Persevere, the Restless Ghosts of Leith is a chapter in my second book Beyond North Edinburgh Nightmares and indeed within are plentiful stories of Leith and its neighbours.

We launched the walks in the final days of March 2024 and have recently completed our final walk for the season. The ninety-minute venture around the back streets of Leith and the shore is not all about ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night. With Leith’s history and colourful stories present at every twist and turn, the tour proved a significant success. We shall return next year.

One of the most intriguing sections of our ghost walk is the ‘Mystery Animals of Leith and Lothians’. This part features hair-raising tales such as the famous puma of Fairley’s bar, the Kirkgate crocodile, and giant paw prints visible upon a snow-covered Newhaven harbour. The Leith puma story, a favourite among our attendees, is often accompanied by their own anecdotes.

Many animals would appear from the bustling port and end up in homes and pet shops throughout the city. There has been more than one pet monkey story and even a pet shop in Fountainbridge featuring a lion cub. The Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 put an end to any animal antics in the city. However, many other great stories have emerged from the Port of Leith, and the following tale is one of my favourites.

The story begins in 1633 when an Edinburgh man named Andrew Gray was arrested and imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. Charged with the crime of assaulting The Lord Provost, Sir Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff, the accused man was surely destined for the gallows.

In a courageous act of escape, Andrew Gray descended the castle wall and fled across the Nor Loch aided by accomplices in a small boat. Andrew and his crew fled across The Forth and were gone, but was this the end of the story?

Some 12 years later, the good citizens of Leith stood confronted with a terrifying scenario. Seeing a fearsome pirate vessel heading towards the port filled seasoned sailors with fear. The boat flew the standard of Barbary pirates, recognised as a suitably brutal crew of cutthroats and villains.

After landing a ten-strong pirate horde in Leith, the men marched towards Edinburgh, where they halted at the Netherbow Gate. The men demanded entry to the city and parley with the Mayor, but their demands could not be met.

Edinburgh remained in a state of lockdown at that time. A fierce plague had decimated the capital, and the Mayor’s only daughter lay close to death. The pirate leader commented that plagues did not concern him and that the Mayor and his daughter should be brought to join his company.

The pirate took up residence in a property situated in The Canongate. It was here that he met with the Mayor and his dying daughter.

He produced what he described as ‘an elixir of wondrous potency’. True to his word, he cured the Mayor’s daughter, who made a speedy recovery from the deadly illness. The astounded Mayor deemed the pirate a genius and a man worthy of his daughter’s hand in marriage.

The pirate accepted the proposal and remained in the city as a man of notable wealth, where he would live out a suitably charmed life in The Canongate (his effigy remains upon the wall of the property today). But dear readers, where does Andrew Gray fit into this suitably swashbuckling tale?

Upon escaping from the confines of Edinburgh Castle, the condemned Gray and his cohorts proceeded along The Forth. It was during their travels that their small vessel was captured by pirates and the crew enslaved.

Andrew Gray was an intelligent and coordinated man and with this his qualities were noticed by the ship’s captain. Gray joined the motley crew and climbed the ranks of the Moorish pirate ensemble. The enraged Andrew Gray swore vengeance upon the city that had sentenced him to death, so many years ago.

Upon returning to Leith and venturing to Edinburgh he did not find the bloody vengeance he had pursued but instead found love and an escape from his seafaring days as a Barbary pirate. This unexpected turn of events is just one of the many fascinating stories you will hear on our Haunted Leith Ghost Walk.

If ou’ve ever dreamed of living a pirate’s life, then Ocean Terminal is the place to be this autumn. Join the award-winning singer-songwriter Joss Cameron and The Tally Toor Sea Shanty Crew for a unique experience.

Joss is looking for shipmates to join her shanty crew and sing your hearts out within The Wee Museum of Memory in Ocean Terminal. Boarding commences on Saturday 5th October at 11am. The event will run every Saturday until 30th November. ■

Contact: Joss at
josscameronmusic@yahoo.com