Simon Kurt Unsworth, horror writer, reveals to Spooky Isles the inspiration and spooky stories behind his Kendal Ghost Walks in Cumbria
SPOOKY ISLES: What inspired you to start the Kendal Ghost Walks, and how does your background as a horror writer play a role in the stories you share?
SIMON KURT ONVALUE: It’s something my wife and I have been talking about for literally years, so last year we (and by “we” I mean Rosie, the aforementioned woman who is the business brains behind the venture and certainly its driving force) decided that the time was right for us.
As for the walk itself, I write and deliver the content (although we still have a ghost on call for busy times), and of course my writing experience has helped me create what I hope is a spooky hour.
However, a greater influence had the history of Kendal itself. By day I am a heritage officer for the council, so my work involved a lot of storytelling and oral history. I simply combined that with the supernatural elements – helped immensely by the fact that Kendal has some good ghosts and a pub that is one of, if not the, most haunted in Britain – and we had a ghost walk.
Can you give us a taste of the dark history of Kendal that participants will learn about during the walk?
You can learn about the angel who appeared at the Angel Inn, the death of poor cop James Fawcett and his last, terrible sounds, why Howard Summervell was followed by all kinds of ghosts for most of his adult life and why life in Kendal’s Yards was so bad. , very difficult…
You say the ghost tour ends in one of Britain’s most haunted pubs – which is it? Can you share a particularly chilling story or experience from that location?
It’s the Ring o’ Bells, the only pub in Britain set on hallowed ground. This used to be the building where the dead were laid out before burial in the adjoining parish church, and the room where the bodies lay is still in use. There is video on YouTube of glasses sliding untouched across tablesand in the cellars is a room that people with any sensibility will not enter, the room from which a ghost hunt participant fled screaming one night and then refused to even enter the building. I did some research and discovered that a previous landlord had the same name as the one that keeps coming up during séances at the pub, and then I found what I think is a photo of her, taken about four years after her death.
As a horror writer, do you ever draw inspiration from the ghost stories you share during the walks for your own writing?
Yes – I like to base my stuff as strongly as possible on real geographies and histories, so knowing these things about Kendal inevitably gets distorted and mixed with my own stuff. I think telling oral history, which I do as part of my day job, teaches you how to present real life in a way that is (hopefully!) interesting and engaging and those skills can be turned into fictional stories. The novel I’m writing has certainly used the geographies and stories of Kendal and a few other places I know well to create a (again, hopefully!) realistic town in which terrible things happen. .
What has been the local community’s response to the Kendal Ghost Walks? Have you encountered any surprising or memorable responses from participants?
The Ring o Bells supported us from the very beginning when we went to talk to them to see if they were okay with us ending the walk there and took it to their hearts and it has become our regular watering hole, and community in overall was really supportive and positive.
We get the occasional negative comment on the FB page, but it’s usually the ‘ghosts don’t exist’ type. We have plans to extend and improve the existing and developing walks and everyone who has been involved in the discussions about this has been great and positive too. We only started last year so we’re still trying to get our feed up and running, but we already have bookings for 2025 so we must be doing something right. A group of local guides booked us for a Halloween walk, so word is definitely getting around, which is great from our perspective!
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal during the walks? If so, can you tell us about one of those moments?
Unfortunately not, but I live in hope.
What do you enjoy most about leading the Kendal Ghost Walks? Is there a particular story or location that you always look forward to sharing?
I’m not an actor so I find the moments before I start talking nerve-wracking, but then I remember that I’m used to talking to groups of people and that I like the sound of my own voice and I tend to calm down and start enjoying myself. There are a few points during the walk where I involve the audience in the story, letting them close their eyes and imagine things, and those moments are always a lot of fun. One of the stops is Kendal Town Hall and I like to tell that story because I work there too, and I like the ending because I get to have a drink in the Ring!
For those interested in taking part in a Kendal Ghost Walk, what’s the best way to reserve a place and do you have any tips for getting the most out of the experience?
You can find us here: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/55564
Come with an open mind, participate and you will have fun! and listen to the cows…
If you’re going to do the Kendal Ghost Walk, please tell us how it goes! (And if you do any other ghost walks around Britain and Ireland, please do tell us so we can add it to our Ghost Tour/Event Directory!)
