UNIVERSITY lecturer Darren Oldridge is set to spend four hours overnight in Worcester’s haunted Commandery museum as part of a research project.
The Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Worcester will stay at the reputedly haunted building to understand people’s interpretations of spooky experiences.
He said: “Whatever happens on the night, I want to put it in the context of people’s perceptions of the supernatural, past and present.”
He hopes to understand how this sense of ‘spooky’ can then change over time.
The Commandery enlightens visitors about Worcester’s role in the English Civil War and was chosen for its renowned reputation for ghostly encounters.
After his night alone, Prof Oldridge is set to give a talk about his experiences and other ghostly encounters from the 17th century back at the Commandery on September 15.
He said: “I’ll be talking about the various ways people have made sense of spooky encounters – hearing voices, seeing appearances of the dead, all of these things. It’s been going on for a long time, and it’s been understood in all sorts of different ways.
“The talk is also a way of bringing to life a strange and fascinating aspect of history.”
Visit museumsworcestershire.org.uk/events/midnight/ to buy tickets for the talk.
