This month it’s darker evenings, half-term and Halloween to look forward to…
says Melanie Cook of www.VisitNorwich.co.uk
The smell of damp hangs in the air, the streets eerily lit, and it’s unsettlingly quiet. As Norwich turns dark at the end of another busy day, Halloween is one of the biggest events of autumn and one that big and little kids alike love to celebrate.
For the first time Paul Dickson Tours brings us two dates to enjoy other people’s misery! Taking place on 29 and 31 October, join a Norwich On The Darkside walking tour (£7.50). Over 1 hour and 45 minutes, hear about Victorian murders and executions, grizzly tales of the plague and more. Paul explained; “The tour features a range of stories from the darker side of Norwich’s history. You can hear about what happened when the Witchfinder General came calling, and when James Blomfield Rush went on trial for the murder of Isaac Jermy. Then there are the poor unfortunates who were burned to death at Lollards Pit and others who spent their last night in the Guildhall undercroft and much more.”
Norwich Ghost Walks celebrate 25 years of ghoulish storytelling this year. For a quarter of a century, they have been thrilling visitors with real-life stories of gruesome goings-on, mysterious visitations and tragic events from antiquity on their unique tours of Norwich.
“Norwich Ghost Walks is the longest-running show in East Anglia, a fact we are really proud of. This year we celebrate 25 years of our famous street theatre tours.
Norwich has a fascinating history, and it’s important to us to keep its stories alive and to enquire; is there more than meets the eye of some of the city’s old buildings and cobbled streets? Our tours will take you to many famous places noted for their strange events. Experience, first-hand, the charm of this wonderful city, its beautiful buildings and its frightful history.
This year we have a new storyteller who has joined our team, meaning we are bringing back our annual Halloween Specials in Cow Tower Park which are always a lot of fun and quite scary!” The Silent Hand shared.
Witches are what legends are made of and Norwich – in fact East Anglia – has its fair share of stories. If you’re local to Norwich, you’ll probably know Fye Bridge where witches, prostitutes and nagging wives were put into the ducking stool in the early 1600’s.
East Anglia for many, many years was known for witches and the hunting of witches, due to the fame of Suffolk born self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins was responsible for seeking out and executing witches, both male and female, between 1644 – 1647. Using illegal methods for testing the accused witches such as ‘The Swimming Test’ (similar to the ducking stool but with death the inevitable outcome) and sleep deprivation. He could have been responsible for over 300 deaths during this period, far higher in fact than the collective number of witch-related deaths over four centuries.
Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” So why not use this Halloween as the reason to do a bit of research about the history and darker side of your ‘neck of the woods’ Find some inspiration from a true story to perhaps start a new hobby, like writing, maybe taking one of the mentioned tours here could give you some ideas.
Norwich, The City of Stories holds its own when it comes to all things literary: talent, writing and publishing. This year Norwich celebrates 10 years of being a UNESCO City of Literature. In those 10 years we have seen exciting work come out of the National Centre for Writing, the UEA and supporters of literature such as Norfolk & Norwich Festival. So I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention that the National Centre for Writing offers a fantastic array of online and in-person events, workshops, courses and advice about writing. According to goodereader.com, in 2021, book sales in the UK soared with over 212 million titles sold – the highest in a decade.
The National Centre for Writing is a fantastic place to get into writing or further develop something you’ve already started. Apparently, everyone has a book in them, though this well-known quote goes further by adding “but in most cases that’s where it should stay.” I say – let the National Centre for Writing help. They offer several free courses, so other than investing time and energy you can dip your toe into the water to see how it feels. And I’m certain it will feel good.
Peggy Hughes, Executive Director at National Centre for Writing, offers some wisdom and encouragement, “The National Centre for Writing is based at Dragon Hall, in the heart of England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, so all courses and events take place in a house and a city that’s full of stories. From the tips of our 15th century beams, to the depths of our undercroft, from our Victorian wallpaper to our 17th century witchmarks, we don’t doubt you’ll find as much inspiration in our building as in the writers you’ll encounter here! Whether you want to drop in for some quiet writing time, socialise with other writers, or commit to a course for several weeks or months, there’s something for everyone. (https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/)
We also invite you to help us celebrate Norwich’s rich history of storytelling with NCW’s ‘Rumour Has It’ series on Instagram. Have you heard on the grapevine a fact or a half-truth about a famous writer visiting the city? Maybe there’s absolutely no evidence this ever happened but you’re pretty sure it might have. We heard this month there’s a Halloween special featuring Charles Dickens who may-or may-not have attended a public hanging of a murderous convict at Norwich Castle on 21 April, 1849… If you’ve got a rumour you’d like to share, send it in to roisin@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk or pop along to the monthly Dragon Hall Social to slip your story in the rumour box anonymously.
And if you’re looking for more famous quotes from radical local thinkers, pick up one of NCW’s screen prints! Each one is hand-printed by Well Nice Prints, and all of the proceeds go towards supporting writers from the East of England whose voices are underrepresented on UK bookshelves.
Across the globe it seems we have a macabre fascination with witches, ghosts, vampires and gruesome stories which brings us to the celebration of Halloween today. I imagine most of us think very little about where it all derived from. However, it doesn’t all have to be grim and scary. If you want to be entertained by the lighter side of Halloween, then head to the outdoor screen at Whitlingham Country Park for a viewing of Hocus Pocus on Saturday 22 October for two showings (6pm and 9pm). Tickets will sell fast, so book as soon as possible.
The cost for a family ticket is £34 (2 adults, 2 kids), £14 for an adult and £9 per child.
Go to www.eventbrite.co.uk for full details.
Using your creative talent at Halloween is a far cry from the witch hunting activities of the 17th Century – thank goodness. At Anteros Arts, let your creative juices run wild with a lino cutting workshop where you will work on an A5 black and white linocut print. It takes place 26 October, 6pm-9.30pm and costs £40. You will learn to carve, ink and print by hand and you’ll leave with your Halloween themed carved lino block and several prints. Book at anterosfoundation.com/product-page/halloween-linocut-printing.
Incorporating half term, Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure has another fun packed 10 days of Halloween themed activities in 2022 for the little ones. This year with Dippy’s School of Witches and Wizards! See their website for further information.
Full details of everything mentioned here and loads more ideas can be found at www.visitnorwich.co.uk
