classification: Ethereal Entities

Temporal Range: Living: 17th Century - Haunting: 21st Century

Geographic Range: Greyfriars Cemetery, Edinburgh, Scotland

Diet: Unknown

Horde: Hauntings

Long before George Mackenzie rose from the grave to become a malevolent poltergeist, he had already earned the epithet “Bloody Mackenzie.” A cruel lawyer in the 17th century, he was responsible for the arrest of over 1,200 Covenanters - followers of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Those who were arrested were placed in the Covenanters' Prison, which was no more than a field, where many were executed or died of maltreatment. He was also exceptionally fond of torture and wrote full essays on its uses.

Fast forward over 300 years and Bloody Mackenzie now rests in a grand-looking mausoleum in Greyfriars Cemetery in Edinburgh. News reports from 2004 claim that two teenage boys broke into the tomb and disturbed Mackenzie’s remains, including “using the head as a hand puppet.” Needless to say, since this incident, poltergeist claims around the mausoleum have skyrocketed and it’s said that Bloody Mackenzie has been up to his old tricks.

When you visit Greyfriars and are feeling bold, if you knock the mausoleum door and say “Bloody Mackenzie” three times, it’s said that the spirit will make himself known. Eyewitness reports have described receiving scratches, feeling breath on their neck, hearing noises, experiencing strange smells, and even seeing a dark figure in photographs of the tomb.