PENDLE witches, mad monks, cut-throat smugglers and marauding vikings are just a few of the sinister characters set to be unleashed on holidaymakers in a new attraction.

The infamous Pendle Witch Trials story is set to be retold to thousands of people visiting the new Blackpool Tower Dungeon, which is due to open in the Autumn.

For the attraction, the tower’s owner Merlin researched the history of ghostly going-ons and witchcraft from the county and choose the best tales.

And after hearing about the witch trials of 1612 bosses decided the story had the perfect ingredients for the venture which will rival the world famous London Dungeon.

The Pendle Witch Trials feature is divided into two sections.

The first is an eerie woodland setting where visitors will be horrified to discover the fresh corpses of recently-hanged witches dangling from the branches.

And the second features Alice Nutter, a farmer’s widow who was convicted of the murder of Henry Mitton alongside Elizabeth Device and Demdike, after he refused to give Demdike a penny.

The ‘spectre’ of Alice Nutter tells the whole sorry story as her body swings gently to and fro.

And she warns that the Witchfinder General is still searching for other witches cautioning her audience to be wary lest they too fall foul of the Witch Hunt.

"Alas they are too late, and are then forced to follow a sinister monk to the place of their own executions…a very frighteningly realistic simulation of a hanging on a devilish drop ride christened Extremis", said Merlin’s Blackpool chief Iain Hawkins.

He added: “We’ve trawled through the darkest chapters of Fylde and Lancashire history to put together a real fright-fest’.

“Just as visitors breathe a sigh of relief for having survived a Viking invasion, they will find themselves confronted by a menacing smuggler.

“Escape from the smugglers just brings them straight into the clutches of the Witch Finder General at the time of the infamous Pendle Witch Trials.”

Auditions will be held in the spring to find a crew of around a dozen actors and actresses for the new Dungeon’s performance team.