Tried and tested: Spooky thrills and chills at Pesteils Castle

During the summer holidays, Pesteils Castle organizes a tour with ghostly encounters every Wednesday evening. An original way to discover the castle at night-time in the company of some rather surprising characters. Let me tell you all about it!

Ghostly encounters during a night-time tour of Pesteils Castle

“As night falls, when dark shadows come alive, join us for thrills and chills during a spooky two-hour guided tour of the castle”. This intriguing invitation immediately appeals to my sense of adventure and I can’t help wondering what the evening at Pesteils Castle in Polminhac has in store!

It’s a stormy night and we get to the castle at 9.30 p.m to join the other visitors gathered under the castle gateway. Suddenly the main door opens and a strange looking character beckons us to come nearer. Dressed in a dark suit, with long grey hair, a stern yet terrified look on his face, Samson introduces himself and greets us. The scene is set for a spine-chilling evening, an eerie atmosphere in the dark silence of the night! We step inside and voices start echoing around the castle. Our night-time tour has only just begun!

A tour like no other

Actors from the Ridorouge Theatre Company certainly make our tour a memorable one!  It isn’t any ordinary guide who provides the group historical explanations about the architecture, furniture, tapestries and wall paintings in the rooms on the tour. Instead, we are in the company of no other than the ghosts of the castle’s past occupants revisiting their home!

Strange characters lead the way. Their voices echo in the hallways and then they suddenly appear out of nowhere, through a hidden door or just as we are least expecting. Spine-chilling tales unfold, full of grim details that make us shiver and funny twists that make us laugh.

Fun and excitement for all the family

Our ghostly guides, the “Revenants” as they call themselves, take us from room to room and up to the different floors of the castle. Although still scary, we find ourselves growing quite fond of them after a while! Pesteils Castle has a long and varied history, there’s lots to explore and the tour is cleverly put together.  Some children might sometimes feel a little bit scared, but the play makes it all enjoyable and we all have great fun joining in. What’s more, I’m sure that a lot of us will remember what we learnt much better than in a history class! Ridorouge Theatre Company’s  talented actors bring the castle’s history alive!

Having looked around the ground floor and gone up the superb staircase to explore the bedrooms on the first floor, we then make our way to the impressive castle keep. The narrow spiral staircase adds to the atmosphere of the night-time tour and the view from the top over the sleeping valley is outstanding. Then to finish, the visit takes us to the kitchen, renovated to show how it would have been in 1900. A magnificent room and a moment to think back of what has been an exciting evening. But the thrills and chills may not be over yet, so if you’re brave enough, come and find out for yourself!

par Virginie
le 20 February 2019