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The Edinburgh vaults are a series of rather spooky chambers formed in the nineteen arches of Edinburgh’s South Bridge, the construction of which was completed and officially opened on 1 March 1788.

The arches were enclosed behind tenement buildings which were built to facilitate the use of the area for commerce. The hidden arches were given additional floors so they could be used for industry. There are approximately 120 vaults beneath South Bridge, their sizes ranging from two metres squared to 40. For 30 years the vaults were utilized to house taverns, cobblers, perhaps flowers, and an assortment of other tradesmen. They were also used as a storage space for illicit things such as the bodies of those Burke and Hare murdered for medical experiments. As construction of South Bridge had been rushed, the surface was not sufficiently sealed thus water seeped into the vaults below. Such damp and poor air quality led the businesses to evacuate the vaults and the poorest of Edinburgh’s citizens moved in. These people are believed to have moved out in 1820 also.