A taste of the macabre is set to shroud the city this Halloween season with the return of the Vile and Horrible History Norwich Walking Tours.

The popular walks, which have in previous years been sell-outs, start this Saturday 21 October and run until Tuesday 31 October.

The lamp lit tours outline the gruesome underbelly of life in ‘olde Norwych’ with tales of malevolence witches, dragons, ghosts, murders, and executions which have permeated the historic streets and alleyways of the city for centuries.

The eerie tales, told by Norwich Tourist Information Centre cloaked guides, will reveal all manner of haunting historical facts including what lies behind the names of modern day city streets and the location of the most ghostly pub.

David Smith, tourism support officer, said: “The gruesome facts told on the tour are unfortunately real – such as the tale of Father Tunstall who was hung drawn and quartered for his religious beliefs in the 17th century, and whose ghostly figure has been sighted in the aptly-named Tombland.”

“The tour also touches on the great floods of 1878 and 1912, the duckings on Fye Bridge and the gruesome living conditions in the Norwich ‘Yards’”.

The tour has been suitably adapted for the children’s walks which take place in the afternoon as dusk is falling at 4.00 pm. The adult tours are conducted in the evening at 6.00 pm.

For more information and tickets, get in touch with the Norwich Tourist Information Centre, Telephone 01603 213999 or book online: www.thenorwichshop.co.uk