FOLLOWING a visit earlier in the year Richard Felix of TV’s Most Haunted has fallen in love with Launceston and the surrounding area’s history and has vowed to return with an aim of setting up a ghost walk.

Richard told the Post: “Launceston is fascinating. I have probably passed through it before and never realised what rich history I was missing out on. It is the historic capital of Cornwall and is where many executions happened as there was a prison in the castle. Notably George Fox was imprisoned in the castle — it’s really a very impressive history.”

Richard said he had planned to put Launceston on the map by setting up a ghost walk, as he has back home in Derby, putting the town on the map. However, following management changes the original plans were put on hold but Richard has not given up hope: “I want to find another haunted pub in the town for my ghost walk. If anyone knows of one that would be great!”

Richard said local history was at the forefront of his ghost walks and local venues, like pubs, are integral to encourage people to take an interest in the town they live in. He said: “I am the chairman of Derby tourism. We wanted to find something that would bring people to Derby and so we set up a ghost walk which incorporated the history of the town, with a stop off at the local pub for refreshments, and engaged people with its stories — that is something I am passionate about, we don’t teach local history in local schools and I think it’s such a shame, we really should be. If people knew what their local town, village or city had to offer they would preserve and promote it.

“In Cornwall people don’t come for the sun, they come for the history, and you have it in bounds, as I found out when I did my Ghosts of Cornwall DVD.”

Richard has made more than 50 DVDs about ghosts around the country including 37 counties but says he still has more to do: “When researching for Ghosts of Cornwall I hate to say Launceston didn’t come up — hence the fact I missed it. But, I have to say Launceston is incredible — you have a churchyard that is ‘haunted’, and as I find out more I am thrilled to bits to discover places like Riverside and the council have been so keen to help me find places, which is wonderful. Thank you also to the councillor [Brian Hogan] who took me along to the museum, and what a wonderful museum it is.”

Richard said he never knows what he will find whilst researching a town and was astonished by one artefact tucked away in Lawrence House Museum: “Low and behold, what did I find in the museum — a screaming skull!”

The portion of cranium, listed as ‘The Screaming Skull of Tresmarrow’, is certainly an interesting find and Richard was thrilled. Richard said he had been stunned to find such an object and was keen to incorporate it in his ghost walk.

“The skulls are usually found in stately homes and the like so to have one preserved in a museum is very interesting. Legend has it that if you remove the skull from the premises misfortune will befall the family, crops will fail and the animals will die in the fields — the skulls are often heard to scream when they are not in the house so people will bring them back inside.

“There are numerous examples across the country. Often they were parliamentary soldiers who were killed and kept in the house of the guy who killed them, like a trophy. One story tells of how one of these skulls was taken out of the house and it could still be heard screaming from the barn.”

Richard said the skull would make a great feature on his walk, but he still needs to find a premises to be the starting point for the walk.

Until then, Richard is working with Karin Beasant and Colin Symonds of ‘Ghosts of Launceston’ paranormal team and will host a special interactive dinner and talk at Jamaica Inn on November 16.

For more information visit the Ghosts of Launceston Facebook page.