SPOOKTACULAR
“Top Ghost Walk in the UK” – Essential Travel
“Fear came upon me. And trembling.” The Book of Job, 4:14
Fear came upon them. And trembling. And screaming. As this video attests to. The “incident” took place on this walk a couple years back.
“The civilised human spirit cannot get rid of a feeling of the uncanny.” Doctor Faustus, Thomas Mann
Stygian gloom – Waking the dead – Walking amongst them
Ghostbusters on a recent tour with Adam
At night the ancient City is deserted. And eerie. Exploring its shadowy back streets and dimly lit alleys we might be in a medieval citadel, in overpowering stone. The very street names – Aldersgate, Cloth Fair, Charterhouse, Threadneedle – take us far back. We’re alone… Or are we? For this is the hour when the She-Wolf of France glides through the churchyard, the hour when the dark figure on Newgate wall rattles his chains, the hour when the Black Nun keeps her lonely vigil, and something inexpressibly evil lurks behind a tiny window. We’re on their trail… Or are they shadowing us? “How easy it is to awaken the unwanted attention of things that should sleep quietly in their tombs or hiding places…” Guided by the Duke of Darkness or the Shadow Walker or the Woman in Black.
GHOSTS OF THE OLD CITY – THE PRACTICALS
Ghosts of the Old City takes place at 7.30 pm every Saturday.
Meet the Duke of Darkness or the Shadow Walker or the Woman in Black just outside exit 2 of St. Paul’s Tube. N.B. the walk ends back at St. Paul’s Tube. The Duke of Darkness is Shaughan. The Shadow Walker is Adam. The Woman in Black is Karen – she’s merely “the world’s greatest guide”, according to the Travel & Leisure rankings. (Karen’s Travel & Leisure coronation was of course presaged by her winning the London Tourist Board’s Guide of the Year Award.)
HERE’S WHY
Ghost walks are tricky to guide. Get it wrong and it’s embarrassingly bad. Cringe-making fake “scary” voice, that sort of thing. It all comes down to the guiding. Now the immediately striking thing about the London Walks’ Ghost Walks guides “line up” is that all the guides – Adam’s the exception who proves the rule – are actors. Important? Or a coincidence? Yeah, you guessed it – it’s the former. The reason, quite simply, is it takes a special set of skills to make a ghost walk work. 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 storytellers – the ones who had the gift – let alone the great voice – who could bring it off. The upside 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. That’s why we’ve got professional performers fronting our ghost walks. And the proof of the pudding – well, see the JR note below. Or listen to Shaughan, the Duke of Darkness, at the start of his Ghosts of the Old City video. Or Captain Spooky (Peter) at the start of his Ghosts of the West End video.
Want to preview the walk and the guiding? And watch this sidekick video. It’s the Shadow Walker (Adam), setting the stage for the Ghosts of the Old City Walk. A born story-teller “can make you believe.” And an update, Adam’s bagged himself a professional guiding qualification. He’s now – as of 2019 – an award-winning, professionally qualified, “badged” guide.
“WHAT WILL I SEE?”
These are “extras”, “incidentals” – our main fare is ghostly goings-on. But in addition, in passing, you’ll also get…
1. Three of the most splendid of Wren’s spires in attendance upon St. Paul’s dome
2. The sparking point of the City
3. The focus, the concentration of City life
4. A nine-foot-long dragon
5. A bare-breasted native American
6. A perfect example of a 1672 house (lived in by one of our greatest poets)
7. The City’s most delightful hidden network of streets, shops and restaurants
8. A tent-like structure that seems to grow out of the ground (the rainwater collected by its roof is used to flush toilets and irrigate the nearby planting)
9. 350-year-old cottages built for canons
10. A street that shows perfectly – it’s often used as a film location – the pre-Victorian scale of the City
11. The ebullient late Victorian building that replaced the grimmest structure in London (the one that featured carved manacles and chains and grim, windowless rustication)
And that’s just for starters…
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Don’t just take it from us…
Meet your guide. I, David, describe Adam as the only human being I know who talks like a very well written magazine article. The information is brilliant. As is the way it’s put across. As this wonderful little sidebar podcast Adam’s put together attests to.
