Red roses and romantic candlelit dinners are Valentine’s Day to many, but delving into love triangles and crimes of passion in a bygone age could be the new and intriguing way to spend the evening at Dubbo.
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The Old Dubbo Gaol has come up with a twist on its Beyond the Grave Night Tour especially for February 14.
It will host the adults-only Bloody Valentines on Wednesday night, which will feature “additional stories about love and love gone wrong” within its walls.
And it’s an event that caters for singles as much as couples.
Graffiti of love hearts carved into cell walls had captured the attention of Old Dubbo Gaol staff.
It prompted them to think of the prisoners of old with a darling on the outside, Gaol visitor experience officer Chris Anemaat said.
“Even one massive big love heart with that same love message, it’s quite sweet, a different take on the site,” he said.
“You think of the people in here, the criminal things they’ve done but you don’t tend to think of those people having somebody on the outside or yearning for somebody.”
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But nice romantic lovey-dovey stories were not what the team found when they went searching.
“What started to pop up was crimes of passion, those crimes that involved jealousy, which often led to violence, crimes that involved poisonings, strychnine and arsenic, that started to pop up and more,” Mr Anemaat said.
“What grew out of that was a little idea of a story for Valentine’s Day that we could put our own twist on, an edge.”
Gaol operations coordinator Kim Hague said they wanted to do something a little bit different for the occasion.
“It’s an option for friends to go out, to girls, to guys, they might want to have a drink over spilled love, so to speak, get friends together and go out and see really bloody Valentines,” she said.
Tickets to Bloody Valentines can be purchased until 4pm via website 123 Tix.
Tour participants should arrive at 8.45pm for a 9pm sharp start.