A NEW festival is hoping to uncover some of the spookier sides of Launceston as it explores the area’s ghostly tales.

The start of this year’s Easter holidays will see Launceston host the first ever Cornwall Festival of Ghost Stories. The brainchild of two locals, Lawrence Patrick McNeela, and Emily Partridge, owner of Black Cat Books, the event is named after the Kernowek translation of ‘phantom’: Tarosvan,

Visitors are set to be given an insight into some of Launceston’s spooky stories and haunted houses, with walking tours, author talks and even a live ghost hunt planned for the inaugural festival.

Emily and Lawrence were inspired to create the festival following their own ghostly experiences.

Emily explained: "I grew up in a haunted house in a little village on Dartmoor. When I was a little girl, I used to hear crying and footsteps and see things. To be honest, it terrified me at the time! But as I grew up, I started to realise how exciting this all was and I've been fascinated by the paranormal ever since."

Lawrence added: "My own introduction to the spooky side of things came much later in life, although Dartmoor was also the setting. I used to own a pub there, one haunted by a very noisy female ghost!”

The festival will begin on Friday, March 27, with an evening ghost tour. The next day, there will be author events at Black Cat Books with novelist Martin Best, and Lawrence, who is set to launch his own collection of Launceston’s true ghost stories; while in the evening, the live ghost hunt kicks off at the White Hart Hotel.

On Sunday, March 29, professional paranormal investigator Karin Beasant will appear at the Bell Inn to talk about spooky goings-on at Jamaica Inn. Followed by local folklorist Ethan Pennel sharing ghost stories true and mythical.

“Launceston has an incredible history and it's filled to the brim with ghost stories. Virtually every building in the old town centre is haunted,” said Lawrence. “This really sets the town apart from other places in the region. It's the haunted capital of Cornwall.”

However, Emily also believes that the event will benefit local businesses, she said: “Which is perfect from a business point of view because we need something to hang on to, not being coastal. We decided to make the most of our town's unique spooky heritage in the hope of attracting more visitors.

“We’re not looking to make lots of money from this, which is one of the reasons why the events are so keenly priced, but we’d love to show people how great the town is.”

The pair hope that the Tarosvan festival will showcase Launceston in a positive way to locals and tourists alike, with hopes to run the event throughout the year.

Emily explained: "We're hoping to run Tarosvan throughout the year, with more spooktacular events planned for midsummer and Halloween. If anyone wants to contribute in some way, whether that's storytellers, musicians, local writers, then it'll be great to hear from you."