Shiverpool ghost tour takes in business district’s spirit

May 12 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

ONE of the city’s most unusual tourist attractions is expanding, to ply its spooky trade in a brand new part of town.

Shiverpool, the ghost tour that is already established in the Georgian Quarter, is taking on a patch in the business district for its new Auld City route.

Promisingly creepy locales, including the Slaughterhouse pub, on Fenwick Street, the Town Hall, Sweeting Street and around St Nick’s church have been thoroughly researched for the maximum scare factor on the tour, which launches this week.

Those behind it – who claim “we scare because we care” – hope that, as well as attracting visitors to the city and locals wanting to find out a little bit more about its history, the tour will attract businesses looking for a team-building activity with a twist or unusual corporate event.

Brother and sister John and Alex Stone, from Crosby, set up Shiverpool in 2005 with its Hope Street route.

It had always been in their plans to expand, and in a few short years it has gone from a two-man operation to one which has a bank staff of nearly 20 local actors, with hopes to double that again in future – having had some 30,000 participants so far.

Mr Stone, 27, said: “In Hope Street, it was nice to be involved in the renaissance of that area. It was nice to see the first tours walking round, using the spaces and being part of that cultural renaissance, and hopefully we can emulate that.

“There’s been massive interest in local people wanting to experience the tourist destinations in their own city.

“People are looking to do something different and there is a demand for that – so we always wanted to look at other areas of the city to develop new tours from the outset.”

The new tour begins and ends at the Slaughterhouse, which is said to be haunted by a butcher who developed a taste for human flesh.

A silent guide and more animated assistant lead the tours around the city streets, where they will come across creepy characters where they least expect them.

“People do get really scared,” said Mr Stone. “By the end of the tour, feel they’ve been on a journey together.

“One of the things that Alex wanted to do with Shiverpool was to reinvigorate the old art of storytelling, and, in this digital age, wanted to come back to telling stories on the streets and re-engage with our own backgrounds.”

vickyanderson