A tempestuous feud has erupted in Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, as two rival ghost tour guides engage in a bizarre turf war.
Janet and John Ford, a married couple who own Tudor World, have long offered vacationers tours of the town’s spookiest landmarks, including ghost tours, from the historic Shrieve’s House on Sheep Street. Their business has thrived for almost two decades, attracting tourists close to Shakespeare’s birthplace. The tours range from £3.50 to £18 ($4.50-$23) and have always been a hit during the summer season.
However, the tranquility was shattered when Joe Rukin entered the scene. Rukin, who operates Sinister Stratford ghost tours, began offering three daily tours at the price of £6.66 ($8.56) for children and £9.99 ($12.84) for adults. What added fuel to the fire was that Sinister Stratford’s tours started just 100 yards away from Tudor World.
The feud escalated when the Fords accused Rukin of poaching customers in front of their museum. They claimed that Rukin was touting for business in their territory, leaving them feeling victimized and frustrated. Adding to their woes, an unfortunate mix-up on TripAdvisor directed some Tudor World customers to Sinister Stratford’s website and wrongly identified the Fords’ 12th-century Shrieve’s House as the headquarters of their rival.
In response, Mr. Ford expressed his exasperation, stating that they were burdened with costly repairs for their historic building while facing unfair competition. He felt that Rukin enjoyed an advantage with minimal overheads compared to their business.
Mrs. Ford firmly denied being the aggressors in the situation, expressing that they were merely trying to protect their livelihood and were not targeting Rukin.
Rukin, 49, hit back, defending himself against the accusations and claiming that TripAdvisor’s error was to blame. He argued that he had the right to operate his tours without any monopolistic control from Tudor World. Rukin, a divorced father-of-one, started the tours to supplement his income from walking tours in Coventry.
The feud took a toll on Rukin’s reputation, as he faced backlash from locals and even had his Google profile suspended due to a complaint filed against him. He felt victimized and unjustly targeted by the Fords.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, some locals found humor in the feud, with one resident quipping, “a plague on both your houses” after hearing both sides of the argument.
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Thankfully, TripAdvisor has since corrected the error on their website, putting an end to the unintentional confusion.
In the quaint town of Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare’s legacy lives on, the battle between ghost tour guides has taken center stage, leaving the community divided and the tourists intrigued by the ghostly rivalry. Only time will tell how this peculiar turf war will conclude, but for now, the curtain has been drawn on this tempestuous tale.