Malevolent Haunts: The Mackenzie Poltergeist.

Down through it’s long and bloody history, Europe has played host to many a tyranical madman who sought to persecute and murder those that stood in their way of their insane ideology and dreams of world conquest. The first century saw the rise and fall of many a Roman emperor who sought to enslave the peoples of Europe and turn the continent into their own personal playground. The early 1800s gave birth to the French dictator, Napolean Bonarparte and of course in the mid 20th century the world was shocked when Adolf Hitler, a small time painter was elected by a hopeless German people to lead their country into a new era of prosperity. What the world got was a long hard fought war and the dictator tried to wipe out an entire people because of his intense hatred. Their however is one genocidal madman in Europe’s history that is not as prolific but murderous none the less and his hatred is allegedly felt in Edinburgh, Scotland’s GreyFriar’s Kirkyard to this day. That man was George Mackenzie.

In the book, “The Ghost That Haunted Itself.” Jan Henderson the author and a local Edinburgh historian introduced us to a malevolent entity that stalks the ancient graveyard of Greyfriar’s church. The attacks have been blamed on the spirit of George Mackenzie. Who was this George Mackenzie and why is he hell bent on letting his presence be known centuries after his death? Throught the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Europe was a place of great religious turmoil and bloodshed that is still felt to this day. For centuries the Catholic church and it’s beliefs were the chief body of religious thought and ideology and to challenge those beliefs and it’s authority was a quick one way ticket to either losing your head or becoming a crispy critter after being labeled a heritic and you were burned at the stake alive. In Scotland, a group of protestant reformers called the Covenanters, threatened the hold that Rome had on the Celtic land. George Mackenzie, a Lord Advocate and Lawyer was reponsible for the persecution of the protestants and eventually was responsible for the torture and death of over 18,000 Covenanters over a ten year period. Mackenzie, was the very picture of religious hatred and xenophobia in Scotland. But why is his ghost blamed for the repeated attacks on the living?

The first known attack of the Mackenzie Poltergeist was reported in 1990, by a homeless gentleman who’s only crime was searching for a place to sleep on a cold rainy night. The vagrant reported that as he was walking past Greyfriars he felt that the large black masoleum that stood near the rear of the cemetary looked as if it might be a good place to catch a good night’s rest out of the rain. He got more than he bargained for. After breaking into the masoleum and bedding down for the night, the vagrant became aware that he was not alone in the stone edifice. He felt as if someone was watching his every move with hatred. The vagrant reported that as he peered into the darkness some imperceptable force grabbed him and threw him up against the wall while screaming at him with an unearthly yell. The vagrant claims that he barely escaped with his life as the unseen entity chased him out of the churchyard. That Masoleum is the final resting place the hateful, George Mackenzie.

That first report became only one of many reported attacks by the entity that had come to be known as the Mackenzie Poltergeist. In the late 1990s, Jan Henderson began giving tours of the churchyard and the black masoleum as part of a haunted walking tour of Edinburgh, and that was when the attacks really took off. Those who have payed the masoleum a visit have stated that they came away from the tour with deep bloody scratches and large fist sized welts that took weeks to heal. Others have stated that it felt as if some force was grabbing and squeezing the breath from their lungs resulting in them passing out and needing to be carried out by their friends and peers. Others have reported the sensation of being watched by some unseen foe and loud bangs coming from the interior of the masoleum. In 2006, alone over five hundred attacks have been reported resulting in many never returning to the churchyard again.

One of the most tragic attacks were reported when an exocist took it upon himself to perform the ancient rite of exorcism to rid Greyfriars Kirkyard of this unseen and violent menace. The friend of the exorcist claimed that the holy man was driven from the churchyard by the violent entity and followed all the way back to his home. Two days later the brave slayer of demons was discovered by friends in his home dead from an apparent heart attack. Was this violent creature responsible for the death of the exorcist? Many believe so.

Those who live in homes surrounding the churchyard have claimed that their home and families have become a victim of the malevolent Mackenzie poltergeist. Over the years residents have reported loud bangs on the walls of their homes, plates and other household objects thrown about while others reported being assaulted in their beds while they slept at night. It would seem that George Mackenzie has taken his reign of torture and terror beyond the grave.

Knowing that this malevolent entity stalks Greyfriars kirkyard, why would anybody want to visit the very place this entity calls home? Despite the fact that George Mackenzie was a tyrant and all around douche, he is considered one of the most historical personalities in the long history of Edinburgh. He is credited with modernizing jurisprudence in Scotland as well as authoring many books on the subject of law and history, basically the interest is purely historical, however some pay a visit to the Black Masoleum to have an unexpected brush with the unkown and have the balls to look into the face of pure evil. Greyfriars Kirkyard is not a haunted place for the faint of heart and the malevolent being known as the Mackenzie Poltergeist is not playing games.

Rick E. Hale
t_seeker@hotmail.com