DERBY GHOST WALKS

Local historian Richard Felix is the proprietor of the Derby Heritage Centre and he has created a renowned ghost tour of the city. This tour has attracted thousands of visitors to the city, and the highlight is the old Derby Gaol, which Richard also owns. The Derby Ghostwalks run throughout the year, and continue to be a success.

There are a variety of Ghostwalks to choose between, which are led by experienced, informative, and friendly guides. These walks can be booked by contacting Derby Heritage Centre, Old Tudor Hall, St Peter's Churchyard, Derby DE1 1NN. Tel: 01332 299321.

All ghostwalks start at 7pm, and the price includes a candlelit supper. The city Centre ghostwalk starts from the Heritage Centre and the Friar Gate ghostwalk starts from Derby Gaol in Agard Street. The tours last approx 2 hours and finish back at the Heritage Centre. The City Centre Walk and Friar Gate Walk is £21.00 per person (children under 12 and OAPs - £18.00). Private Ghostwalks can be arranged for £21.00 per person with a minimum of 15 people.

Starting from the Heritage Centre, you visit the old tunnels running beneath the Guild Hall and the evening ends with a Ghost Hunter's Supper back at the Heritage Centre. The Hangman's Walk starts from Derby Gaol in Agard Street, and you tour churches, Inns and pubs, featuring stories of ghosts, executions, hauntings, and murders. The evening ends with a Condemned Man's Supper back at Derby Gaol.

The Derby Gaol is also available for overnight hire, for you to conduct your own paranormal investigation or celebrate your Hen or Stag night. There is a minimum allocation of 15 people and a maximum of 30 people. Prices are set at £45.00 per person (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) and £35 per person (Monday to Thursday) and includes a candlelit meal in the Gaol. Bar facilities are available on request.

Derby Heritage Centre is to close. Richard Felix claimed the centre is no longer making any money and said he was too busy to run it because of his television commitments. The centre opened in August 1992 and employs three part-time staff, sells videos and books about Derby. It also has a tearoom, refitted with a new kitchen and original Tudor beams and panels at a cost of about £20,000.

In September 2004, Mr Felix was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,237 by Chesterfield magistrates for failing to pest-proof the premises following a mice infestation. Mr Felix said that although the tearooms were not intended to be the main source of profit for the centre, it had increasingly become so and a drop in its popularity had led to the decision to close.

Derby Gaol will remain open and the ghost walks, managed by his son, Ed will continue. John Twells, who jointly owns the building in which the heritage centre is based, said it would be made available to let once Mr Felix had moved out. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

Derby is the most haunted place in Britain, with more reported sightings of ghosts, poltergeists and other supernatural ghouls than anywhere else in the UK. There have been 315 reported sightings in Derby over the past 40 years, according to a new study. This averages at 14 sightings per 10,000 people of the city's 233,700 population, making Derby the best UK city to visit if you want to spot a spook or glimpse a ghost. The Supernatural Britain Report was conducted by supernatural writer Lionel Fanthorpe. He said the reports in the area were varied and included vampires in Ascot Drive, Alvaston, spirits in St Peter's Church, Chellaston, and poltergeists in Sadler Gate.

His report was put together following months of research, where he trawled through archives, numerous websites and his own reports to identify sightings and reports to produced a comprehensive list for the UK's 40 biggest cities. The findings are little surprise to Richard Felix as he has spent 15 years claiming Derby is Britain's spookiest location. He said, "There isn't a day that goes past in Derby when someone isn't recalling the time when they saw a ghost. Just recently a staff member at the Old Bell Inn in Sadler Gate reported being hit by a coat hanger when no-one else had been in the room. I've also had an 85-year-old man tell me of a time when he turned round and saw a ghost vapourise in front of him. At 85, he's not going to make up stories."

Other popular spook destinations include the Georgian House Hotel, in Ashbourne Road, where a ghost in a pin-stripped suit is said to slam doors and push items off mantle pieces. Mr Felix said one reason why Derby is the most haunted place in the UK could be because of its traumatic past, dating back over a thousand years. He added, "It's a very old city and has seen a lot of trauma from the Romans, Saxons and Vikings. You need trauma to create ghosts, such as the Battle of Derby in 917AD." He remains certain that ghosts exist and said they are formed through the recording of energy from tragic, traumatic events which are encapsulated into the fabrics of a building. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/08)