Dear Friends,

So October is upon us when the veil between the living and the dead is said to be its thinnest and when there was a tradition in this country to light a bonfire on Halloween so that the ghosts of our ancestors stuck in Purgatory could look down through the veil and be comforted by the sight of the fires. When King Henry VIII breached with Rome in the Reformation he banned Purgatory as having no source evidenced in the scriptures. Frankly, if I was King Henry VIII I would have banned Purgatory too with his track record. I imagine the angel in charge opening the door to Purgatory and shouting “Henry Tudor – only another 400 years to go!” and shutting the door again.

However,  beliefs have remained in many forms and certainly Halloween is more widely recognised now than it was in my childhood. Some years ago I worked in America for several months on and off for a few years and was astonished by the highly competitive streaks shown between neighbours as to who had the most creative Halloween decorations. Some neighbourhoods had whole fake graveyards in their front gardens and smoke machines with lots of terrifying models propped behind the gravestones. The “Trick or Treat” idea being copied in the UK is here but not as prevalent as I thought it might be by now, so look out or your children/ grandchildren will be demanding fake graveyards next. It’s enough to give you nightmares.

Here at Tutbury Castle we have four spooky events on for October, I am appearing as “The Witch of Manningtree” on 31st October which is a talk based on fact and very terrifying it is too I am told, do see our website for details www.lesleysmithhistorians.co.uk. On 29th October (I am working on dates backwards as a witch should) there is a children’s event “Spooky” with face painting, creepy tours and stalls. Adults and children are invited to wear fancy dress . There is a full witchy tea for the children and tea and coffee for the adults again check our website for details. On 14th October there is a Psychic Fair between 11.am and 4.00 pm and we have Diviners and Ley-Line specialists to talk about their skills. I understand some scientists are coming too to observe people ghost hunting. There are lots of stalls with some unusual traders and creative gifts for all seasons. 20% discount for locals to this event and the whole castle, including the torture chamber will be open for ghost hunters to explore. There is no age limit on this event.

Finally, to close, on Friday 13th we have some famous people from TV who are well-known ghost hunters and Mediums coming to the castle to demonstrate Mediumship, how to seek out ghosts and what to look for as well as a couple of hours for guests to go into some of the more creepy parts of the castle before the show. See our website again for more details or call 01283 812129 to find out more. 20% discount for local residents.

Believe it or not, when the autumn leaves do blow and we feel the nip of frost approaching then Bonfire Night celebrations are just around the corner and dare I say Christmas is not so far away.

Keep Warm,

Lesley Smith

CURATOR