Dorchester Ghost Walks has just completed its 25th year of entertaining residents and visitors alike.

Town crier Alistair Chisholm and Chris Gallarus, who lead the popular trial, are taking a winter break until Easter 2022 after sharing a number of spooky tales at various venues across the town.

Chris tells us that Alistair started the ghost walks 25 years ago because they were starting to pop up in other places and with Dorchester's rich history, it made the perfect place for a ghost walk.

He said: "It's not done in a way to scare people, that's not the idea, as you can go on some where they have people jumping out at you, that's not our ethos - it's to inform and it introduces people to the town. Even some locals as they say, 'I never knew this was here', or they find out stories behind places."

Chris got involved in the ghost walks around six to seven years ago.

He added: "Alistair knew I had done a degree in theatre and performance. He asked me one day if I could do a ghost walk for him because he was going to be unavailable, so I went along to one and he gave me some of the stories. I went the next week and led the walk and I have been hooked ever since.

"It's the most enjoyable thing I do because I think telling stories like that is how education started, storytelling is the oldest artform.

"People engage with it, people love it, and I've had people tell me they love it because you're not glued to a screen, you get a bit of exercise and you learn something about the local history and folklore, which is what it's all about."

The walk takes around 90 minutes and starts at the Kings Arms.

"We don't cover a quarter of the town because there are so many stories to cover and to cover the whole town would take three to four hours," Chris said.

They also attract people from all over the world, including Hawaii and Australia.

Chris added: "The good thing about it is it encourages people to come back and visit the town again.

"Dorchester is not a shopping destination really, so both Alistair and I feel the town need to make the most of the history and heritage we've got. It should be a destination people come to because of its history."

To keep up to date with when Dorchester Ghost Walks resume, follow it on Facebook.

Visit dorchesterghostwalk.co.uk for more information.

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