GHOULISH goings-on during the York’s most spine-chilling festival will include an attempt to break the world record for the biggest-ghost vigil.

The city’s sixth annual Ghost Festival starts next Saturday, coming to a climax on Hallowe’en, when organisers hope more than 800 people will descend on the Eye Of York at the foot of Clifford’s Tower to listen out for signs of spooky activity.

Celebrity astrology Jonathan Cainer will be hosting the adult-only event, which will also feature ghost stories, mediums and a giant screen showing live footage from various haunted venues across the city.

These include the Golden Fleece pub, in Pavement; Haunted, Mr Cainer’s haunted house in Stonegate, which is open to the public; and the Treasurer’s House, in Minster Yard.

Mr Cainer said: “We think Derby holds the record for the world’s biggest ghost vigil and they managed to get 800 people together, so if we get any more than that we will have done it.

“It will be a celebration of Samhain – the ancient pagan festival of the ancestors – and we will be inviting the ghosts and spirits of York to join us.

“The Eye Of York is famously nasty. They did hangings there and it’s also a place where witches were persecuted.”

The official vigil will take place at 9.30pm, but the event will run from 7.30pm to 10pm.

Entry is free, but donations are invited in aid of the Inspiration Foundation’s Stables Project in York, which supports young people who have difficulty fitting into mainstream education.

Other events going on during the eight-day festival include a haunted treasure hunt, which will run from October 24 to November 1.

Participants can choose between a West Walk, starting at Micklegate Bar, or an East Walk, starting at Haunted, in Stonegate, and are invited to follow a trail through the city. Everybody who completes the trail is invited to enter a prize draw to win some Halloween treats.

Meanwhile, four members of the York-based Paranormal & Spectral Investigations have agreed to take part in solo ghost vigils on October 24. They will each spend the night alone in different rooms at Haunted, in Stonegate, with members of the public invited to watch events unfold via a live webcam at hauntedhouseyork.co.uk If you are holding a ghost vigil on Hallowe’en and would like it to be broadcast live on the public screen at the Eye Of York, phone Lucy on 07855 444069.