Britain's Heritage Cities' trick will be to give their visitors a treat this Halloween - and, for that matter, at any other time of the year when anyone wants to come in search of "ghoulies, ghosties, long-leggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night".
Britain's Spookiest Cities are Bath, Canterbury, Chester, Durham, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, and York (named recently by experts as the most haunted city in Europe).
While history strolls hand-in-hand with its ghosts along the alleyways and snickleways of Britain's Heritage Cities, All Hallows Eve is as good a time as any to reflect on the multitude of ways in which it is possible for visitors to feel the hairs on the backs of their necks start to stand on end.
York, for example, with its history of conflict and tragic events, leads the world in terms of 'hidden haunts', and offers its visitors the opportunity - every night of the week - to join ghost hunts and walks through its atmospheric narrow streets, winding passageways and overhanging Medieval gables.
A ragged legion of Roman soldiers, the groans of wounded and dying Cavaliers, the headless ghost of the 7th Earl of Northumberland, a Dungeon janitor, and even the original Georgie Porgie, who "kissed the girls and made them cry", and whose ghost today has been known to grope women in a pub (!), are just some of the phantoms and apparitions visitors will be introduced to on a ghostly trail around York.
The other six cities in the group share not only 2,000 years of history with York, but also similar experiences for the 21st century ghost-buster.
Join John Hippisley, for example, for a Ghost Tour of Canterbury; or Bill Spectre for one of his Ghost Trails in Oxford. Hippisley's tours start from Alberry's Wine Bar every Friday and Saturday evening, and go in search of the 80 confirmed sightings of ghosts around the city centre, while Spectre's Friday evening trails introduce visitors to the likes of Mary Blandy whose spirit still haunts Oxford Castle, as well as The Brasenose Hellfire Club...where the devil himself was spotted in the 19th century!
In Bath, meanwhile, a misty shape wearing the scent of jasmine often rubs shoulders with the clientele of Garricks Head - and apparently walks through walls as the same ghost is also seen hanging out in The Theatre Royal next door. It is said that the female ghost hanged herself from a door in the pub after her lover was killed in a duel.
Like Chester and Stratford-upon-Avon, Durham has a history that will haunt you. Guests who stay in Lumley Castle, close to the City of Durham, for example, may end up spending the night with The Lily of Lumley - wife of the castle's builder, Lord Lumley. She was murdered by priests (who thought that by killing her they were saving her soul!) when she converted to Protestantism and refused to come back into the Catholic fold.
But even if you don't spot a phantom disappearing through a wall, or figure with a head tucked under his arm, it's an entertaining way of learning more about the history, heritage, architecture and surroundings of Britain's Heritage Cities.
For full details, visit http://www.heritagecities.com/
For more information, please contact:
Suzanne Lockhart Tel: +44 (0)1865-252406 E-mail: slockhart@oxford.gov.uk