ESP’s Mikey Clarke takes the challenge and braves the Vivacity Peterborough Ghost Walk…
The Peterborough Museum Ghost Walk has become my Halloween tradition. I’ve attended the popular event during the last four years on behalf of ESP Magazine – with this year being no exception.
Having attended the walk so many times, you’re probably thinking I must know the ghost stories inside-out, but that’s not the case. In fact, this year over half the spooky tales were completely new to me.
What I admire most about the team from Vivacity who put these spooktacular walks together is that they put a lot of work into researching the stories before passing them our way. Upon receiving numerous reports of similar sightings, they’ll then look into the history of the places being haunted to make sure that the facts all add up – ensuring the information we receive is as accurate as possible.
I’m not surprised this year’s ghost walk was full of new stories – not when I think about our great city’s history. Peterborough began as a Saxon settlement around 655. It’s seen many lives lost in that time and it would seem that many of those spirits refuse to leave.
You may have heard that Peterborough museum is haunted by the ghost of Thomas Hunter, a World War One soldier who died from battle wounds whilst being treated in the building when it was a hospital back in 1916. Sightings of Hunter began almost instantly. The nurse who’d been treating him was the first to see his spirit lurking in the halls and there have been many reports since by both staff and visitors.
Next time you’re passing Peterborough Cathedral during the evening, look out for candlelight coming from inside one of the windows. There have also been numerous reports of this coming from the upper floors of the west front of the cathedral. It’s said to be the light if a spectral stone mason who’s believed to have been working on building the cathedral during the night, when his candle went out causing him to fall to his death.
And did you know that spooky goings on in Peterborough provided the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles?
These are just a few of the many stories you’ll hear about whilst participating in the numerous Ghost Walks. The guides often have a way of painting a real picture as they’re telling their stories, literally sending shivers down my spine. The suspense is multiplied whilst doing one of the walks around Halloween time.
I highly recommend you give one of the various Ghost Walks a go.
For obvious reasons, the tours (including the Museum Candlelit Ghost Tour) are particularly popular around Halloween so you’ll need to book. To do so, call 01733 864663 or email museum@vivacity-peterborough.com.
Mikey Clarke
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