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Monday 10am - 5:30pm Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm Thursday 10am - 5:30pm Friday 10am - 5:30pm Saturday 10am - 5:30pm Sunday 10am - 5:30pm

http://www.yorkghostmerchants.com/

York Ghost Merchants, York (2026)

23/10/2026

There is a storm coming on the eve of Ghost Week VII !
Many customers choose to arrive early to beat the queues during Ghost week. Some now arrive during the night to wait for the shops to open, we are flattered that we have such loyal customers but also always concerned about their wellbeing. The weather is looking rather bleak for the coming days, with that in mind we would like to discourage people from queuing through the night in the wind and rain.
We are working with a local security company this year to help manage some of the difficulties which we have experienced at the tail end of the queue in previous years. We kindly ask all our customers to show as much kindness and understanding to all the Merchants during Ghost Week. We assure you that all the Makers and Shop Merchants work extremely hard to offer the finest Ghosts and best levels of customer service, please do try to bear this in mind.
Ghosts have been found in this city for centuries, and we hope the seek & keep tradition will continue for centuries to come.
The Little York Ghost Hunt runs from Monday 26th until Wednesday 28th, 6pm - 8pm. There will be Little Ghosts hiding along the route each evening – twice as many as previous years. The Ghosts will keep appearing throughout the two hours.
As Ghosts are scarce, so we ask that each person limits their collection to just one Ghost to give others a better chance of success. There are now far more seekers than hiding Ghosts, so success is far from guaranteed. We hope that the hunt is undertaken with this in mind and with spirit of fun and kind-heartedness.
Children should be accompanied by an adult on the hunt and be aware that the Little Ghosts are not suitable for Children under 3 years of age.
Please be respectful to property and to those who live on the route. Greys Court is out of bounds as are the grounds of The Minster Refectory.
Ghost Week Maps can be collected from our shops or printed from the Ghost Week page of our website.
On Monday 26th those with smaller children might like to call into Holy Trinity Church on Goodramgate, there is a free Mouse Hunt by candlelight and chocolate prizes for all who spot them.

22/10/2026

Ghost Week News
The Mr Silvertooth Ghost. Edition of 2000. £30 each
Our Silvertooth event runs throughout Ghost week from Saturday 24th October - Sunday 1st November.
Collect rubbings or stamps to facilitate the purchase of a limited-edition Mr Silvertooth Ghost (a polished black Ghost with silver teeth). The teeth are the same for every Ghost, and they are sold pre-boxed on collection.
This year you can choose to collect the required images from rubbing plaques or from the rubber stamps gained upon purchase in one of the participating taverns. Any combination of five different rubbings or stamps is needed, you may choose rubbing plaques or pubs, or a combination of both. Although there are ten object images in total you will only need five to purchase the Ghost. There is no reward for collecting all ten.
Silvertooth packs and pencils will be available to collect from The Hatch adjacent to The Dispensary in St Anthony’s Garden between 10am-4pm daily during Ghost Week, they are free of charge but please be aware that only a limited number will be available each day. This is to ensure we have availability for those visiting later in the week. We always have enough to last the week; however, demand is usually heavier at the start of Ghost Week and on the opening weekend there is a chance we will run out before the end of the day.
Packs must be collected in person (strictly one per person) and cannot be collected on behalf of others. Please queue outside the Hatch and not the Dispensary if you are coming to collect or redeem; Merchants and blackboards will be there to offer direction if needed.
Once you have collected five different images, return to The Hatch in St Anthony’s Garden (not the Shambles or Dispensary) where you will have the opportunity to purchase the Mr Silvertooth Ghost.
These Ghosts can only be purchased from The Hatch during Ghost Week and require a completed Silvertooth pack to purchase. We are not able to sell or ship Mr Silvertooth Ghosts after 4pm on Sunday 1st November 2026. A pack only allows the purchase of one Ghost.
Please visit the Ghost Week page of our website for full details of this event.

