ONE of York's leading visitor attractions is to undergo a major £1 million expansion which will double its size and place it firmly on the tourist map.

York Dungeon, Clifford Street's macabre museum, closes its doors next week for work to develop a new second storey of ghoulish exhibits.

The refit, appropriately scheduled for completion on Friday, February 13, will feature a grisly new Black Death exhibition as its centrepiece.

A second display will touch on one of York's darkest moments, retelling the shocking story of the Jewish massacre at Clifford's Tower.

Manager Nigel Peacock said: "This is the biggest development at the dungeon since we opened.

"We're effectively doubling the size of the attraction and adding a whole new level for visitors to explore."

The new feature will take visitors on a spine-chilling journey back to the 14th century when a third of Europe's population fell victim to the plague.

Visitors will be able to follow the devastating progression of the Black Death from harbour, where the infamous black rats and their infected fleas first jumped ship, to home, where their effects on local people will be graphically depicted.

A series of blood-curdling displays, including a primitive doctor's surgery and a grisly plague pit, will tell the tale of the greatest natural disaster ever to hit England.

The dungeon has enlisted the help of special effects experts, who have worked on sets for rock superstars Oasis, to devise startling new effects for the feature.

The second display recreates the horrendous events of 1190, when up to 1,500 Jews are believed to have sought refuge in Clifford's Tower from a rampaging mob.

When they realised there was no escape, the men slew their wives and children and then themselves rather than perish at the hands of the rioters.

Visitors to the dungeon will enter a flaming tower from where the chilling tale of the mass suicide will be retold.

Mr Peacock admitted the new display was "not a nice part of York's history".

But he added: "All the history we feature is not very nice, but that is what perhaps makes it more interesting.

"The more grisly and gruesome something is, the more interesting for visitors."

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