“IF the door’s open, you can go through it; if the door’s shut, you can’t.”
Our burly tour guide scans the sea of faces lined against the wall of the prison gatehouse.
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In full prison officer attire, he was born for the role: It’s really happening – we’re spending a night behind bars.
I am here for a sleepover at one of Britain’s most haunted prisons.
Shrewsbury Prison in Shropshire runs a £69pp Night Behind Bars experience, locking up tourists overnight and granting them (almost) unbridled access to the creepy cells and corridors after dark.
Staff open the gates just before 8pm, with a formal guided tour at 10pm and free-roaming until a 6am wake-up call.
Glancing around at the other guests — all clutching a jumbled assortment of thermal cameras, ouija boards, and sleeping bags — it’s clear people are loving it.
We are entering through the only remaining part of the original building, completed in 1793.
The atmosphere is immediately gloomy; the adjoining flat roof was a public execution site until 1868.
After this point, killings moved inside to a designated execution room, continuing until 1961.
The bodies were mostly scattered in unmarked graves beneath the courtyard we walk through.
First on the agenda, though, is unpacking for the night.
The prison allocates two guests per cell in A Wing, a multi-floor, unheated Victorian prison block complete with suicide nets and (now disconnected) individual-use toilets and sinks.
The rickety bunk beds have chunky blue mattresses with thin sheets — unlucky if you missed the memo to bring your own bedding.
A staff member stands with a clipboard, directing guests to assigned cells, clearly identifiable by their painted numbers.
It’s a quick set-up and dash back to the ground floor, where a restaurant serves casual grub, like chips and sandwiches, until 10pm.
Echoing voices from the ground floor signal the tour is due to begin.
Split into two groups, the guided experience is an immersive walk around the grounds, hearing ghost stories, getting your bearings for later, and brushing up on the jail’s gory history.
Our group trudges through shadowy exercise yards, piles into a holding cell in the processing unit, and peers down at the drop by the hangman’s noose.
But the highlight is C Wing, said to house three separate ghosts: the Grey Lady, a crying child, and Larry the Butcher.
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Our guide tells us that Larry was a particularly nasty character whose former cell is believed to be haunted.
“I won’t tell you which cell it is now, but if you really want to know, come and ask afterwards,” the guide had told us.
Of course, with the green flag to explore, I immediately headed back.
Perhaps it is a woman’s intuition, or maybe it is just by complete chance, but standing outside cell block ten, a shudder runs through my body.
Out of the entire row, even the Grey Lady’s, it is the only room I can’t bring myself to enter.
Afterwards, I check which cell had been Larry’s, and sure enough, it had been number ten.
I secretly cross my fingers and hope that the girl with the large Ouija board isn’t staying near my room tonight; Shrewsbury Prison definitely feels haunted.
The guided experience perfectly sets the stage for overnight free-for-all exploration.
“We do get some people who go the whole night without going to their cells”, the guide laughs.
‘SAFETY IN NUMBERS’
The “go through every door that opens” policy provides insight into prisons that few receive.
The self-directed learning experience is both fascinating and terrifying in equal measure.
The more serious ghost hunters bring their own equipment, while the meekest guests tiptoe around with the protective blanket of safety in numbers.
C Wing easily attracts the most attention during my visit, while A Wing features historical exhibits in converted cells — including a row depicting the evolution of prisoner accommodation.
The 6am wake-up call comes abruptly.
The window latch opens, the guard bangs on the door, and peeking out, sleepy-eyed guests shuffle down to receive their breakfast.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
What better way to finish a stay in a Victorian prison than with porridge?
GO: SHREWSBURY
STAYING THERE: Night Behind Bars experience, 8pm to 8am, from £69pp.
Also on offer, Escape Room activities, self-guided tours from £15pp.
See shrewsburyprison.com.
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