What was once a haven of tranquility amid the bustle of the city has now been taken over – by ghosts…
Explore a York hidden garden right now and you’ll encounter spooky spectres of everyone from a bewigged judge to a duck, a knight to a nun.
And at night they glow in ethereal colours as the sounds of a hooting owl and a distance clock bell can be heard…
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This is Ghosts: The Untold History. Presented by the York BID it shows off their famous ghosts in a sound and colour display at St Anthony’s Gardens, found tucked beneath the city walls.
Visitors can book on a 40-minute history tour around the haunted gardens, hosted by The Wild Man of the Woods.
The event is restricted to people aged 15 and above, as some of the stories are quite salacious!
“What we’ve tried to focus on is not what you see on the main stage – it’s not the kings, the queens,” explains Carl Alsop.
Ticket details
Ghosts The Untold History runs at St Anthony’s Gardens till Sunday (9 November)
It’s mostly sold out but you can find more details here
“It’s the things that happens in the snickleways and the shadows, the things that we don’t talk about, and some risky stuff in there as well.”
This event follows the success of Ghosts After Dark in the Museum Gardens last year.
Carl said: “We were really pleased that, after Ghosts After Dark, 70% of the 5,500 people that visited the event also came into the city, they had food or a drink.
“And they did that in a time when it’s not the the busy Halloween period, it’s not the busy Christmas period, it’s that little bit in between where we know businesses actually take a little bit of a dip. So we’ve done that again.”
