A new Mostly Ghostly storytelling experience designed to evoke a hint of festive fear, is set to premiere at Scotland’s oldest working theatre – the Theatre Royal in Dumfries – just in time for Christmas.
Award-winning storytellers and creators of a unique range of ghost and local history tours – Mostly Ghostly – are excited to be presenting Dark Tales for Winter Nights, a portmanteau of super-spooky tales on Wednesday 18th December. The team feel it’s a perfect time of year to gather in cosy company and lose yourself in some truly spine-tingling stories.
Mostly Ghostly Founder Kathleen Cronie shares news of the team’s latest eerie event:
“It’s wonderful to be working with our friends at the Theatre Royal in Dumfries on a special festive ghost story event. Our tales have been handpicked to awaken that delicious thrill of fear, transporting guests on an uncanny journey through the haunting landscapes of Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, where the darkness feels almost omnipresent and eldritch beings draw closer…”
And what is it about the winter and more specifically, Christmastime that brings out the desire to experience a ghostly tale? Kathleen tells us more…
“Winter: the season of frosty sparkle and nose-nipping cold, creates the perfect environment for a ghost story, especially as we enter the festive period and thoughts of snow, cosy gatherings and roaring fires stir our senses. During the endless dark nights, there’s an intrinsic part of us that longs to experience a haunting or cautionary tale, in friendly company, as people have done so across the ages; a form of eerie entertainment to stave off the cold. There is a long held tradition at Christmastime for stories of the uncanny, deeply rooted in the ancient celebrations surrounding the winter solstice, which falls just three days after our event.”
Fired up by their love of the season, both at home here in Dumfries and Galloway and across in our neighbouring region, the bonnie Scottish Borders, the team have delved into the south of Scotland’s dark supernatural past, compiling a collection of suitably chilling tales to help connect people to legends, folklore and most importantly, each other.
From the tragic story of a young girl lost in the snow near Wanlockhead, to accounts of wraiths, fairies and a ‘ghost house’, audiences will be drawn into an otherworldly realm, where the veil feels distinctly thinner.
Giving guests a hint of what’s to come, Kathleen reveals:
“We’ve collected lots of weird and wonderful tales over the years and there’s one really eerie story from Portpatrick about a man who finds himself at the mercy of a mysterious woman and her unwanted affections. Essentially, she’s stalking him; but is she from this world or the next? You could say it’s love at first bite!”
Another dark account, this time from the Scottish Borders, centres around a ruinous sixteenth century tower house near Galashiels.
Team Member John Hill explains:
In the 1680s, a grisly murder was committed at Buckholm Tower by James Pringle – a villainous character who mistreated those closest to him and took to hunting down Covenanters with his pack of hounds. He captured two local men by the name of Geordie and William Elliot, imprisoning them in Buckholm for the night, but his violent temper erupted, with devastating consequences. When Isobel Elliot discovered the fate of her husband and son, she avenged their deaths by placing a curse on Pringle; and from that point on, he was a haunted man. Having visited the tower myself, there is a deeply unsettling presence about the place and I don’t mind admitting I was quite relieved when we left…”
In conclusion, Kathleen said:
“We can’t wait to welcome our guests and hope they will enjoy this exciting event, and that our spooky tales will create a pleasurable shiver, inspire future reading, visits and research into the south of Scotland’s haunted history, and linger a while, long after the curtain drops…”
- Contact Info: Mostly Ghostly: [email protected] facebook.com/mostlyghostlytours twitter.com/MostlyGhostly_
- Dark Tales for Winter Nights takes place on Wednesday 18th December at 7:30pm, at the Theatre Royal, Dumfries