16/10/2026

Friday Preview. Poppy – Hand decorated English earthenware Ghost
Original sized 8.5cm tall. Black Box Edition 30. Edition of 2000. £70 each.
To be sold Monday 26th October - Sunday 1st November, 10am-4pm. [Free entry for Ghost purchases only]
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS AN ERROR IN THE TIMES LISTED IN THE EVENT PROGRAMME ON THE PAPER VERSION OF THE GHOST WEEK MAP FOR THE POPPYSALE.
Every Ghost in the edition is unique. The handmade process ensures subtle nuance in shape, and most strikingly in pattern placement and characteristic. The transferrers hand cut and apply the patters from sheets of tissue, placement and pressure mean no two will be quite the same. Some Ghosts feature mostly foliage and fronds, others are more floral, some have sparse coverage with broken decoration, whilst others are heavily patterned. Slight cobalt blue mottles are often present between the decorative areas.
Customers will queue at the front of the building and will then be shown upstairs to the Drawing Room in small groups by Mansion House staff. As every Poppy Ghost is different, each customer will have a selection to view and choose from. We shall have enough Poppy Ghosts to last through the week so please don’t feel that you need to come on the first day or early in the week to be certain of procurement. Queues can be excessive at the beginning of Ghost Week but ease greatly as the week progresses. We aim to sell all remaining Poppy Ghosts from the website in early-November.
As is usual with Black Box Ghosts there is a strict limit of one per person, and they will only be sold to those aged 12 and over. Children under the age of 16 wishing to purchase a Ghost must be accompanied by an adult.
We will accept card payment only at the venue.
At busier times queuing for entry will be outside the Mansion House, in the direction of the Museum Gardens. There will be Mansion House on duty each day during work hours to manage any queue and facilitate staggered entry in smaller groups when necessary.
The Drawing Room is on the first floor of the Mansion House. There is a wide staircase leading to the first floor, as well as a lift for those who require step-free access.

15/10/2026

For this year’s Ghost Week, it has been our privilege to collaborate with Burleigh Pottery. There will be a full preview tomorrow of “Poppy”, our 30th Black Box Edition Ghost.
The short film “Shards in the earth” has been made to introduce Poppy. Written by Iona Grey, read by Andrew Bloodworth, filmed by Mr Appleyard and with thanks to Burleigh Pottery 1851. The full version of the film is available to view in the MOVING PICTURES section of the LIBRARY & ARCHIVE on our website and on our YouTube channel. You can access it by clicking a link in our bio.

Burleigh have been making underglaze tissue transferware since 1851. Once practiced by countless makers across Stoke on Trent’s pottery industry, Burleigh’s 12 skilled transferrers are now the last remaining artisans of this craft, working in the same building, using the same method that has been in operation for over a century and a half.
Burleigh’s factory has changed little over the years. It is a building where history is present and heritage is celebrated. At its heart, the Archive room is a treasure house of hand-engraved copper cylinders bearing the distinctive designs which have appeared on tables across the world, from cottage kitchens to fine dining establishments, each telling their own part of Burleigh’s rich story. Hidden amongst them, Poppy remains something of a mystery. Dating back to the late 1800s, no record exists to show that it was ever used or explain why it was commissioned. And so, having waited over a hundred years, it appears for the first time on our Ghost.
Each Poppy Ghost is hand slip-cast and passes through over 30 pairs of skilled hands as it is smoothed & sponged, fettled & fired. The Poppy pattern is applied using the delicate tissue-transfer process, meaning each Ghost is unique; some cloaked in decoration, others more sparingly patterned. Each is a continuation of 175 years of tradition and a testament to the 65 skilled craftspeople working at Burleigh today, as well as generations of their predecessors. Including, of course, the unknown, long-ago workers who designed and etched the Poppy pattern, who would surely be delighted to see it brought to life in

14/10/2026

Ghost Week VII News.
In ten days, Ghost Week will begin and we want to take the opportunity to update details about our Auction and share some Partner Event information with you.
Tickets for The Ghost Merchants Auction are already sold out. However, there are five Charity lots on which absentee bids may be placed. The Auction Catalogue may now be viewed digitally on The Ghost Week page of our website, please go to the GHOST WEEK tab at the top of the page, if you hover over it a drop down will show GHOST MERCHANTS AUCTION, clicking on this will take you to the catalogue. On this page you will also find full details on how to place absentee bids as well as the form to place your bid(s). Absentee bidding will close at 12pm BST on Wednesday 21st October.
In the images above you will see a taster of things to come;
1/ A small selection of Ghosts available at the Auction ( see the online Catalogue for all the Lots )
2/ The Prize Ghost for the winner of the Sine Dominis Challenge at Fairfax House
3/ The Prize Ghost for the winner of the Mischief Night Trail at The Mansion House.
4/ Printing in progress for the Ghost Merchants Limited Edition Letterpress Print.
5/ A first glimpse of one of the Thin Ice Press Ghost Week posters, hot off the press.
6/ An example of the tavern mug which can be made at Clay Space during one of their Ghost week workshops.
Do remember that there are a whole host of Partner Events that make up Ghost Week this year as well as the six York Ghost Merchants events. Please visit the Ghost Week page of our website where you will be able to view full details of every event. Please note that due to high demand some events have already sold out, this is indicated on the event listing.
Tomorrow we will give our first glimpse of “Poppy”, our 30th Black Box Edition Ghost. A film entitled “Shards in the earth” will be available in short on Instagram and in full on our website and YouTube channel. There will be a preview of Poppy on Friday