LONDON WALKS REVIEWS
“London Walks has many copycats, but it’s the best.” Frommer’s London by Night
“It’s hard to remember how many times I’ve taken this walk [London Horror Story]. Every time 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 . . .” JR New Jersey, USA
“Top Ghost Walks in the UK London, England: London Walks…their four ghost walks” Essential Travel
“prowling shadows, sense of dread, the dark negative of the sunny snapshots of tourist London”
GLAD TO HEAR IT
Click here to meet your guide – here’s the Adam interview we did for the London Walks podcast
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
(Here’s a quick sneak preview – some pictorials, a word from the guide and a classic payoff at the end.)
(And here’s a quickie intro video – a four-guider – about private walks, how they work, etc. Should you fancy one.)
FINAL THOUGHT
You don’t have to be in London on a Saturday evening to go on the Ghosts of the Old City walk in London, don’t have to be in London to go on Adam’s spooktacular. You can be in San Diego. Or Vienna. Or Toronto. Or Melbourne. Or Singapore. Or wherever. How cool is that.
And how’s that magic work? Easy. Adam runs it occasionally as a Virtual Tour. Keep an eye for it, when one hoves into view, sign up for it and you’re away, you’re in ghostly London.
Jol Silversmith –
Although Simon is not listed in the write-up, I understand he periodically is the guide, and provided an excellent experience for our walk.
Linda –
Thank you Simon, very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Highly recommend.
Silvia –
We had a great time with Simon, a very interesting walk.
Grazie Simon, ciao!
Anna D –
On behalf of our group, can I say a huge thank you to Adam for our fantastic walking tour last night. We all thoroughly enjoyed the gruesome and ghostly tales whilst walking around the city. Adam was very engaging and funny, so the two hours whizzed by!
We’re all from the London area, and have strolled past so many of these places without knowing the history – too easy to take it all for granted!
There were so many highlights, it’s hard to pick out anything in particular, but we loved the stories of the prison, the witches’ coven and King James, the poor murdered monk, Greyfriars Church and Smithfield!
We would definitely use London Walks again. Doing the private tour was an extra treat, so thank you for organising it for us at short notice, and being accommodating with the weather!
Very best wishes,
Anna, Guy, Dommie & James
Michael –
It was freezing cold but the laughter and intrigue kept us warm. Fully recommend. Guide is absolute pro, genuinely loving what he does!
Josh –
Adam was an excellent and super fun tour guide. Looking forward to going on another walk next time I’m in town. HIGHLY recommend!
Laura Sanders –
Everything my 13 year old paranormal fan and I had hoped for. A perfect mix of creepy tales and fascinating history. Adam is an outstanding guide, his delivery engaging, friendly, funny and the right amount of gruesome. We will definitely be back again for more on our next visit.
Julie –
Last night we took the Ghost walk with Simon. It was captivating, informative any funny from the start. Highly recommend this, even if you are already very familiar with the City.
Helen King –
Fun and interesting walk with Simon, ended up just being 2 of us on the tour despite Simon’s best efforts to drum up passing trade. Great Stories, superb architecture and an informative guide. Top Marks.
Alice –
We did the tour with Simon today and loved it! He is an amazing guide and very knowledgeable – we had a lot of fun 🙂 definitely recommend the tour!
Craig –
Really enjoyed tonight’s tour with Simon – informative about city of London with spooky stories
Jenna Herdman –
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour last week, “Ghosts Of the Old City with Adam.” Adam was an amazing guide and expert storyteller who uses humour and drama to bring historical events and figures to life (or death). He also did a good job offering potential plausible explanations for many of the supernatural phenomena, which I thought was a unique touch. The tour really enriched our understanding of the City and we had a blast. I think London Walks is one of the best touring groups in the world and I recommend them to everyone!
