It's time to start making plans for Autumn... fireworks, trick or treaters, parties and of course fancy dress!

For many people, Halloween is one of their favourite times of year, marking the season when you can snuggle down against the drizzle with a cup of mulled cider and listen to some spooky stories. 

And when it comes to things that go 'bump in the night', Cambridge has more than its fair share of ghostly goings on. Steeped as our city's streets are, in history (some of it rather bloody!) there's a few of the city's inhabitants that you might not choose to bump into on a dark and drizzly night!

Unlucky Shuck of Arbery Road

Black Shuck is a common character in East Anglian folklore. A demonic black dog that brings bad luck to anyone who looks into its eyes which reportedly burn like headlamps.

The Lady in The Hammock

An apparition of a frail young lady in a hammock was seen in the summer house of a property on Montague Road. She is said to match the description of a woman who died of tuberculosis a few months before the sightings began.

Abbey House

Formally exorcised by the church at the turn of the last century in an attempt to halt the chain rattling poltergeist that bothered the residents. This real-life haunted house also boasted a woman in white, a spectral butler, a hare and even a spooky squirrel!

Bottom Pinching at the BBC!

A naughty old ghost who doesn't know when to pack it in reportedly haunts the studios of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Women have reportedly been pinched, poked and generally interfered with whilst working there, supposedly by the ghost of a womanising old man.

Midnight at the Fitzwilliam...

The stone lions who guard the front of the Fitzwilliam Museum are said to come to life at the stroke of midnight to drink water from the gutter before disappearing into the museum!

Do you dare to walk amongst Cambridge's undead?

If you fancy taking in a bit more of Cambridge's historical past then why not treat yourself to a ghost-walk around the city? Taking place every first and third Saturday from Scudamore's Punt Station on Mill Lane, walking and punting tours are a great way to experience all the stories Cambridge has to tell.

Or why not splash out on a Haunted River Tour from the Cambridge Punting Co. which weaves spooky storytelling into a picturesque evening on the water?

Halloween doesn't have to be all about plastic spiders and food-dye-coloured drinks (soft or alcoholic!). Why not steep yourself in the rich – and scary – history that Cambridge is so proud of?