Born in Scotland and brought up in England, Fran studied Scottish History at St Andrews and Edinburgh Universities, so many of her favourite tales are based on historical events. Whilst working as a tour guide in the underground streets and vaults of Old Edinburgh she further developed a taste for the darker side of history, and loves telling tales of ghosts, spectres, witches and scary things.

Fran has loved stories from an early age, and still has two tales she wrote as a 6-year old entitled The Dragon and The Haunted House. If you had asked her at the age of 9 what she wanted to be, she would have said a ghost hunter! Fran believes that stories are vital to our understanding of the world; stories have the power to change the way people think. Whilst taking groups of schoolchildren to the battlefields of the WWI she discovered that stories can be powerful, moving and life-enhancing, providing a valuable framework for emotions to thrive.

Fran moved to Orkney in 2004 and her ghost tours in Orkney’s haunted locations have been very popular! She was instrumental in revitalising the Orcadian Story Trust, and helped achieve an annual Orkney Storytelling Festival. As well as performing throughout the islands, Fran has also told stories at festivals in Scotland and Norway. People have described Fran’s storytelling as lively, warm, funny and enthusiastic; she believes that to tell a good story you need to feel it in your heart – communication is all, whatever the age or background of the audience.

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