The Last Drop
Not far from Victoria Street is Edinburgh's Grassmarket district. A name which came from farmers bringing their produce to sell within the area.
Nestled within this area is quite the grim bits of history that you wouldn't expect in an area famed for markets. Most notably, and certainly most noticeable, is the Last Drop Pub. With a name like that, and the nooses displayed in the windows, you can probably guess where we are going to go with this.
In the 18th century, this section of the Grassmarket district was also the location of the city's main gallows. Of course this was a source of great entertainment for the general public at this time and so massive crowds would gather within the ample space of the market to watch the poor soul being hung before them. It was even the site where Half-Hangit Maggie was sentenced to death, but that's a story for another day.
The reason why this pub came to our attention (other than the name) is because of our morbid fascination with places that are associated with executions. The old wives tales of Edinburgh say that this pub nearby was where men who had been sentenced were taken for their last meal while the gallows were prepared. When they left the pub they were given a last dram of whiskey before facing their fate.
The pub say they took their name as it referenced the last hanging held in the area in 1864. However, we reckon the name can draw from a few different meanings. The last drop of whiskey? The literal last drop of the damned. Regardless, it all depends on interpretation, we quite like the idea that it is a play on the last drop a man took as they were hung. But we are morbid people, and based on recent events regarding our use of the word 'morbid', if you cant fathom our meaning you can fight us.
Back to the matter at hand however, the pub is indeed haunted which makes it all the more appealing to persons such as ourselves. No doubt haunted by the hundreds of people hung by the neck immediately outside of its doors, the pub itself is also home to the spirit of a young girl who takes a fancy to playing tricks on customers and the staff. It wasn't until we found out about this that we realised Ren fell victim to one of her tricks.
She'd been to the toilet and had gone to unlock the door when it twisted back and relocked her in. She turned it again to which it wouldn't budge, panicked a moment, and then tried again and got out without an issue. When we'd spoken about it over our food we put it down to her being tired and the lock being wafty, but it was just a normal toilet lock so didn't have a reason to spring back into lock, it can't move without being turned. Upon hearing of their resident ghost we realised she'd locked Ren in the loo, an amusing prank which wasn't well received at the time but we can laugh about it now. The young girl spirit probably realised the panic she'd caused which is why she let her out!
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
If you have any recommendations on places to visit or somewhere you would like to see on the blog, please feel free to drop us a message on instagram under @phantomadventuresuk or email us at phantomadventuresuk@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment