There’s a new ghost hunting tour opened up not far from Manchester and it lets you explore a haunted abandoned hospital and orphanage overnight.
This one’s not for the faint-hearted.
Newsham Park in Liverpool has been known for hosting an array of music events over recent years, but now – just like everything else in 2020 – it’s been switched-up and is used for ghost hunting instead. Between 9.30pm and 3.30am, those who feel they’re brave enough are invited to explore the grounds of this “haunted” building.
Not only will you will have access to the whole of the site, but the organisers will even throw in some ghost-hunting vigils and small group séances too, just in case it wasn’t scary enough already.
So, what is Newsham Park Hospital then? And what makes it so “haunted”?
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Flickr / Newsham Park Hospital
Dating back to 1874, the ominous looking Grade II listed building was initially opened as an orphanage to help educate and support orphans of British sailors, and by 1899, there was 321 children housed under the strict supervision of strict Victorian matrons.
More residents were brought in during the First World War and by the end of it in 1918, there were more than 1,000 orphans housed in the building.
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It was finally closed down in 1951 and then became a hospital in 1988.
The whole institution has a bunch of other creepy-sounding areas too, including a morgue, a ‘psyche cinema’, a hallway known as the ‘naughty boys corridor’, and a myriad of hidden passageways.
Pinterest / Newsham Park Hospital
As described on the Haunted Happenings website: “The abandoned hospital has a massive array of spooky rooms, corridors and basements, including a School House, hospital wards, nurses accommodation, Bell Tower, Chapel and Mortuary.
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“There is an instant feeling of uneasiness as you enter and begin your journey into this frightening location.
“On a Haunted Happenings overnight ghost hunt at Newsham Hospital, you will not fail to sense the torment of those who belong to its long and torrid history. Wheelchairs sit empty in corridors and the mortuary fridges exist as a cold reminder of the lives that passed over in this place, giving this location a unique and frightening atmosphere.
“Although the building has laid empty for many years, during our overnight ghost hunts here there have been numerous reports of paranormal activity here from security staff and workmen alike.
“Distant voices have been heard from within the empty building, shadowy figures have been seen darting down the stairwells and workmen’s tools have disappeared only to turn up in a completely different part of the building. Could this be the work of mischievous children from the Orphanage coming forward to make themselves known?”
You’ll have to find out for yourself.
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Toc66 / Newsham Park Hospital
Think you’ve got what it takes?
Tickets to the Haunted Happenings Ghost Hunting Tour of Newsham Hospital start from £65 per person, and you can book your trip in advance here.
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James Acaster reveals eerie song all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable
Emily Sergeant
James Acaster has revealed the eerie (and pretty surprising) song that all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable.
In case you’ve been living comfortably under a rock, you’ll probably be aware that comedian James Acaster is currently a contestant on this current season of BBC‘s smash-hit reality TV competition show, The Celebrity Traitors – a show that viewers in their millions are tuning into each week, with some big names on the cast.
Acaster is currently (spoiler alert… but it shouldn’t be at this point, we are several weeks in after all) one of three Traitors competing on the show, and he’s doing a pretty good job at it.
But we wonder how much of his success can be put down to the producers’ love of a certain song they like to play before every roundtable? Probably next to none, but it’s surprising to find out how much of an integral role the tune plays though.
The song we’re referring to here, it has been revealed, is ‘The Hanging Tree’ – a folk ballad made popular by The Hunger Games.
‘The Hanging Tree’, composed by James Newton Howard and Suzanne Collins, was famously sung by Jennifer Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in the third instalment of the film franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
The lyrics are as follows:
Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man They say who murdered three? Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met at midnight In the hanging tree
So, as you can see, the song does make reference to ‘murder’, which is a key part of The Traitors game (not real murder, of course), but even with that context, we’re still not sure why the producers are keen to play it out before every roundtable.
During a viral TikTok clip from an on-stage Q&A this week, Acaster revealed the song’s usage to the audience: “You all walk in silence down the corridor, and you all sit down, and they don’t announce it’s gonna happen.
“The first time this will completely blindside you, but they do it every single roundtable. They play that song from The Hunger Games, that ‘coming to the tree’ song. Like acapella, Jennifer Lawrence.”
He continued: “It was every f***ing time, it was the only song we heard the whole time we were in there, and all day I would have it in my head constantly, everyone would, I’d go ‘have you got coming to the tree in your head?’ and they’d go ‘yes, it’s in my head, again’.”
Viewers who watch the show may have spotted the song being played in the background or transition between certain scenes, but now it’s been revealed that the contestants hear it too.
Who would’ve thought?
Featured Image – Euan Cherry / BBC / Studio Lambert
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Tickets officially go on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Tickets have now officially gone on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester.
Arriving on screens from 18 December and gearing up to be one of the most anticipated films of the year, Dune: Part Three – which is the third and final instalment in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise – will be screening in IMAX 70mm at Vue Manchester Printworks, one of only three venues to show it in this format nationwide.
There are only 40 other venues across the globe showing the film in IMAX 70mm, and Manchester is the only city outside of London to screen the blockbuster this way too.
Based on the novels of Frank Herbert and set nearly two decades after the previous film, Dune: Part Three features an ensemble cast of all-star names led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Alongside them will be Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.
After seats for a special early screening of the film in IMAX sold out in less than 30 minutes last month, the IMAX 70mm showings – which officially went live today (20 October) – are expected to be snapped up fast by film fans in Manchester.
“A decade in the making, Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune trilogy is reaching its dramatic conclusion this December,” explained Dean Cross, who is the Senior Screen Content Manager at Vue.
“As the only venue outside of London to be screening Dune: Part Three in IMAX 70mm, it’s a privilege for us to offer this unique way to experience the film.”
Emily Sergeant -
27th August 2020 
