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Rory Mooney, 28 Sep
As one of the most ancient settlements in Ireland, Derry is renowned
for its rather colourful and turbulent history. So it’s hardly
surprising that a few infamous characters have made a name for
themselves through the centuries – and hung around to make sure their
presence is still felt to this day.
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The City is also the home of Halloween, where the event has become a
bit of a phenomenon, attracting tens of thousands of people from all
over the world to join in the celebrations each year, taking the
traditional festival of Samhain to a whole new level.
So where better to host a series of spine-tingling ghost tours bringing
those stories of tragedy, mystery and gruesome goings on to life?
Martin McCrossan City Tours will be doing just that at this year’s
Halloween Festival using the backdrop of Derry’s 400-year-old Walls to
really set the supernatural scene for all who dare to be scared on
their visit.
The tours are part of the wider Halloween programme and will run as
part of the Awakening the Walled City Trail, taking in some of the
city’s most eerie sites where unexplained activity has been chilling
people to the bone over the years.
This year Derry City and Strabane District Council wanted to include
activity on the Walls during the Trail, and the tours will bring people
back on to the historic ramparts, which are the perfect backdrop for
ghost hunting.
Manager Charlene McCrossan explained that the Spooky Ghost Tours were
ideal to fill the growing demand for evening tours.
“The Spooky Tours began about ten years ago when my father Martin
McCrossan thought that visitors would love to find out more about some
of our favourite local ghost stories,” she recalls.
“Derry is coming down with fascinating and chilling tales of terror and
ghostly goings on. Setting these stories in the context of the history,
and showing visitors where events actually happened really captured
people’s imagination.
“The ghost tours this year take things to another level, and we have
selected some of the most well-known characters and brought them to
life with actors adding a new dimension to the tour, making the
experience all the more real.
“When I started researching the stories, I actually started to have
nightmares, some of them are so spooky.”
Among the colourful band of characters you will meet on the tour, still
making regular trips between Derry and the underworld, are Father John
Lynch, renowned for his work on the Long Tower Church.
“He was the brainchild behind the church and oversaw the building
work,” Charlene explains. “Tragically he died just before it was
completed in 1786 so he never got to see the Church being finished and
there followed some mysterious and spooky goings on, which you will
hear more about on the tour.
“The tour also tells the gruesome tale of the subsidence of the
graveyard wall at the Long Tower beside the Lecky Road in 1934, which
resulted in the collapse of many of the graves, and bodies being
unearthed and strewn among the debris in the street.
“On their journey around the City’s historic Walls visitors will
encounter the sinister nuns who are thought to walk the corridors of
the former Convent in Pump Street who are renowned here in the city.
“We also stop at St Augustine’s Church which is the city’s most
historic site, having been founded in the 6th Century.
“There we talk about the burial practices of old, when people were
interred with bells as a safeguard against being buried alive, when
medical practices were sometimes found wanting when pronouncing someone
deceased. If you listen carefully, you might just hear those bells
still ringing…
“We also incorporate some of the mythical characters from Irish
folklore, long associated with Samhain.
“For example, the chilling story of when the Banshee was heard howling
by residents from the Bogside.”
As well as giving people goosebumps, the experience also offers the
chance to learn more about the fascinating history of Derry, and will
appeal to people of all ages.
“It’s all a bit of fun and a great way to find out about historic
events like the Siege of Derry,” Charlene stresses. “We wanted to
capture stories that younger ghost hunters would be really interested
in but also learn something from.
“The tours are all family friendly, so people of all ages will enjoy
them, and we don’t try to really frighten the life out of people,” she
laughs.
Although the tour takes place on the City Walls, it avoids the more
challenging parts of the route and is accessible for people with prams,
or who those don’t want to take on anything too strenuous.
Round the tour off with a free coffee or hot chocolate and a chat at
Café Java about the experience.
The tours run from Thursday, October 26 until Tuesday, October 31, with
a number of slots available each evening.
Places are filling up fast so people are advised to book, with tickets
available on Eventbrite at:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/familyfriendly-spooky-tour-a-spooky-walking-tour
-of-derry-tickets719932586747aff=ebdssbdestsearch.
For more information on all that’s happening during Derry Halloween go
to www.derryhalloween.com.