Scarily rare ending to a busy and spooky day

Sep 10 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

JOHN STONE is director of the Liverpool-based Shiverpool ghost tours. He and his sister Alex set up the nationally acclaimed Shiverpool back in 2005 from a back room in their house.

The tours have gone on to prove a huge success and the recently launched Auld City Shivers looks to be the scariest yet. This was his day:

7.15am: I am woken by my alarm clock. It was quite a late night as another busy Hope Street tour came to an end around 10pm. Unfortunately, I always skip breakfast which leads me to snacking later in the morning. It is a habit I have promised to get myself out of by the time I hit 30.

7.45am: I set off from my home near Sefton Park for another extremely busy day in our Albert Dock office, on the road and later tonight, on the streets surrounding the business district. We are catering for a huge corporate event tonight so there are a few last minute preparations that still need to take place.

We are seeing more and more corporate businesses coming on the tours. We are finding that more and more people are looking for something different to do after work, and we certainly provide that!

9.30am: After crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘i’s with regards to recent tour requests, I am now going to see Alex for a meeting with a large firm of solicitors who want us to work alongside them to run their Halloween corporate event. They will be inviting many of their clients, so we have to make sure everything will be perfect.

11am: After a quick snack, it is back to the office to catch up on my emails. One of the great things about doing my job is the amount of positive comments we receive from people who have been on the tours. Everyone walks away with huge smiles on their faces . . . if they survive, that is.

2pm: After a download with the ever-growing Shiverpool team (we now employ up to 20 actors, all of whom have been educated at the local universities) about tonight’s activities and schedule, there is more planning to be done for this weekend’s tours, which are sold completely out. Once again I have skipped lunch so it’s another sandwich and chocolate bar meal for me. Hopefully it will see me through my tenants’ meeting at the Albert Dock.

4.30pm: Just finished a fantastic tenants’ meeting to plan the next six months marketing activities and to discuss what can only be described as brilliant figures for the amount of extra people visiting the Albert Dock thanks to the opening of Liverpool ONE, and the great events taking place at the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool. I am meeting the Shiverpool cast down at The Slaughter House for last minute checks before the Sirolli North Liverpool and the MSIF teams join us for a night they’ll never forget on the Auld City Tour.

7.30pm: The turn-out is exceptional. Little do our guests realise what a journey they have in front of them as we take them on a walking tour of the spookily quiet business district.

9.30pm: After another fantastic response from our new tour, it is time I head home and have a relaxing evening in front of the television, something that has become scarily rare now that we operate seven days a week. After all, the ghosts never take time off, so neither do we.