Ghost sculptures return to haunt city centre

York's popular 'Ghosts in the Gardens' has returned with 10 new sculptures

More than 50 ghostly sculptures will haunt streets and green spaces in York this autumn, as a popular history trail returns.

Ghosts in the Gardens, which runs until 2 November, features 3D wire mesh figures placed at 28 historic locations in the city.

Organiser York BID will also stage Ghosts: The Untold History, a ticketed guided tour with spooky stories at St Anthony's Hall Gardens.

Carl Alsop, operations manager at York BID, said the annual event took a "snapshot of York's rich history and brought it to life".

"For me, the most exciting part is that you can be approaching a ghost without knowing it's there, and all of a sudden you get this glimmer of history," he said.

"One minute you'll see it, and then the light will catch in a different way, the background will be different, and it'll disappear."

Ghosts in the Gardens will run until 2 November

The trail began in 2021 with just 10 sculptures, created by York-based Unconventional Design.

New additions this year include a plague mask figure and a rider on a penny-farthing bicycle.

Animals also make an appearance, including a bear that escaped the Museum Gardens' 19th-Century menagerie, and the return of the University of York's duck mascot Long Boi.

After the trail ends, 50 figures will be moved to St Anthony's Hall Gardens for Ghosts: The Untold History, running from 5-9 November.

Mr Alsop said that Ghosts in the Gardens had become one of the city's "most loved traditions".

"2025 promises to be our most haunting year yet," he added.

The trail began in 2021 with just 10 sculptures - but this year there will be more than 50

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