Lydiard Ghost Tales at Christmas

Lydiard Ghost Tales at Christmas comes to Lydiard House Museum on Friday 11 December, a storytelling session that leans into the darker side of the festive season. It's a bit of a revival of an old winter tradition: the organisers say it goes back thousands of years, rooted in ancient solstice celebrations when telling tales of heroes, monsters and the supernatural was a way to keep people entertained through the long, dark nights. The Victorians later added their own spin, tying ghost stories directly to Christmas, and that's the mood this one follows.

The stories themselves draw on spirits reported around Lydiard over the centuries. There's the grey-cowled figure of malevolence said to stalk the graveyard, the silent drummer, and Sir John St. John himself. It's not all old ghosts, though; the session also touches on the strange goings-on of Christmas 1944, when the grounds became 'Camp 160', a German prisoner-of-war hospital. So it's a mix of local folklore and a specific, wartime slice of the house's history.

It's aimed at ages 10 and over, so it's one you can bring the older kids along to rather than keeping it for adults only. Everyone gathers at the Lydiard House Museum entrance at the start time, and the session runs from 6pm to 7.30pm. Tickets are £12 per person, which includes an arrival drink to have in hand before the storytelling begins.