07/10/2026

As Autumn turns golden, we reveal the third tranche of Carte Blanche Ghosts;
The first versions of The Ghost of Ruins Collection [ St Maty’s Abbey ] and the second Culpepper Ghost [ Quercus ].
The Ghost of Ruins- collection will all feature buildings in a state of disrepair and decay.
The first of the series have been inspired by the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, located within York’s Museum Gardens. The Grey Ghosts have been illustrated with fine line and washed with a watery black ink. The darker base is part of the Ghost itself and serves to inform the final work. £66
The Culpeper collection #2 Quercus
This Ghost has been stained before painting to create a rougher, parchment-like effect and as such, small marks and imperfections should be expected as an intentional part of the design. Painted oak branches span the body of the Ghost over a burnt cream, heavy with acorns, detailed in sepia ink. £70

Guild Room visitors are permitted to buy one of each type.
Unlike Black Box Ghosts the Carte Blanche Ghosts are not limited editions. Instead, they will be illustrated in batches from the small workshop above the Shambles shop. The Ghosts within each range will all be different but will be clearly identifiable as a part of a particular Carte Blanche Ghost collection.
From October onwards, they will be introduced into the Guild Room as a collection for the three months relating to the Guild Room booking quarterly booking calendar before being superseded with a new collection for the next quarter. Ghosts not sold in the previous quarter will not be carried over into the next. The base of every Carte Blanche Ghost made by Mrs Humphreys will be stamped with a black kraken, signed & year dated. There is also a CB monogram on the reverse of the Ghost above our crest.
We intend to release a small number of extra Guild Room dates for the Christmas Period this year, further details will be made available in due course.
We politely remind all Guild Room guests not to arrive more than five minutes before their appointment time as queuing is not permitted on St Saviourgate. Thank you.

11/09/2026

Friday Preview: Online release – The Watchman (Original size). Batch of 5,000. £23 + postage. The Bowler Hat entry period will be from 10am Monday 14th to 10am Tuesday 15th September
Before the establishment of the organisedPolice force in 1829, Watchmen were employed to patrol the towns and cities after dark to protect property & maintain public safety. Urban nights are ablaze with artificial light; it’s hard to imagine how dark & sinister the streets would have been before gaslight and electricity became abundant. The Watchmen became commonplace in 18th century, walking the streets with lanterns on sticks, attempting to prevent the mischief of the night.
The Watchman is plain pale yellow which glows bright green in dark. After being irradiated by artificial light or daylight, the Ghost stores the light energy and slowly releases it as fluorescence. Each Ghost is accompanied by a randomly selected card from The Alphabet of People, Professions & Places.
If you would like to be in with a chance to purchase, please visit The Bowler Hat page on our website between the specified times and click on the image of the Ghost which will take you to a form where you can enter your details. Simply visiting the page will not enter your details for the draw. Not all who enter the draw will be successful, notification either way will be received by the end of Wednesday 16th Sept., please check your spam and junk folders if you are unable to see your email in the inbox. Those successful will receive a single use payment link and have 48 hours to make the purchase. We are unable to accept expired payment links. More information on the process can be found on The Bowler Hat FAQ page on our website.
THE DETAILS YOU ENTER WITH WILL BE USED FOR SHIPPING. ERRORS WITH ENTRY ADDRESSES AND EMAILS CAN LEAD TO DELIVERY ISSUES- Please check auto filled details and update these as needed.
These Ghosts will take up to 5 weeks to be made and sent in order of purchase, your order will be marked ‘Pending’ until we dispatch. We hope will arrive in time for All Hallows’ Eve, although this cannot be guaranteed.
Watchmen for sale in the both our shops during Ghost Week from Saturday 24th October.

