Spooky Shiverpool tours

[Howie]

Spooky Shiverpool tours
Dec 30 2005
Liverpool Echo

SPOOKY tours of the city's frightspots are being offered to thrill-seekers.

Focusing on the "spiritual, historical and haunted" aspects of the city, Shiverpool explores some of the city's famous landmarks.

Alexandra Stone from Waterloo founded the tours with her brother John.

She said: "I was born in Liverpool and I love the city. "Since it got Capital of Culture status, we've travelled to Edinburgh and seen what they do with their ghost tour. We knew that we could do that here too."

Shiverpool takes participants round the spookiest sites in the city to tell tales of ghosts and spirits.

In full gothic dress, Alexandra, John and drama student Alison Crawford tell the tales of souls that haunt the grounds they are standing on.

John said: "Some people do get scared. One guy was so petrified that he ran off and left his girlfriend behind."

Alexandra said: "Everyone has been to the cinema and the theatre and want to experience something new.

"It's a return to the oral tradition of story-telling."

Tours cost £7 per head or £5 per person for groups of over five. Contact 0151 726 8454.

Spots on the tour include:

Philharmonic Pub: Many spirits are thought to hang around one of Liverpool's most famous pubs, including a banshee said to have appeared in an alley behind the Hope Street watering hole.

Metropolitan Cathedral: This cathedral stands on the site that used to be the Liverpool workhouse, and is said to be haunted by former inmate Bernie Brown who threw himself to his death from the walls.

St Andrew's church: Scotsman Will MacKenzie was buried at the Scottish Presbyterian church in Rodney Street.

But he is said to haunt the 19th century place of worship after earlier gambling his soul in a game of poker.

Source: icLiverpool

[Kev]

SHIVERPOOL - Liverpool's first ghost tour - has been given the official seal of approval by the city's Culture Company.

Impressed with the "spirit" of free enterprise shown by its young organisers, they have endorsed the tour, which has been an enormous success since it was founded last year by Liverpool-born sister and brother team Alex and John Stone.

"We know from our research that ghost tours in other towns are very popular but we've been particularly impressed with how Shiverpool got this up and running by themselves," said the Tourism Prospects Officer Lesley Delves.

"It's the sort of enterprise that we're always on the look-out for to help boost tourism, not just in the run-up to Capital of Culture 2008 but to leave a legacy for the years afterwards."

Shiverpool tickets and merchandise will now be available at their base, the 08 Place on Whitechapel.

Venues and buildings housing spooks will also be encouraged to open their doors to accommodate the tour, which currently operates from Wednesday to Sunday in the Rodney Street area.

The decision was "celebrated" by the tour group who staged a mock Victorian funeral procession through the city centre complete with horses, carriage, coffin and even a "corpse", played by Shiverpool actress Alison Crawford, who is still very much alive.

"The tour's been very popular, so much so that we've got another tour in the pipeline which will be up and running in the summer and run in conjunction with the existing one," explained 24-year-old JMU graduate Alex, from Crosby, who provides the dramatic commentary on the current tour, while the aforementioned Maritime Shivers tour begins on August 1.

This will cover the haunted pubs and public buildings around the Dale Street/ Castle Street axis, especially the area around St Luke's Church, which is long believed to be the focal point for psychic activity.

The tour will terminate at the Pier Head, says Alex, concluding "with a tale guaranteed to shake the most cynical of nonbelievers."

To accommodate for this extension and provide cover for the existing team of Alex, John, Alison and Kieran Gilchrist, auditions are currently taking place for anybody with a "fiery imagination, a theatrical disposition, a sense of fun and an abundance of self motivation" to help out.

Contact 0151 726 8454, or go to www.shiverpool.co.uk

* AN ADULTS-ONLY tour to celebrate the film The Omen will take place at 10pm on June 6 with an 11-year-old Damien present. Tickets with wine £2.

mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk

[Paul D]

They have similar tours in Edinburgh and I think it's a great idea,I'm not sure whether I'd be bothered going on one but it's good for the tourists.If I believed half of these stories there's no way I'd go around there of a night but I'm sure it's more theatre than reality,a good night out though I'm sure.

[Kev]

THE Shiverpool ghost tour has been such a success that a second one

has been set up, this time haunting the streets of Liverpool's waterfront.

Maritime Shivers is officially - and deliberately - launched tonight, Friday

13, starting from 8.30pm at Mercury House, on Tithebarn Street with cut-price drinks beforehand in the nearby Railway pub. It will tour some of the city's

oldest and most haunted thoroughfares, such as Leather Lane and Sweeting Street, before ending at the Pier Head.

The first one, Hope Street Shivers, set

up by former JMU student Alex Stone and her brother John last year, has been an unqualified success earning financial and promotional support from the

Culture Company.

The Halloween Hope Street tour on October 31, for instance, has been so popular that there will be three sell-out tours on one night

with 40 people on each tour.

The latest one will follow a similar format with lots of dark humour and frightening surprises courtesy of costumed extras

along the way.
"I researched the commercial end of the city for about two months before setting this one up - there was so much history it was hard to know

what to edit out," said Alex, who will be the main costumed speaker in Shivers Part Two.

