Ghost Tours at Night

Are you brave enough?

I’ve been on a few ghost tours in different locations around the world — always at night and never by choice. There’s a chance I’ll be so frightened I’ll pee my pants, but there’s also more of a chance I’ll learn something really interesting about the history and the legends of the place in question. Some places lend themselves to ghost tours and are scary enough, even during daylight hours. One of these places is here in Australia.

Fremantle Prison Ghost Tour

Actually, I think it’s called the Torchlight Tour and it is conducted at night.

The website states, “Explore the darker side of Fremantle Prison’s history.

The Prison walls echo with stories of loneliness, pain and suffering, of executions gone wrong, of the innocent unjustly imprisoned and the guilty punished.

Join Fremantle Prison guides in the dark as they entertain you with sordid and ghastly stories.

Be warned — these tours are not for the faint-hearted.”

My husband, myself and our three kids went on this tour in 1996 — Keeley was 7 years old! What was my husband thinking? It wasn’t a pleasant place at any time but had a decidedly eerie feel at night. Maybe I was susceptible to the stories the prison guard (the tour leader) was telling us. These tour leaders actually were retired guards. We were walking single-file along a high verandah with the individual cells on our left. To our right was the railing overlooking the ground floor a long way down.

A bloodcurdling scream was heard at the same time as a prisoner was thrown over the railing. It turned out to be a dummy. Nevertheless, frightening. We continued on. I had fallen back towards the tail end of the group when suddenly a “prisoner” in black and white striped clothes jumped out from one of the cells right in front of me.

I screamed — who wouldn’t — my heart was racing and then I started crying uncontrollably. Probably not a normal reaction, but what can I say? I got a real fright — I was focussed on what the tour leader was saying not paying attention to the cells beside me. We arrived at the chapel and went in and sat down. I was still crying. My husband told me to shut up — I was “embarrassing” him. My heart eventually got back to its normal rhythm and we ended the tour in the gallows room.

Ghost Tour in York, UK

The website says, “From plague to Vikings to butchery and murder, discover York’s sinister underbelly on this family-friendly tour led by a guide known for his dark sense of humour.

See sights such as York Minster, the Shambles and Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate, the silliest street in England, as you hear tales of bygone days, vile crimes and things that go bump in the night.

Walk the streets of York with a guide on a classic ghost tour.

Family-friendly experience, tailored to those with a wicked streak.

Great insight into York’s long and fascinating history.

Get a fresh perspective on tourist favourites such as York Minster.”

My sister signed us up for this nighttime ghost tour in York. It was an interesting history of some of York’s shadier characters but there was no one jumping out at me so I survived unscathed. They tried to make it scary but just didn’t succeed. All in all, a bit of a disappointment.

Ghost Tour in Prague, Czech Republic

Keeley conned me into doing this tour with her in 2011. She was 22. She’s a nut — she loves watching scary movies — I do not! “Come on, Mum…it’ll be fun.”

From my blog at the time.

“We headed to the Astronomical Clock where we were to meet our guide for the Ghosts and Legends tour. While we were waiting in the square, we thought we might have a beer so we could use their toilet. It was another Pilsner Urquell, the local beer brewed in Plzen. We finally managed to find the meeting point for the ghost tour through Keeley’s exceptional map-reading skills (thank God I’ve passed it on to her because I’ve completely lost it!) and met our lovely witch guide, Anna and the rest of our small but multicultural group from Iran, Greece, Hungary and of course, Australia.

We had a fun night together learning a lot about the history/legends of Prague. It sure made the streets come alive, and only one scream from me which everyone thought was extremely amusing — all except me! One of these days someone is going to scare me one time too many and will literally scare me to death. Very fortunately, the tour finished at a spot I recognised from yesterday’s meanderings and I knew the way back to our apartment collecting a delicious calzone on the way. Just what the ghosts ordered!”

The one scream was when someone in a Halloween costume — I can’t remember what it was but I think they had a weapon — jumped out in front of me. I was lagging a little behind the group at the time and jumped and screamed. No one else saw the figure who disappeared as quickly as he appeared, but they all got a scare from my scream. I swore, but at least I didn’t cry. Keeley said it was the best part of the whole tour!

This excerpt explains my family’s delight at scaring me.

“We went walking through the forest to find a giant rock (a menhir I think more than 6,000 years old) still standing in the middle of the clearing. Kiryn and I were the slowest — I had slipped twice — so when we finally reached a huge upright rock and were in the depths of a discussion if this one was the one more than 6 metres high, out from behind the rock jumped the other three. Kiryn and I both jumped; I screamed, wet my pants and cried — I absolutely hate being frightened intentionally! Just this morning, Stacey accidentally scared me by walking into the bathroom while I was showering when I thought no one else was awake; so twice in one day may not be good for the old ticker!”

Here’s the challenge if you’d like to join in the scary fun.

Do you enjoy someone scaring you? Do you love/hate scary movies? Have you ever been on a “ghost tour”? Do you like visiting scary places? Here are a few stories you may enjoy.