Dastardly destinations

The Skirrid Inn

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or anyone interested in visiting somewhere with a spooky atmosphere and a strong reputation for hauntings, the Skirrid Mountain Inn is the place to visit at Halloween.

Situated in the impossible-to-pronounce Llanvihangel Crucorney, a small Welsh village in Monmouthshire, the inn is popular due to its reputation for being not only one of the oldest pubs in Wales, but one of the most haunted.

The Skirrid dates back to 1110, with 900 years of ghostly history associated with it. Until 1698, the first floor of the inn was reputedly used as a courtroom, where hanging was carried out as a punishment for up to 180 criminals. Rope markings can be seen on an oak beam still in the inn today, adding a macabre touch to the staircase winding towards the guest bedrooms.

Three rooms are available for visitors to spend the night in – if they dare! With an eerie atmosphere, dim lighting and creaking staircases, a night at the Skirrid is not for the faint-hearted. These guestrooms have attracted the attendance of numerous groups interested in the paranormal, including TV shows such as Most Haunted and Extreme Ghost Stories. If paranormal investigating isn’t your thing (and let’s face it, it probably isn’t), the inn still offers a hearty meal, a few pints and, should you feel brave enough, a suitably spooky overnight stay for you and your mates to have a laugh and scare yourself silly.

Rope markings can be seen on an oak beam still in the inn today, adding a macabre touch to the staircase winding towards the guest bedrooms.

The inn is set amongst a backdrop of the Brecon Beacons, most notably the distinctively-shaped Skirrid Mountain from which the inn gets its name. ‘Skirrid’ is derived from the Welsh word for ‘shiver,’ an apt name for a place steeped in chilling mythology.

Natalya Smith

The Galleries of Justice

[dropcap]V[/dropcap]oted the most haunted building in the UK, The Galleries of Justice in Nottingham is the perfect place to go for a scary day out.

Based at Nottingham’s old courthouse and gaol, the museum is the previous home of the Sheriff of Nottingham and so has lots of connections with the legend of Robin Hood, and Nottingham’s grisly criminal past.

Providing a tour of Nottingham’s criminal history, the museum contains lots of genuine, and sometimes gruesome artefacts that were used in the torturing of prisoners.  It is not simply your average museum though, but more of a day in a life experience of a prisoner! Be prepared to immerse yourself, with actors in period costume ready to scare you at every turn, and the opportunity to stand trial in the dock (and possibly do some acting!) before descending into the cells to explore over 300 years of crime and punishment. Down in the dungeon, you can learn about the severe punishments prisoners were subjected to as well as stepping inside real and replica prison cells, from the Victorian era to the present day. To make your visit even more realistic, you can also stand in the courtyard where prisoners were hanged.

If that isn’t spooky enough for you, the museum also runs special “Terror Tours”, where you can visit the most scary prison cells which are not usually open to the public, and ghosts have been supposedly been seen there as recently as 2014. There is also a Robin Hood tour, where you can see the famous outlaw being put on trial, as well as Murder Mystery nights.

Down in the dungeon, you can learn about the severe punishments prisoners were subjected to as well as stepping inside real and replica prison cells

Nottingham isn’t too far away from Warwick either, so if you fancy seeing how scared you can get I would recommend a trip!

Nicola Paling