Little Ghost Hunt by York Ghost Merchants at York Minster

The Little York Ghost Hunt, which is free and run by the York Ghost Merchants, is the cornerstone of York Ghost Week and ran on four evenings last week – from Monday to Thursday - seeing thousands turn out on the streets in search of a ghost of their own.

This year, The Press joined the numbers – searching for a ghost of our own – and asking why so many people turned out for the event.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• 'York has a reputation throughout the world for ghosts' - shop celebrates milestone

• York’s famous ghosts have a new home

Arriving for the start at 6pm, we expected the event to be relatively quiet as it began but, from the off, the outside of York Minster was flooded with people with torches and phone cameras shining bright lights into the nooks and crannies of the city walls.

After unsuccessfully searching for around 10 minutes, we heard our first cry of triumph when Ralph, aged 5 from York, pointed out a blue ghost tucked behind a pillar to the left of the main door of York Minster.

His mum Sara said: “I did the hunt last year, but this is Ralph’s first time. We actually missed it - we were just about to lift him up to check up here when he pointed it out to us.”

Ralph, aged 5, and mum Sara found their first ghost. (Image: Alice Kavanagh) Whilst checking the rest of the wall, we headed further down the road and encountered a couple who were visiting York for a birthday celebration and who owned around 40 ghosts. They had spent around £250 in the Guild Hall on limited edition ghost but were yet to find one in the wild.

On Ogleforth, we met Hattie and Benjamin with mum Jenny – who live in Clifton and were out for the fifth year. Jenny said: “It’s a nice night for them – we’ve been to Pizza Express and now we’re hunting.

"We don’t expect to find anything much, but we’ll give it a whirl. We all got brand new torches from B&Q before we came. It’s a nice bit of community spirit, isn’t it?”

Some of the Ghosts, sold by the Merchants Another hunter was Janet Foster from Bridlington, who told us that she had been attending for years – still coming religiously despite being unable to find a ghost. She said: “I used to bring the kids with me but now they’ve all grown up, so we just come along for the memories.

“I’ve never found one but it’s all about the ambiance, the memories, and the hunt. We have bought some from the shop too but it’s just not the same.”

One visitor for the evening was Charli, from Catterick Garrison, who had chosen to attend dressed as a Plague Doctor – her second visit of the week having come as an angel on Monday evening.

Despite being unable to see through her mask to properly take part in the hunt, she was having a great night soaking up the ambiance of the evening.

Charli from Catterick came dressed as a plague doctor (Image: Alice Kavanagh) We also spoke to owner David Bloodworth who said that the event had been less busy than previous nights, but still commanded a healthy crowd.

He continued: “What’s nice now is that it’s described less as a ghost hunt and more of a social perambulation – people just walk and talk now. It was great during the pandemic because it was the only thing people could do and it was really vital I think.

“All we’re trying to do is promote the city; none of this here really benefits us and it’s a lot of work for a free event. It has a number of benefits – we’re encouraging local business but also, people just walk around the city.”

Details of this year’s Ghost Week can be found online to prepare readers for what to expect next year.