The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Ghoulish goings on could be added to Arbroath’s story
Plans are progressing for a spooky walking tour of Arbroath.
The one-off Halloween Fish Witch Walk could feature a cast including an evil butcher, a fishwife, a lighthouse keeper and a smuggler.
Jean Stewart from Arbroath is applying for funding for the familyfriendly walk.
She said she was responding to concerns that the town didn’t offer the kind of guided tours that have become popular in Dundee.
“We have got such a lot to show off that it should be a given that we do entertain visitors and locals alike,” she added.
“A few of us had a meeting and I have applied for funding as the Fish Witch Walk would require an entertainment licence.
“If it does happen then perhaps it shows that next year a group could be set up to at least make it a regular summer event, taking in the harbour to the Abbey where the real history is.”
She said there hadn’t been enough time to organise a detailed historical walk so the Halloween event would be more of a familyfriendly “ghostly trip” along the streets with spooks appearing here and there.
Mrs Stewart is trying to get locals on board to give ideas or provide help, and momentum is gathering.
Arbroath has a history of ghostly legends, including renowned myths relating to its world-famous abbey and St Vigeans Church.
The sound of religious chanting is said to have been heard emanating from within the grounds of the abbey and ghostly apparitions have been reported.
In the 18th Century, residents of St Vigeans believed there was a loch under the 40ft mound on which the church stands and that a kelpie lived there.
It was rumoured the man who built the church captured the horse and put it to work dragging large stones up the hill but on being rescued from its labours, the beast harboured a resentment against its captor and set a curse upon the church.