Otley: New ghost tour to reveal dark history from Yorkshire market town's past

There is the story of the market town's bone house, an infamous 'eye-licker' and the legend of the Wharfedale Widow, along with eerie tales from a long forgotten past.

Creative Daisy Lyons, of Turnip Fish Theatre Company, was brought up in the town and hopes to shine a light on its history.

"It's fascinating. I've learned a lot more about Otley, delving into its past," she said. "We like being scared. We love it. And we get to go to the pub after."

Ms Lyons worked for five years as a tour guide in York after university, with a focus on witchy history. She thought it might be time to explore the stories from her own hometown.

"There's so much history, I love being able to share it with people," she said. " I thought Otley must have so many stories, so I decided to do some digging.

"And actually there is so much, so many weird and wonderful stories that are a part of this area's history."

Some of the legends come from history books, others from local lore, and a good number have been shared over a pint at the Black Horse where Ms Lyons also works.

"Otley is quite 'up and coming' at the moment," she said. "It would be great to encourage more tourists to the town to enjoy it. And there's lots of pubs, of course.

"There are plenty of ghost stories. Some of my favourites are in the market square, about the people who used to work there."

Among the tales to feature in the walking tour is that of an 'eye-licker', who had a stall on market day and would be paid to 'lick cataracts' from people's eyes. Nearby would be the local dentist, accompanying howls as he was paid per tooth to carry out extractions.

Then there is the story of an old bone house on Kirkgate, which up until the year 1890 saw a small wooden shack where people could throw the bones and skulls of the dead, rising to the ground in the parish churchyard following a bout of heavy rain.

Also to feature in the hour-long tour are local legends, passed down by word of mouth, such as of a bet in one of the pubs that went wrong or eerie whispers from a moonlit graveyard.

One undeniably true tale is that of the navvies who built the nation's railways, with Otley home to the only memorial honouring the lives lost building the Bramhope Tunnel. These were mostly poor men, explained Ms Lyons, living in uncomfortable wooden shacks and working long shifts in dank, dark conditions.

"They were incredibly brave men," she said. "It was really dangerous."

The borough of Otley is thought to date to around 620AD, said Ms Lyons, and with it being older than either Leeds or Bradford there is a lot to explore.

The tour travels through the town centre, down to the river and back up again towards The Black Horse.

There are two tours each Saturday evening, for tickets, times and pricing, visit https://turnipfishtheatre.com/otley-ghost-tours.