For lovers of legends, horrid history and dastardly doings, there’s a treat in store for you this weekend, when award-winning storytellers, tour guides and paranormal researchers – Mostly Ghostly – take to the streets with a duo of dark tours, the Dumfries Ghost Walk and Ghosts and Graverobbers tour! On Sunday 22nd October, the team will bring a dark dimension to the historic town of Dumfries, part of a week of celebrations on the run up Mostly Ghostly’s 15th birthday, and the spookiest date in the calendar – Halloween. Taking place across Dumfries and Galloway, the festivities will feature a host of new tours and events, blended with firm fan favourites.
Part one of what promises to be an eerily entertaining evening is given over to the Dumfries Ghost Walk; the team’s flagship walking tour, which launched on 31st October 2010, and continues to be very popular. The ghost walk delves into some of the most chilling events in over 800 years of local history, also showcasing the spookier side of the town, with a promise guests will never see Dumfries in the same light again…
Giving an insight into the tour, Team Founder Kathleen Cronie said:
“We specialise in exploring the darker side of human nature; harsh times when dreaded punishments were meted out to those who fell foul of the law, their neighbours and in some cases, families. Guests can anticipate tales of a dread pestilence that put a stranglehold on the town, historic executions and the injustices of the witch-hunting era which left a permanent stain on our history. Entwined around these gripping insights are a spine-tingling collection of local ghost stories, some tying in with historic events, others witnessed by unsuspecting people going about their daily business…”
Adding an unnerving twist, numerous guests have come forward over the years to report strange experiences. Sharon from Dumfries had an unusual encounter on the site of the old Buccleuch Street Prison yard; “I had felt someone pressing against me on the right-hand side a couple of times – I just presumed someone was standing too close to me so moved and looked over but no one was that close to me. I didn’t say anything and then when we were walking off from that spot another guest mentioned she’d felt something down at the same place! Then I told them what I’d felt – quite weird.” On the same night, a woman reported feeling a cold hand on her face…
And if that wasn’t enough, guests have the opportunity to experience Ghosts and Graverobbers! The street and graveyard-based walking tour will cover a range of darkly dramatic subjects; ghosts, in the sense of spirits who return to haunt a particular place and also the type that is a trace, an echo of the past, something grim and repellent that the town may prefer to forget… Graverobbers certainly fall into the latter category!
Kathleen goes on to explain:
“The days of the Resurrection Men are a fascinating period in history and our ghastly tour aims to bring alive some of the stories linked to those unsavoury characters that terrorised our region, and the ingenious methods they employed.”
Guests will discover eerie, unsettling accounts as they wander in trepidation through the town’s shadowy, dimly lit streets and two historic churchyards, each brooding with Gothic atmosphere…
Team member John Hill said:
“Many burial grounds throughout the country bore witness to the devilish deeds of the bodysnatchers, when the dead were ruthlessly raised from their graves to supply the anatomist’s tables in cities such as Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.”
Summing up, Kathleen said:
“Ghosts and Graverobbers burrows deeper into the town’s extensive past to unearth some truly compelling accounts. From a harrowing court trial to a grisly execution, stories of The Killing Times to a hapless character whose love of drinking nearly led to a date with dissection, we hope that all of our tales will stimulate thought, discussion and maybe just a fraction of fear…”
With passionate guides, gripping history and thrilling ghost stories aplenty, dare you venture into old Dumfries for a jittery journey through the town’s frightful past?
- Tour dates and times: Sunday 22nd November, Dumfries Ghost Walk starts at 5pm, Ghosts and Graverobbers Tour starts at 7:45pm – meet at The Midsteeple.
- Tickets are available online at Ticketsource and at the Midsteeple Box Office in Dumfries.
