Dark Tales of York

At Kings Manor this tiny window used to be the outflow of a garderobe (a medieval toilet). It is said that Henry VIII was too fat to get into it (well he was over 20 stone).
When Henry visited York, he was constipated for two weeks.

Another nice review.
It's always nice to get good feedback.

History is full of unpleasant things.

The Black Death hit the country hard, from the thousands that died in London to the Plague Village of Eyam – whose townfolk sacrificed themselves to prevent the spread of the plague.

York, unfortunately, did not go untouched and was also infected with the plague.
York could not escape the northwards onslaught, first succumbing to the Black Death in May 1349.

The closely built dwellings and crowded lodgings, with little hygiene and no sanitation all helped the plague’s spread.

The city lost over half its population of around 15,000; it is thought up to 10,000 may have succumbed to the fatal disease.

The plague re-visited York many times including, 1361, 1369, 1375, 1378 and 1390 and, in 1604, 3,512 people died from the plague, a third of the cities population.

Many pubs in York are more connected to ex*****ons than most would like to think.
The Three Legged Mare is named after York's main Gallows but less well known is the Rook and Gaskill.
Messrs Rook and Gaskill were hanged on the 1st May 1676 for sheep rustling.
Their bodies are buried in St Johns church yard.
*****on

My favourite review of January, so far.

Wishing you all a happy new year!!

So that's it, no tours for the next two days. It will be a different kind of spirits I'll be spending time with tonight. 😉
Wishing everyone a merry Christmas from Dark Tales of York. 💀

TOURISTS who come to York are sometimes told that the city had 52 churches, one for every Sunday of the year. But this is an urban myth.
There were around 40 churches, 8 monasteries and friaries, and countless chapels and chantries?
19 medieval churches are still in use today.
Pictured below are St Wilfred's, All Saints Pavement, St Helen's and another All Saints on North Street.

The two signatues of Guy, or Guido as he chose to call himself, both before and after he was tortured.
He was placed in handcuffs and hung from the wall, then eventually put on the dreaded rack.
You can see the effect on his penmanship.
He was then sentenced to be hung drawn and quartered. The person due to executed would be dragged to the site of ex*****on, then they would be hanged (but not until dead) and would be pulled down while still alive to be cut open to have body parts removed. They would then have their head and limbs hacked off.
Guys head was placed on a spike and his body parts were then distributed to "the four corners of the kingdom", to be displayed as a warning to other would-be traitors.

Wishing you all a happy and safe bonfire night from the birthplace of Guy Fawkes.
Remember, remember the 5th of November. 🔥

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃

Sorry for the technical issues tonight. I hope people enjoyed it anyway.

Here is my PayPal link 👇. If you feel like making a small donation.

Pay Nigel Walker using PayPal.Me Go to PayPal.Me/darktalesyork and enter the amount. It's safer and more secure. Don't have a PayPal account? No problem.

How I feel today.

York is a beautiful city with a dark past.
Having survived the Viking invasion, the Norman conquest, the plague, and the Civil War, it has seen a lot of bloodshed and death.
Come for a walk and let your guide tell you its dark tales. 💀

Bones found on the Shambles. Well they were digging near an old church and you're never far from the dead here in York with an estimated 500,000 skeletons buried beneath the city streets.
It's no wonder we're known as the most haunted city in Europe. 👻

https://yorkmix.com/bones-found-on-shambles-work-halted/?fbclid=IwAR01qAh0123qBuj2jxP7T3fU52fyyJvAm-fjyiWlBRJW3KKuJhym1S5Lc4I

Bones found on Shambles – Work delayed  

I was in the Black Swan Inn a while ago and I saw the chandelier rocking. No one was near by and there wasn't a window open close by. It kept rocking for a long time too so I went over for a closer look and it was still rocking for about 30 mins.

October is not so far away. Why not book a private ghost tour of York?

Happy Yorkshire day.

https://youtu.be/A-ZSWYjNKHY

Dark Tales of York: The Barghest.

https://youtube.com/shorts/waKV-cUyiUk?feature=share

Dark Tales of York. dark-tales-of-york_j5kfx9fi_u4cA.mp4

Its been a while but I was thinking of doing another online tour. Would anyone be interested? 💀

Since I'm away from York I thought I'd post something about somewhere else.
Whitby is also famous for its Ghosts. 👻
The ghost of St Hilda is rumoured to roam the Abbey, where she peeks from one of the highest windows. She is mentioned in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Another famous ghost is that of Constance de Beverley, a nun who dared to break her vows of chastity and who was bricked up alive inside the Abbey walls, similar to the ghost of the Grey Lady in York. 💀

On this day in 1322, Sir Roger De Clifford was hung in chains from the walls of York Castle for his rebellion against Edward II.
*****on

On this day one of the worst anti-Semitic massacres of the Middle Ages took place in York in the year 1190. The city’s entire Jewish community was trapped by an angry mob inside the tower of York Castle. Many members of the community chose to commit su***de rather than be murdered or forcibly baptised by the attackers.
150 men women and children died that day and we commemorate them each year.
Reddish stains that appear on the stone have been called the blood of the Jews.
Visitors and staff have reported strange noises over the years and electrical equipment often malfunctions in there.

Here's hoping that 2023 will be good to us all.