A local storyteller is planning on running a series of ghost walks round the historic quarter in Carlisle city centre.

Running throughout the summer, the tour, entitled ‘Vile Carlisle’ will take youngsters through the city and teach them about the fascinating, and often grisly, history of the city.

Carlisle's fascinating history, which dates back to Roman times, has inspired storytellers throughout the centuries. 

The tours will be run by local storyteller, Jo Mills who has run adult ghost tours in the city for eight years.

“I decided to go with a children's ghost tour because kids always love something a little bit dark and a little bit gruesome,” said Jo.

“There are other activities for kids in and around Carlisle, but nothing really on that darker side, which has gone down well on previous tours at Halloween.

“I haven't quite got the route fixed, but it'll be around the cathedral and the castle.

“The tour will be a mix of ghost stories from that area and a few dark history stories as well, talking about the plague and probably executions that happened in that area.”

Jo has run tours aimed at children before and she said that ‘gruesome’ tales about local people can help children engage with the long history of the city.

“If you start talking about the plague, and you start talking about ghosts that maybe died of the plague, and how people lived, and how it affects them, you're talking about everyday people and their lives.

“You're not talking about kings and queens and rulers and lords. You're talking about the common, everyday people and we can all relate to that.

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“Kids especially can relate to that because you can tell them about another child, another person that lived at this time and had to have this horrible thing happen to them and it's a direct link and I think it connects them so much more with their city and with their history.

“By looking at something that's a bit darker and that isn't just about the rulers means that kids always engage with that.”

Jo’s ‘Vile Carlisle’ tours are to run on every Sunday from June to September and can be prebooked through her website.