Discover the terrifying delights of Nottingham, from a hidden network of caves to an old pub known for its ‘paranormal’ activity

We unlock the heavy iron gate and descend. The temperature drops and the distant chatter of voices above ground fades.

Suddenly my guide comes to a stop. “This is Mortimer’s Hole – a place that changed the course of British history,” says Keri Usherwood, pinpointing where Sir Roger Mortimer was dragged from his bedroom and locked in the cave cells beneath Nottingham Castle in 1330. Edward III committed the coup. etat against his mother, Isabella of France, and her lover ‘gentle Mortimer’, hanged at Tyburn in London.

The castle later played a crucial role in the English Civil War when King Charles I raised his royal standard in 1642, only to find that Nottingham was a hotbed of parliamentary sympathizers.

The tunnels of the Norman castle feel eerie, but I discover that the entire city, founded by the Anglo-Saxons, is built on sandstone bedrock, leaving a labyrinthine system of 800 man-made caves beneath the modern city. Stories of its use as makeshift prisons and torture chambers lurk in the darkest corners.

“Rebellious Nottingham has many dark stories,” says Keri. ‘From Robin Hood to the Lace Market Luddites of the 19th-century textile trade, these stories help us understand our place in today’s world.’

A bird’s eye view of Nottingham and its castle. The city ‘is built on a sandstone bedrock, leaving a labyrinthine system of 800 man-made caves beneath the modern city,’ reveals David

Enter if you dare: David tours Mortimer’s Hole (pictured), which lies beneath Nottingham Castle. It has a “creepy” feel to it, he says

The dark side of the city’s history is also well represented at the National Justice Museum, said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. It houses the HM Prison Service collection. The building, originally the 1375 Shire Hall in Nottingham, has been used as a court, prison and police station.

Evening tours for Halloween focus on the building’s dark legacy as the former County Gaol of Nottingham, including the story of William Saville, who slit the throats of his wife and three children in 1844. When he was hanged, the crowd was so large that there were also twelve spectators. died in love for a view.

Exhibitions range from the Victoria courtroom to oubliettes, medieval dungeons where people were simply left to die. The story of the transport tells how approximately 162,000 people were sent to Australia’s penal colonies between 1787 and 1868.

David says the ‘creepiest’ place in Nottingham is Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, an old pub built into the cliff top of the castle

David visits the National Justice Museum, which is ‘said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain’

Murder was punishable by execution. The training ground, where condemned prisoners were buried in quicklime, illustrates human tragedy with wall-mounted memorials telling their fate.

But the creepiest place in Nottingham is an old pub. Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem dates back to 1189 and was a stopping point for pilgrims seeking refreshment, built into the castle cliff. In the Rock Lounge with a pint of Olde Trip quite bitter, I am joined by landlord Karl Gibson, who has experienced paranormal activity since taking over in 2012. ‘I’ve come to respect the history of both the pub and the town. ‘ says Karel. “When I’m here alone, I feel like these walls are telling me something.”

The crowning glory of the ghostbusters is the Cursed Galleon, which was used by an old sailor to pay his bar bill. It sits atop the top beam in a glass case and comes with a warning: clean the fabric-encrusted wooden model of a ship and you’ll meet a terrible end. I’m going to relax and drink my pint. Sir Roger Mortimer may not have survived a trip to Nottingham, but I’d like to get home alive.