Silly headline found in the Coventry Telegraph newspaper online -
"Tourists on Coventry ghost walk frozen in shock when apparition appears"
Slight exaggeration maybe?
This is a trivial sensationalistic article at best, a non-story by the press and made up stories by the ghost group too. But it made me smile nonetheless. Just goes to show, sometimes it's all make believe!! For entertainment purposes only!
The bookstore owner sounded a bit peed off.
Personally, all paranormal stories without good evidence should be taken with a pince of salt. Whether they were told just now or generations ago.
"Coventry Spookhunters Ghostwalk - Quoted by Coventry Telegraph
Tourists on a ghost walk of Coventry were frozen in shock when an ashen face appeared above them in the window of a reputedly-haunted old shop. But they got an even bigger fright when the apparition flung it open and told them the story was hocus pocus. (Sorry to be pedantic but, no magic there)
For the “presence” was none other than Gosford Books’ proprietor Rob Gill who had been eavesdropping in amazement as the tour guide gave his spiel. When he heard him tell the party that the shop owners had been spooked by child poltergeists rearranging books Gill decided enough was enough and turned 'ghostbuster' (eyeroll).
Flinging open the upstairs window he shouted “That’s completely untrue! You’re making it up.”
The ghost story then took on an element of panto as tour guide Dave Eaves dressed in Victorian cloak and top hat, replied “Oh, no, we’re not!” But by then Gill had gone as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving the tourists wondering whether they’d just witnessed an adult poltergeist up to mischief. (Yeh right..)
Red Button can assure them that Gill is real (never?) and has run the shop, which is also his home, for 36 years, without spotting a spook. He may have sold a few ghost-written books at the Gosford Street shop, which was built in 1860, but that’s about all. Spook Hunters’ operator Dave Eaves is unrepentant though, and has evoked the spirit of his youth as evidence.
“The story has it that it was haunted by children who would put piles of books in aisles. I first heard it when I was a biology student 22 years ago at Coventry University,” he said. “A lot of our ghost stories are built around these old stories,” Neighbouring properties, one of which used to be a butcher and slaughterhouse, are also well-known haunts, he insists. It’s unlikely that the highly sceptical Gill will take up the challenge offered by another Spook Hunters service: “the chance to investigate the truth behind many haunted locations.”
The bookseller says it’s his stock in trade to separate fact from fiction and the ghost story belongs in the latter category".
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| Rob Gill
This news article seems to be hitting a raw nerve amongst certain members of the paranormal community.
Do you remember when I expressed concern about so called, `Ghost walks` simply making it all up as they go along? And remember how I said that these lies were adversely affecting the ghostly history of locations? Well here such a `Ghost Guide` was called out by the resident of a property that the tour stopped at. To me, these brazen peddlers of untruths could actually be committing criminal deception because they are lying to paying tourists who genuinely think their tales to be real. Would they have consented to the walk if they knew or felt the stories to be questionable? Of course not. Add these people to newspaper reports, television and radio, and what you have is nothing, absolutely nothing, but very damaging to those like you who want the paranormal treated on an equal platform. These people bring nothing but contempt and scorn.
- Chris Halton
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