For a decade the Man in Black has been a familiar sight leading ghost hunters through the city streets and thrilling them with Norwich's tales from beyond the grave.
From the story of Lord Sheffield who haunts the Adam and Eve pub to the tragic tale of Victorian sisters Ruth and Megan and the 'tree of death' near Tombland, the Man in Black has shared all manner of characters and strange goings-on with those who dared to join his Norwich Ghost Walks.
But now he has decided to pass on the mantle of being Norwich's resident ghost storyteller to a new incarnation - the Shadowcaster.
To mark the occasion the eerie duo will be co-hosting a special charity ghost walk starting from the Adam and Eve this Thursday before the Man in Black bids his final farewell.
The Man in Black, who took over the Norwich Ghost Walks from Ghostly Dave in 2008, said: 'I'm getting old – I'm 165 years old now, born in 1852 died 1879, and I think after 10 years it's time to hang up my cape and hat and retire to my tomb. I've enjoyed the city, it's a wonderful place to tell ghost stories, so many great buildings and stories, and I've really enjoyed being able to share those over 10 years with about 50,000 people.'
The Shadowcaster, who will be ably assisted by The Silent Hand, said he plans to scare ghost hunters with a mix of some of his favourite tales from the Man in Black's tours and some different stories he had discovered.
'I'm a sorcerer really, I divine the dark mysteries of the universe from the shadow realm. You can expect some unhinged eccentricity,' he said, adding that among the tales he would be telling was the grisly murder of Martha Sheward who was buried beneath the Guildhall in the 19th century, and the story of the Benedictine monk Father Ignatius who haunts Elm Hill.
'I'm ready to take you on a spooky journey through some of the shadow realms of Norwich city. There is much paranormal activity in this fine old city and we have in store for you stories of executions, persecutions, cannibalism, plagues and much, much more.'
• The Man in Black will make his final appearance co-hosting a special charity walk with the Shadowcaster on Thursday 7.30pm, starting from the Adam and Eve pub in Bishopgate. Tickets £7 and the proceeds will go to the British Heart Foundation. The Shadowcaster's new season of Norwich Ghost Walks will start on Tuesday, April 3 and will run every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the spring. For more information, call 07831 189985 or visit www.ghostwalksnorwich.co.ukTwo of the Man in Black's favourite Norwich ghost stories
• The Cannibal Girl
'There's the cannibal girl at Tombland Alley whose family were locked in their house after the whole family come down with the plague in 1578, but she didn't die of plague, she tried to stay alive by feasting upon the decaying bodies of her mother, her father and her sister, and she is the ghost that haunts that part of the city still to this very day.'
• John Agaas
'There's also John Agaas who was the landlord in the 18th century of the The Lamb Inn, the Rat and Parrot of course as it was known then.
His sister married a brutal, drunken workshy man, and Agaas remonstrated with him one day, they had a fight, and Agaas was stabbed through the heart by the brother-in-law. He is the ghost who inhabits The Lamb Inn to this very day - things get moved around overnight, plugs get put into sinks and taps turned on, and most interestingly a few years ago the manager saw the image of the ghost on his CCTV security cameras, dashed downstairs to see what was going on and there was nothing there, and when he went back upstairs and rewound the tape the image had disappeared completely.'
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