Meg Shelton the witch is cast out to The Reaper in this scary scene

Despite the awful rain and wind on Sunday, the ‘Spooky Halloween’ Event, held at the Avenham Park Pavilion and Miller Park, had a packed attendance and both parents and children alike got into the real spirit of the occasion. The parks staff had organised some fantastic scary craft making sessions in the Pavilion to delight one gathering of families, while another party went off with Orville Claude, ‘The Ghost Hunter’, in search lost spirits.

Park Ranger Trevor Atherton helps a little boy in making a witches broomstick

Park rangers and staff were on hand to help the kids in creating scary masks and witches broomsticks to take home with them for their Halloween parties and events. It would be fair to say that the Pavilion was filled with excited faces and lots of noise, and that was just the parents!

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The Ghost Walk, led by no other than the ‘Ghost Hunter’ Orville Claude himself with his hapless assistant miss Pendleton and accompanied by a musician who created an eerie atmosphere with his creepy violin sounds. From the onset, a tall ghoulish looking creature known as the Reaper beckoned the ghost seekers to the various places around the parks to where the spirits of lost souls told their individual tales of woe to hope for the chance of being either saved or being cast to the Reaper by the gathered ghost seekers.

The Ghost Hunter, Orville Claude tells everyone of the spooky things to come during the journey

Actor Graham Easterlow, who played Orville Claude with two very delighted little girls, Chloe and Sophie

Along the way through Miller Park, ghosts were to be found lurking in dark places, all with a strange and creepy story to tell of how they led their miserable lives and met with unfortunate endings but still clinging on as wandering spirits in the hope of salvation. It was up to the children and adults to decide their fate.

The forty minute journey culminated in an encounter with Meg Shelton, a renowned and notorious local witch from the seventeenth century.  Meg was known as the “Fylde Hag” and apparently got up to all sorts of mischief – stealing the milk from other people’s cattle, transforming herself into animals and such. Alas, after pleading her case, was still cast out to the Reaper.

The entire event was a superb mixture of scary stories, creepy ghosts and hilarious humour, most of which was down to the natural elements of the prevailing weather creating havoc with both props and actors. The professionalism of the actors was to be admired in the way they handled the troublesome weather and its antics.
It was very obvious that the kids and adults alike thoroughly enjoyed the day’s events and both the Wooden Spoons Theatre and the Avenham Parks staff, are deserving of every credit in creating such a fabulous day for the Halloween season.

The slideshow below, from Gill Lawson’s Flickr Photostream, shows a selection of images taken on the day of the Spooky Sunday Event.

Did you go to this event at Avenham Park on Sunday, if so, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments section below.