"The stories are more gory than the Hope Street one, and the

atmosphere is amazing going down the sloping cobbled streets, especially when St Nick's church bell gongs - we always tell the audience it's their death

knell! The Pier Head at night also has an extra edge, especially with the landing stage creaking away in tandem with the tide.

"This area of Liverpool

has so much depraved history to offer it seemed rude to ignore it."

To accommodate both tours, the number of costumed acting staff needed to stage them

has doubled to ten, helped by a £5,000 grant from the Culture Company.

"A lot of the people we've taken on are students who have an interest in the

supernatural but they also tend to have a very dark sense of humour, too, which suits us fine," explained Alex, who added that Shiverpool now even has its

own emblem - a red Liver Bird dripping blood which is emblazoned on its T-shirts.

Like the Hope Street tour, the Maritime tour will run from Wednesday to

Sunday nights. They cost £7 per head for adults; £5 for under-16s, and £5 for groups of 10 or more. Contact 0151 726 8454 or

www.shiverpool.co.uk

mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk

[Paul D]

Kev I'd love to see

you on this if that Croxteth Hall video is anything to go by.

[Kev]

Originally Posted by Paul D

Kev I'd love to see you on this if that Croxteth Hall video is anything to go by.

lol, cheers

Paul, proper Most Hauted stylee

[matt]

Originally Posted by Paul D

Kev I'd love to see you on this if that Croxteth Hall video is anything to go by.

what

video's this Kev....you kept that one quiet!!

[Kev]

Originally Posted by matt

what video's this Kev....you kept that one

quiet!!

here they are mate

[Paul D]

Ghost tour secures tourist top spot within first year


THE founders of Liverpool ghost tour Shiverpool are celebrating its first anniversary in the knowledge that it has already become one of the city’s top tourist attractions.

The group regularly reaches its maximum of 40 people per tour on the theatrical nightly ghost walks through the city streets.

They reached a climatic success over the Halloween period when 800 customers joined them on the two nightly walks – the Hope Street Shivers and Maritime Shivers, which covers the area around the Pier Head.

Company director Alex Stone said: “I can't believe a year has gone by so quick. It only seemed like yesterday we were just starting out.

“If you get the product right, people will come back and tell their friends.

“We've some really sharp talent working for us including a Geordie, a couple of southerners, an American from Chicago and a few home grown from Liverpool,” said Alex. “I'll bet in a few years’ time a couple of them who started out with Shiverpool will be respected names in the acting world.”

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/l...name_page.html

[SteH]

I'm going on the Hope St one next week, will let yers know how it goes.

[Kev]

Brilliant Ste,

[lindylou]

Don't forget to let us know.

I was thinking of going on that tour sometime.

[SteH]

Originally Posted by lindylou

Don't forget to let us know.

I was thinking of going on that tour sometime.

Go on it, it is well worth the money (£8.50 or £7.50 for groups of 10 or more). Basically two guys tell the stories and a third is the 'ghost' who appears at certain points in the tour. The Hope St one lasts about one hour 15 mins and takes in the following:-

Ghosts of Workhouse fire of early 1800s
Ghost of L'Pool Metropolitan Cathedral - a man who commited suicide
MacKenzies Tomb - St Andrews Church Rodney St
Banshee of Back Maryland St
Hope St Chamber of Horrors
Hudkissons Tomb Anglican Cathedral.

[Ged]

I'm going on the Tom Slemen tour which covers all of his 13 books. It lasts 3 months 1 week, 2 days, 7 hours, 13 mins and 7 seconds. In all 795 ghosts jump out at you.

Originally Posted by Ged

I'm going on the Tom Slemen tour which covers all of his 13 books. It lasts 3 months 1 week, 2 days, 7 hours, 13 mins and 7 seconds. In all 795 ghosts jump out at you.

Only 795?
Not worth getting out of your grave for.

[Jericho]

The banshee of Back Maryland Street!

Something to die for

[sweetpatooti]

We went on the Valentines tour last night. It was really good - pure theatre. I don't believe in all the tales but it was very atmospheric. They took us into St James Cemetary to Huskisson's tomb, the natural spring (the pool reflects the Cathedral beautifully). It was well worth the money and I would go on the Maritime one. I am thinking of taking my daughter for her birthday.

[SteH]

Originally Posted by sweetpatooti

We went on the Valentines tour last night. It was really good - pure theatre. I don't believe in all the tales but it was very atmospheric. They took us into St James Cemetary to Huskisson's tomb, the natural spring (the pool reflects the Cathedral beautifully). It was well worth the money and I would go on the Maritime one. I am thinking of taking my daughter for her birthday.

They never took us as far down as the tomb because the path was too slippy due to the snow. The snow added a great dimension to the whole tour though.

[lindylou]

Sounds good. Think we'll do the tour sometime.

[Kev]

SPOOKY ghost walk firm Shiverpool Tours is moving to the Albert Dock and planning to launch a new ghost tour from the popular tourist destination later in the year. more