Kristina Nordsten –
An awesome evening as Simon walked us through the alleyways of Blackfriars. Even on one of the most spectacular summer evenings the gruesome stories was brought to life masterly by our guide. As a Londoner and someone who has done these walks for 25 years, I think London Walks are one of the best ways to do London. Yesterday we did this walk as a family – the tweenaged children loved it and our international guest got immersed into London’s past.
Joe Hurley –
Ghost of the Old City:
Very enjoyable and interesting evening… our guide was Simon Law did an outstanding job. Perfect pace of the walk, lots of intriguing tidbits, kept the interest of the entire group. I would recommend this walking tour any summer evening for a great time.
Alim –
Just finished a tour with Simon. It was great! We really enjoyed it. Simon was truly amazing, so engaging and he is a wonderful story teller. Greetings from Turkey, Switzerland and New Zeland 🙂 Highly recommend!
James B –
23 April – St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s Birthday (and day of death!). It was a pleasure to while away the twilight hours with tales of old (including tales of the Bard himself!) in the company of our guide Simon. I’d highly recommend this walk which takes you to parts many Londoners (I am one) would never otherwise have appreciated. Simon was both knowledgeable and entertaining and patient in answering my (many) questions. I’d highly recommend this walk to nothing tourists and Londoners alike – whether you believe in spooks or not!
Lynette –
Simon provided a great walk with fascinating stories of the ghosts of London. I am never disappointed after a London walks tour. If you’re on the fence about going, I highly recommend!
Dan –
Great walk with Simon last night!
Julie –
Had a really intesting ghost walk with Simon tonight. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining. We learnt loads, not just about ghosts, but about London and its past inhabitants. Would highly recommend this walk
jennifer –
Simon was quite funny and entertaining. Interesting snippets of history, culture (low and high) and some pretty hair-raising tales about ghosts and medieval torture. I didn’t know it was Shakespeare’s B’day until he said so.
Emma –
Really enjoyed our Ghostly Walk with Karen. Our party consisted of one adult and three children 9,11 and 12. Karen was absolutely brilliant. Captivating, knowledgeable and highly entertaining. History and Ghoulish London came alive. We will never look at a raised church garden in the the same way again ! Highly recommend. I am a Londoner and enjoyed every minute.
Craig D –
Took part in the Ghosts of the City Tour over the weekend. We had a fantastic time. The guide, Simon, was humorous and incredibly knowledgeable. Highly recommended!
Matt F –
Just finished the ghost tour with Simon. It was great. Really informative and learnt loads about the City / London and it’s history, tied together with ghost stories. Simon was great; engaging, knowledgable and funny. Definitely recommend. We were a group of 13, ages 13 to 50+.
Julie and Theodora –
My 9 year old daughter Theodora and I joined the Duke of Darkness Shaughan to hear an eerie and bloody history of the haunts and spirits on our walk in spring 2009. Theo was especially rapt with Shaughan’s stories and happily skipped alongside him. It was an equally scary thrill and fantastic storytelling experience! Indeed, my enthusiasm and high regard for the Ghost Walk and for London Walks generally is captured in your Ghost Walk video filmed on that evening where my daughter and I are interviewed by Shaughan at the end of the film. We both look forward to returning for a Ghost Walk soon!
Caroline –
As a couple we have always enjoyed London Walks on our visits to London. Exceptional VFM and always excellent guides. We went on this walk on Halloween. Fiona ( I believe ) was our guide. Thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hour walk around areas we did not know. The guide was informative, witty and an excellent teller of tales in this area whilst keeping the narrative child friendly too. Would thoroughly recommend
Julian Gladwell –
GHOSTS OF THE OLD CITY
I went on the GHOSTS OF THE OLD CITY on the actual Halloween evening no less.
The guide was the excellent Karen, her of the friendly manner and the nice clear voice!
This was a very enjoyable if rather spooky walk, I learnt many new ghost stories that were new to me, and I am a life-long Londoner.
London walks never fails to exceed espectations!