Walking in the Footsteps of Edinburgh’s Body Snatchers

For my murder mystery and true crime lovers, this one is for you.This April, I’ll be wandering the shadowy closes of Edinburgh’s Old Town, tracing the real-life footsteps of two of Scotland’s most notorious killers: Burke and Hare.

Most visitors fall in love with Edinburgh’s skyline first – the fortress of Edinburgh Castle perched on a rocky cliff, the spires and steeples piercing the sky, and the famous Royal Mile spilling downhill toward Holyrood Palace. What many people don’t realize is that this beautiful street sits on an ancient volcanic “crag and tail,” carved by glaciers long before humans ever walked here. Today it’s lined with shops, pubs, and stories. Two hundred years ago, those stories turned very dark.

Back in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Edinburgh was a world leader in medical education. Anatomy schools needed a constant supply of bodies to dissect, but legally, they were only allowed the corpses of executed criminals. That left a grisly gap between demand and supply – and where there’s demand, there’s always someone willing to meet it. Enter the “resurrectionists,” or body snatchers, who dug up freshly buried bodies and sold them to anatomy teachers under cover of night.

Burke and Hare took things further. Much further. Instead of robbing graves, they started creating their own “supply.” Between 1827 and 1828, they murdered at least 16 people in Edinburgh and sold the bodies for profit. Their victims were often vulnerable people who wouldn’t be immediately missed: lodgers, travelers, the poor and the lonely. The killings were quick, silent, and chillingly efficient.

When their crimes were finally uncovered, the case shocked the city and captured the imagination of the world. The horror of what they’d done – and how easily they’d been able to do it – forced politicians to act. In 1832, the Anatomy Act was passed, changing how medical schools obtained bodies and effectively ending the trade in corpses. In a strange twist of fate, the actions of two murderers helped reshape medical history.

On my upcoming trip, I’ll be walking down the Royal Mile, exploring the narrow wynds and closes that once echoed with the footsteps of these real-life villains. I’ll see the elegant side of Edinburgh – the grand architecture, the views from Calton Hill, the glow of the city at dusk – but I’ll also be looking for those shadowy corners where history feels close enough to touch.

If you love twisty whodunits, gothic atmospheres, and the thrill of a true crime story, you’re going to love following along. I’ll be sharing photos, videos, and little snippets from the streets where Burke and Hare once moved in plain sight.