Witchy woman

DRESSED in a long, black coat and pushing a pram with a toy monkey inside, Gwyneth Williams expects to turn heads as she goes walkabout in York. You'd be forgiven for thinking that she was a few scoops short of a pumpkin, or an escapee from the York Dungeon. In fact, Gwyneth is dressed for work. The dark garb and cuddly chimp (called Muck-tub) transform her into Mad Alice, a real-life character from 1820s York, who takes tourists and locals alike on a ghost tour through historic York six nights a week.

The Mad Alice tour began two years ago and Gwyneth says it took a while to establish herself in York's competitive ghost walk industry. But sheer determination as well as clever marketing of Alice has kept her in business and helped her secure an equity card for her troubles.

To maintain the punters' interest, Alice is a woman of all seasons and occasions.

This week, in the run up to Hallowe'en, she will be donning a witch's hat and a hooked nose. At Easter, she wears an Easter bonnet; at Christmas it's antlers.

"It's the best job I've ever had," says a beaming Gwyneth, who in her 58 years has worked in an office, run market stalls, been a make-up artist and worked in the Body Shop.

It was during a stint at Ms Roddick's outlet in York's Coppergate that Gwyneth first became interested in spooky stuff.

"There was a poltergeist there, I'd been warned about it. But I experienced it once myself when I was putting some five-litre bottles on a shelf. One just flew off the shelf, was suspended in mid-air, then stroked my face before falling to the ground. It felt like I'd been touched by a cold hand."

The 'ghost' was a talking point with staff and customers, recalls Gwyneth.

"A spiritualist came in and told us the ghost's name was Ruth. A woman came in once and said when the shop used to be Craven's sweet factory, her husband had worked there and that there was a ghost in the factory."

The Body Shop ghost got up to all sorts, says Gwyneth. "Fire alarms used to go off, but when the firemen came they couldn't understand why. Switches would go on and off, music would be turned up."

A few years later, when Gwyneth had grown tired of being on the road selling wares at craft fairs, she found the Body Shop ghost to be the inspiration for a new business idea.

"I decided to do a ghost walk. I knew there was a real character called Mad Alice. I'd heard all the folk tales about her and I was really interested in her," says Gwyneth.

A ghost walk appealed to her interest in local history and her creative streak. "I took a year off and did all my research. I decided that if I called myself Mad Alice and walked around with a monkey, I might be in with half a chance!"

But it took a while for Mad Alice to capture the public's imagination, confesses Gwyneth.

Despite putting up publicity boards and placing leaflets in York hotels, nobody turned up for the first two nights.

"I'll never forget getting all dressed up with my monkey in a pushchair and everybody staring at me. It was absolutely throwing it down, I brought out a black and yellow fishing rod and pretended to catch fish from the gutter. I'd stop people and ask: 'Excuse me, have you seen any fish?'

"The thing was, I knew I had to make a start, I didn't know how long it would take, but by the third night, I had two people. I got lucky, and I built it up gradually from there."

Gwyneth is very guarded about the contents of her tour, in fact, she won't let me reveal anything about it in case it spoils the experience for you, so you'll have to go and see for yourself. However, she does take a big bag of props with her and tries to encourage audience participation.

"People love tales of the unexpected and to find the unexpected happening," explains Gwyneth. "I treat it all as entertainment, but I do believe in poltergeists and spirits. I still can't explain what happened to me in the Body Shop."

By launching the ghost walk, Gwyneth has tapped into her theatrical side for the first time in her life.

"I've always liked art and drama but always suppressed it," she says.

But her new career also plays to another character trait: "stickability" as Gwyneth calls it.

"I've been there six nights a week, in hail, rain or snow. Anybody else would have given up," she says. "It's been tough, but I really enjoy it and I plan to do it until I retire."

The Mad Alice Ghost Tour begins opposite the Hilton Hotel, Tower Street at 7.30pm and lasts 75 minutes, every night except Monday. Tickets cost £3 adults, £2 children. Private bookings are available by calling Gwyneth on 01904 425071.