The York Ghost Merchants

About

Do ghosts exists?  Absolutely. A shop has opened in York’s historic Shambles with perhaps the most unusual and unvaried stock of any shop in Britain.  As the name suggests, York Ghost Merchants sells ghosts, and nothing else.

The shop, located in number 6 Shambles, which was built in 1780 is, at first glance, a very traditional store with a clear Georgian heritage and theme, with oak-panelled walls and display cases, but from the moment intrigued customers step across the threshold, it becomes clear that this is a place where history and myth, heritage and legend overlap to intriguing effect.

The tradition of York ghosts has now been resurrected to create a range of handcrafted ghosts, which can be purchased exclusively from the Shambles-based store as an unusual souvenir or talismanic figure for visitors to take back home.  Every ghost is unique, made on the premises, and comes in its own ctravelling box which has been designed to replicate the York Ghost Merchants store.

The act of purchasing a ghost comes with its own ceremony.  Over 1000 ghosts in two sizes are displayed at any one time on the store’s shelving.  When a purchaser finds the ghost that calls to them, they are invited to take a photograph in a specially lit and ornately lined pedestal compartment hidden in a panelled wall, before it is carefully packed into its travel box for transportation to its new home.

“York is often referred to as the most haunted city in Europe, so it is almost unthinkable that there has been nowhere to purchase a traditional York Ghost in the city for at least the last century.  The York Ghost Merchants are now able to redress this balance, and look forward to York Ghosts once again being rehomed and cherished across the four corners of the globe.”