The popular Victorian tradition of telling spooky tales at Christmas is set to be revived in Harrogate next week.
An evening of ghost stories will be held at Harrogate Library on Thursday, December 1.
It is being organised by Paul Forster, best known as the man behind the Harrogate Ghost Walk which takes place twice a month around the town.
He said:
“It’s bringing back that tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, which was big in the Victorian era.
“Charles Dickens was at the forefront of it all with A Christmas Carol and that paved the way for others.
“It was all about penance and seeing the best in people. It has got strong Christian messages, but with a spooky twist to make you think about lost loved ones.”
Paul has researched traditional ghost stories for the event, adapting them for a modern audience.
Tickets for the event are £15 each, including a mince pie and glass of mulled wine. There will be two sessions, at 6.15pm and 8.15pm.
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Meanwhile, Paul said his first year of running the ghost walk has proved hugely successful, with more than 1,500 people taking part. An increasing number of visitors to the town are attending each month, and Paul said some paranormal enthusiasts have travelled from across the country to try out a new walk in Harrogate.
A series of events around Halloween recreating a seance held by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini in Harrogate also proved hugely popular – but Paul said there were a number of strange happenings during the performances at the Crown Hotel.
“Some of it was in my control, but stuff happened that wasn’t in my control.
“The temperature in the room just dropped noticeably – you could see your breath.
“Then a woman in the front row jumped and screamed and said something had grabbed her leg. Her son, who is a complete sceptic, then said something had brushed past him. It was really odd.”
On the back of the events’ success, Paul is teaming up with close-up magician Neil Bradley Smith to run a residency at the Crown Hotel from December 16.
Under the title Forster and Smith, the pair will deliver their Impossibilities night of magic and mind-reading once a month.