27/08/2026

GHOST WEEK 2026 INFORMATION

Ghost Week VII Saturday 24th October - Sunday 1st November.
We take pleasure in announcing the full programme details of this year’s Ghost Week. With over 20 events this year it will be our biggest to date.
Please follow the link in our bio and story which will takes you to the updated Ghost Week page of our website.
We have added all the information to this page in event subheadings, click on the event and it will open up the details. There will be some further updates made in the forthcoming weeks and into October so please do revisit the Ghost Week page. Ghost Week maps will be available to pick up from the Shambles and Dispensary as well as participating venues and selected businesses from mid-October.
Certain events are by ticket only so please check the details carefully and prebook where necessary from the dates advertised. Some tickets are available right away & rather limited in number, so we do recommend booking early to avoid disappointment. If you have any questions about the Partner events, please contact the host of the event rather than TYGM. If you have specific questions about Ghost Week or Ghost Merchants events, please use email - [email protected]
There will be Bowler Hat release in early September, all Ghosts sold will be dispatched prior to Ghost Week.

07/08/2026

Friday Preview: Online release - The Vintner (Original size). Batch of 5,000. £19 + postage. The Bowler Hat entry period will be from 10am Monday 10th to 10am Tuesday 11th August.
In England, a vintner historically referred to a w**e merchant rather than a grape grower or w**emaker. These merchants were powerful figures who controlled the import, regulation, and distribution of foreign w**es—especially claret from Gascony and Bordeaux in the Middle Ages. They formed one of the Great Livery Companies of the City of London, known as the “Mistery of Vintners,” established during the reign of King Edward II.
The Vintner is made in tones of green with traces of yellow, the colours and patterns are fluid. No two Ghosts are the same and some of the variants are shown in the images.
Each Ghost is accompanied by a randomly selected card from The Alphabet of People, Professions & Places which is a series of 24 collectible cards.
If you would like to be in with a chance to purchase, please visit The Bowler Hat page on our website between the specified times and click on the image of the Ghost which will take you to a form where you can enter your details. Simply visiting the page will not enter your details for the draw. Not all who enter the draw will be successful, notification either way will be received by the end of Wednesday 12th August, please check your spam and junk folders if you are unable to see your email in the inbox. Those successful will receive a single use payment link and have 48 hours to make the purchase. We are unable to accept expired payment links. More information on the process can be found on The Bowler Hat FAQ page on our website.
THE DETAILS YOU ENTER WITH WILL BE USED FOR SHIPPING. ERRORS WITH ENTRY ADDRESSES AND EMAILS CAN LEAD TO DELIVERY ISSUES- Please double check auto filled details and update these as needed.
These Ghosts will take up to 5 weeks to be made and sent in order of purchase, your order will be marked ‘Pending’ until we dispatch.
There will be Ghost Week news at the end tif the month.

05/08/2026

In the high summer of August, we unveil the second tranche of Carte Blanche Ghosts.
The first versions of The Butterfly Collector and The Culpepper Collection Ghosts will be sold through the Guild Room from today.
Butterfly Collector/Pearl Bordered Fritillary - Polished black body, handprinted butterfly in waterproof ink. £76
Culpepper Collection/Hollyhock - Bone white body, hand painted Hollyhocks in an assortment of flower colours. £70
Unlike Black Box Ghosts the Carte Blanche Ghosts are not limited editions. Instead, they will be illustrated in weekly batches in the small workshop above the Shambles shop by Mrs Humphreys. The Ghosts within each range will all be different but will be clearly identifiable as a particular Carte Blanche Ghost collection. They will be introduced into the Guild Room as a collection for a number of months before being superseded with a new collection. The base of every Carte Blanche Ghost made by Mrs Humphreys will be stamped with a black kraken, signed & year dated. There is also a CB monogram on the reverse of the Ghost above our crest.
The intention is to offer more variants of collections and new styles over time and with older styles being reintroduced.
From 3rd August Guild Room guests will be able to buy one of each style if they wish, this is on top of the current restriction of three rare & unusual Ghosts. Carte Blanche prices will vary according to size, design & complexity. This month we will also have Cartogrophers and Shipping Forecast Ghosts in Tye Guild Room while stocks last.

York Ghost Merchants

23/10/2026

22/10/2026

16/10/2026

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

07/10/2026

11/09/2026

27/08/2026

07/08/2026

05/08/2026

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Monday	10am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	10am - 5:30pm
Thursday	10am - 5:30pm
Friday	10am - 5:30pm
Saturday	10am - 5:30pm
Sunday	10am - 5:30pm