Liverpool isn't short of ghost stories or haunted venues , so I was quite eager to give one of its most famous tours a try.
Award-winning Shiverpool offers a range of historical city tours all year round.
But its most famous tour is Hope Street Shivers - a historic walk through Liverpool's much loved city centre streets, beginning outside the iconic Philharmonic pub and ending in the pitch black gardens beneath the gothic Anglican Cathedral .
This is the one I decided to take part in.
Kicking off outside the famous pub, our ghostly guides Chilla Black and Judi Stench introduced themselves to the surprisingly large crowd with a series of witty quips and an unnerving description of what was to come, before guiding us down the street towards the Metropolitan Cathedral .
From start to finish, the energy and enthusiasm of the hosts didn't let up.
Actions as simple as crossing the road were giving a theatrical twist, as we were encouraged to summon 'Alan, the green demon' to allow us to cross over.
When the green man took a little longer than expected to make an appearance, Chilla said she'd sacrifice one of the children in the group to encourage him and the young boy's simultaneous relief and glee when the green man finally lit up was clear for all to see.
Beware of Bernard Brown
The first story took place at the Metropolitan cathedral, so it was a good ten minutes before we were treated to any chilling tales.
But the passion, humour and information offered by the hosts meant the time didn't drag.
After telling the group about Bernard Brown, a man who is said to have jumped to his death on the grounds and whose apparition is known to wander the steps of the Cathedral, Judi had seemingly disappeared.
When Chilla got to the end of the story, a cloaked figure descended down the steps of the Cathedral, providing the group with its first scare.
The most haunted street in northern England
Walking down Rodney Street, the most haunted street in northern England, we were taken up a dark, secluded alleyway and told the story of Liverpool's most famous 'undead' resident, William MacKenzie , who is said to have lost his soul to the devil in a poker game.
While telling the story, which was deliberately drawn out, firecrackers were launched at the floor giving us all another fright.
Jump scares were aplenty as we were lead down Hope Street by Chilla, which left Judi free to disappear and pop out at unexpected moments - either by scraping the jagged pavements to provide an ominous sound, or jumping from the shadows to frighten the group which lead to some people literally letting out a scream.
The scares did become a little bit predictable - we began to anticipate something was coming though we didn't necessarily know when.
The natural comedic timing of our main guide, Chilla, made even the "in between" moments, trekking from one location to the next, part of the entertainment, especially when passersby showed intrigue in the group only to become panicked when Chilla would interact with them.
She asked one curious member of the public what they'd been up to during the day but they replied that they didn't want to tell her, to which she responded bluntly: "Well that's a conversation killer, isn't it?"
The most interesting part
The grand finale is a creepy story told in the almost pitch black tunnel leading to the gardens beneath the Anglican Cathedral.
Once Chilla reached the end of the tale, Judi let out a deafening scream and chased us out of the darkness while more firecrackers burst around us.
There were plenty of people relieved to get out of the little dark tunnel - myself included.
Shiverpool is definitely worth a visit as the experience is funny, informative and just the right amount of scary.
The main positive of the tour, though, was the incredible effort and energy of the hosts - even when the stories felt as though they were beginning to drag or the cold evening temperature grew harder to ignore, their enthusiasm and knowledge was admirable and infectious.
In the end, it wasn't necessarily the stories that were the most interesting part of the tour, though they definitely were entertaining, but the guides themselves.
Despite never breaking character and remaining brilliantly creepy throughout the event, I was always keen to hear more from them.
After 14 years and a host of awards, Hope Street Shivers' popularity is entirely understandable.
The tour lasts an hour-and-a-half and can be booked here .
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