The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Horror convention organisers hope to put city on spooky map
TOURISM: Fans of the paranormal expected to flock to Perth for packed programme of scary sessions and torchlit tours
Visitors will be invited to delve into the Fair City’s dark side this weekend as Perth hosts a horror convention.
Fans of phantoms, possession and paranormal phenomena are expected to flock to the city to take part in a packed programme of activities.
It is the first gathering of its kind in Perth and organisers hope to make it an annual event.
Sessions began yesterday, with spooky torchlit tours beneath the grounds of Perth Museum.
Lynne and Gary Knight, of the History And Horror Of Scotland magazine, have lined up a talk by Ron Halliday, a UFO researcher and author, who will speak about a series of paranormal events that took place in Scotland in the 1970s and 1980s.
Presentations will focus on topics
We want to make this an annual event, and don’t see why we can’t make it as exciting as the ghost tours of Edinburgh which pull in thousands of tourists. LYNNE KNIGHT
such as possession and exorcism and various workshops will be held throughout the weekend.
Mrs Knight said organisers wanted to put Perth on the paranormal map and open up a whole new market for tourism.
“Perth has an amazing history, and with history you usually get a lot of paranormal things that have taken place,” she said.
“We will have workshops looking at people’s psychic abilities, we will hold a séance, and we will also discuss local witchcraft that took place in days gone by.”
Mrs Knight and her team have also assembled a collection of items that will be on show during the festival, including a severed pirate’s hand.
She said: “The story goes that if you light a candle and put it beside the hand in a house, all those who sleep there will sleep as long as it takes for the candle to burn out.
“The festival will also include us conducting a tour of the County Hotel as we’ve been told there is a ghost there.”
She continued: “We want to make this an annual event, and don’t see why we can’t make it as exciting as the ghost tours of Edinburgh which pull in thousands of tourists.”
Most events are taking place at the County Hotel in the Fair City.
Entry costs £5 a day, with an additional cost for some of the talks.
For more information, email historyandhorrortours@hotmail.com
preoch@thecourier.co.uk