Tony Ghostwalker tells us about the ghoulish history of the city... and his beard.
It was 42 years ago that I first plaited my beard. It had grown a bit unruly and I kept catching it when I was doing close up soldering. The smell of burning hair is not the best aroma in the world. I think it’s a Nottingham thing; when you go around the country, no one else has plaited beards – and those that do have had them stuck on to work in films. It’s part of my identity – if you’ve got something that works, why change it? Also, if you shave your beard off, you can get really cold. It’s surprising how much it insulates you.
I frighten people for a living, which is great. I’m one of the Nottingham Ghostwalk actors around the city, but it’s not for small children. We warn parents that if they bring their children on our ghost walks, they’ll end up having to deal with the interesting questions afterwards. “Dad, what’s a knocking shop?” That sort of thing. I thought I knew about Nottingham’s history, but gosh, I’ve found out so much more since doing the walks. The city has tons of medieval history attached to it.
My name is actually Tony Ghostwalker on Facebook – it’s a public thing, like actors and musicians. I didn’t really want to be on social media, but I had to with this job. I just think it utterly dominates people’s lives, and makes you not have to concentrate very hard. I’m probably going to have a bazillion friend requests when this goes out! Or not, depending on how it goes.
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