Norwich Couple Plan A Ghostly Wedding

A spooky pair, stars of Norwich’s ghost walks, are getting married.

by Victoria Leggett

Most people who meet them scream and run a mile. But for the Grey Girl and the Maddermarket Monk, stars of Norwich’s ghost walks, their reactions to each other were very different.

And now the spooky pair, also known as Chris Deller and Charlene McGreevy, are getting married. Miss McGreevy and Mr Deller met in September 2006, while working as volunteers.

Miss McGreevy, 23, said: “I was helping at Build youth group for about seven years and Chris came along one night. We decided to go out for a drink and hit it off straight away. That Christmas he went down on one knee in Yarmouth. I had a huge grin on my face and said yes.”

Since May the couple, from Horstead, have been working with Miss McGreevy’s dad, Richard, who runs ghost walks around Norwich during the summer.

Now, while most couples get ready for marriage by checking the seating plan or running through the order of service, their preparations for life as husband and wife are more unusual.

Every Monday and Thursday at 7.30pm they don costumes and retrace the ghostly steps of some of Norwich’s apparitions - including husband and wife William and Martha Sheward.

Mr Deller, a 31-year-old care assistant, said: “I play a number of characters. When I am William Sheward, Charlene plays the part of Martha. We run past the group. I am chasing Charlene with an axe and we run out of sight. I then walk back to the group carrying a mask the same as the one Charlene was wearing.”

Some men might find the thought of running after their fiancée with a deadly weapon a little over the top, but Mr Deller, originally from Loddon, does not. “It’s quite fun actually,” he said.

The couple are the only actors who appear during the walks as Mr McGreevy, or the Man in Black, reveals Norwich’s creepy past. Miss McGreevy’s characters include Mrs Isaac, the Faggot Witch and the Elm Hill ghost, while her husband-to-be appears as Father Ignatius, the Riverside Phantom and Mr Isaac.

The future Mrs Deller said her fiancé’s roles did bring some excitement to the relationship. “At one point he’s a monk at one of the gates of the cathedral and he comes into Tombland Alley. He runs though the group screaming at them,” she said, “I know he’s coming but it still makes me jump every time.”

Miss McGreevy has had more than her fair share of scares. Her dad said: “Charlene’s seen the monk at the Maddermarket. She volunteers behind the bar and actually saw him when the theatre was fairly empty. He was sitting in his usual seat at the front right hand side of the theatre. It was definitely him. Not many people sit wearing a monk’s habit.”

The couple are hoping their wedding on Saturday, at St Helen’s Church, Hoveton, will be fright-free.

Miss McGreevy said: “I think we are going to leave the ghosts - just for the wedding - though I am sure my dad will bring something to it. We will have to see.”

The Man in Black admitted he had considered adding a little terror to the event, but thought better of it.

He said: “The wedding is Charlene’s day. It is not for me to play practical jokes - it could misfire. I decided it is just not worth the risk.”

The couple will be joined by friends and family for a reception in Salhouse and will honeymoon in Corfu for a week.

With the Man in Black’s ghostly helpers getting a tan on a Greek island, Norwich will lose some of its creepiness for a few days.

Miss McGreevy said: “My father will say to the people who come to the walks ‘sorry, but the ghosts are not here at the moment’. That way they can decide if they want to come.”

To find out more about the walks visit www.ghostwalksnorwich.co.uk

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