STUDENTS from a Carlisle university campus are heading to west Cumbria to help one of the county’s leading tourist landmarks host a haunted Halloween extravaganza.

First year students who recently started their performing arts degree course at University of Cumbria are collaborating with Muncaster Castle for the next two weeks.

During that time they will work with independent directors and performers Gary Bridges and Ian Douglas to develop a bespoke piece of theatre to be performed in the castle and entertaining visitors.

Students will be working in various different rooms inside the castle devising theatre based upon its ghostly tales and unexplained happenings dating back hundreds of years.

Each show promises to take the audience on a whirlwind of emotional turbulence, from laughter to scares.

The project provides an opportunity for new students to bond as a team whilst also being invaluable for their own professional development as performance artists.

By the end of the six dates the students will have performed more than 80 shows and to a total of over 2,400 people.