It's hard to remember how many times I've taken this walk. Everytime I am taking a relative or friend around London with me, this is the walk I take. The scenery is straight out of a movie, and what can I say about Shaughan. He's definitely better than any write-up either I or this brochure could come up with. The stories, the tidbits, the drama - this walk has it all. I guess I've done this walk about 6 or 7 times. It'll be up to 8 the next time I'm in town . . .

But in the afterglow we can maybe at least look at some of the whys and wherefores. As well as do a quick overview - a pull-together. Get everything under one roof, so to speak.

Okay, nuts and bolts first.

This is the most haunted city on earth. There are things going bump in the night all over this town. So it's no surprise that there are half a dozen Ghost Walks in the London Walks repertory.

Indeed, London Walks does a Ghost Walk every single night of the year (except Dec. 24 & 25).

They always start at 7.30 pm.

Here's the schedule:

On Monday night it's Apparitions, Alleyways & Ale. It goes from EmbankmentTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Graham.

On Tuesday night it's Ghosts of the Old City. It goes from just outside exit 2 of St. Paul'sTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Graham.

On Wednesday night it's Ghosts, Gaslight & Guinness. It goes from HolbornTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Richard III.

On Thursday night it's Apparitions, Alleyways & Ale. It goes from EmbankmentTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Russell.

On Friday night it's Haunted London. It goes from just outside the Fish Street Hill exit of MonumentTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Steve or Corinna.

On Saturday night it's Ghosts of the Old City. It goes from just outside exit 2 of St. Paul'sTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Shaughan or Angela.

On Sunday night it's Haunted London. it goes from just outside the Fish Street Hill exit of MonumentTube at 7.30 pm. It's guided by Shaughan.

Those are the regularly scheduled ones. In addition, there are a couple of "specials" that get summoned from the vasty depths on an occasional basis: one in Greenwich (guided by Chris) and one in Wimbledon (guided by Dalianne, who's a witch. Yes, you heard right - she's the genuine article. Though - just for the record this - her broomstick is an extremely flash, red Jaguar. Blonde hair blowing - well, you get the picture!

Now the immediately striking thing about the London Walks' Ghost Walks guides "line up" is that all the guides - Graham's the exception who proves the rule - are actors. Important? Or a coincidence? Yeah, you guessed it - it's the former. And the reason, quite simply, is it takes a special set of skills to make a ghost walk work. And what are those skills, those "ingredients"? Well, you can guess - the great voice, presence, perfect timing, conviction - let alone the sixth sense about exactly how far the envelope needs to be pushed. Actors have those abilities - most of the rest of us don't. Or at least don't have the whole package. Which is why if you get some amateur fronting a ghost walk it's not just a disappointment - it's worse, it's an embarrassment. It's just common sense, really. All you need to do is think back to your childhood - hearing ghost stories round the campfire. It was only the born story tellers - the ones who had the gift - let alone the great voice - who could bring it off. The upside of course is that when that sort of thing is done brilliantly - by pros, by people who know what they're doing - well, it's as good as it gets.

And that is why we've got professional performers fronting our ghost walks. And the proof of the pudding - well, see the JR note above. Or the note in the comments section about Richard III's ghost walk. Or the one about Russell's, etc. etc.