The Witchery is one of Edinburgh’s most iconic luxury hotels and fine-dining restaurants, renowned for its gothic  atmosphere right at the gates of Edinburgh Castle on the historic Royal Mile. The name and location evoke the infamous witch trials that took place on Castlehill, with stories of hauntings connected to its centuries-old walls. The building itself has a storied past, once serving as a merchant’s house and later a Church of Scotland office and rectory.
 
The witches...
Castle Hill in Edinburgh, just below the castle and near The Witchery, was the principal site for public witch trials and executions in Scotland during the 16th and 17th centuries. Over 300 people—mostly women—were accused of witchcraft, tortured, and then burned at the stake here, more than anywhere else in the country. The trials reached their height under King James VI, who was obsessed with rooting out supposed witches, especially after he blamed a stormy voyage from Denmark on their supernatural interference!