Dorian Deathly, the man behind the Deathly Dark Tours of York, isn't your typical ghost tour guide. With a healthy dose of skepticism and a passion for history, he has created a unique experience in a city known as the most haunted in England. In this interview, Dorian discusses his unexpected career path, his personal encounters with the paranormal, and the stories that still haunt him.
Is "Deathly" your real name?
Of course it is. How dare you? We get that a lot, actually. If you Google Dorian Deathly, the first thing that comes up is "Dorian Deathly real name." The people want to know! We'll just say this: I don't know where Dorian ends and I begin. It's just easier to go with it now.
How did you get into this line of work?
I moved to York around 2006 to 2007, and it kind of happened accidentally. I went to university here to do a teaching degree, but that didn't work out. Then, around 2012, I started working as a tour guide. I had no idea how much I enjoyed history and folklore until I started doing it. I began with a different company, but within a year, I started doing my own research because people were asking me questions I couldn't answer. I hated not knowing. The city itself really decided the direction for me. There's a huge market for ghost tours here; the industry began in York in 1973.
What was it like running tours during the pandemic?
It was very weird. We were doing online ghost tours that we called "dead streams." We would go out and live-stream stories on Facebook for free and just have a virtual tip jar. It sustained us through the first lockdown. People started asking if we would launch a physical tour once things opened up, so I wrote a new show and we launched in August 2020. Since then, we've run every week. This week alone, we’ve run 16 tours, and they've all been sold out. It’s insane.
Have you had any paranormal experiences yourself?
I'm quite cynical, to be honest. I'm a man of science, more of a Scully than a Mulder. I'm fascinated by it all, but it has to be pretty strong evidence for me to say, "It's a ghost, definitely." I've had two weird things happen since we moved into our new office on the Shambles, but I'm sure it's just someone messing around. One night, I heard what sounded like someone crying upstairs, and another time, someone knocked on the door. I opened it and no one was there. It happened again five or ten minutes later. That was more horrible because I couldn't explain it. Ultimately, I just legged it.
What about the incidents that happened during your live streams?
There was one time we were near the Minster, and the school was empty due to lockdown. We had special permission to be out, and as we walked past, a heavy hammering came from inside the building: boom, boom, boom. Everyone on the stream heard it, and we all stopped. We just left. It was probably a member of staff or a cleaner, but in the moment, everyone freaked out.
Another time, we were passing the Minster when someone on the stream saw what looked like a stooped old woman on a bench. As we walked over to investigate, we realized it was just a "wash your hands" sign that had been placed on the bench. It was a funny moment.
What's your stance on ghost hunting?
I think there are a lot of people who just run around with gadgets, waving them and screaming. That's not my sort of thing. I prefer to hear the stories and the history. On our tours, I will say, "People say," or "Legend has it," or "It is told that." I'd never be like, "This is a ghost. This is where a ghost is." I think our shows have more weight because we don't claim to have all the answers. It's theater; we're doing street theater. We've not made up our own ghost stories—there's no need to in York.
Which York ghost story do you believe in the most?
I really like the Plague House story. I like to think that it's genuine. The Plague House on 5 College Street, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl abandoned by her parents during the Black Death, has a more recent poltergeist element that I find fascinating. The family who owned it supposedly called in a medium who documented the activity. The Minster owns the building now, and I can tell they don't like to talk about the ghost stories. We asked to go in once, and they said, "Is it about the history?" And we said, "Yes." "Is it about the ghost?" "Yes." And they said, "No, we're out." You can just tell they want to keep it quiet.