A group of youngsters have helped design a series of spooky trails around Bristol's ss Great Britain to keep kids entertained over half term.

For the past 12 months Jonathan Hill, Eloise James, Katie Baker, William Underwood and Chloe Hawkes have been planning the "horrid torrid tales trail" – scary trips around the ship, its dockyard, dry dock and museum.

The trails are based on four true stories taken from the ship's passenger diaries, including tales of a strange shape in the dark, a hunted beast, a story of revenge and mischievous pranks on board.

The stories have never been told before, and the endings have been kept secret for people to discover. Visitors follow clues in the trails to discover the endings of all four stories.

The five youngsters, all aged between seven and 11, met with Claire Champion, the ss Great Britain Trust's interpretation and informal education officer, several times over the last year.

They gave their opinions on the design, content and written style of the trail packs, taking traditional storytelling techniques, the Victorian novel and detective capers as their influences. Inserts into the packs have been made to look like aged paper with archaic scrolling, and answers to the story trails are hidden in a small envelope inside each trail pack – especially useful for adults.

Trail designer Eloise James, 10, from Southville, said: "I really liked helping with the trail because children don't often get a chance to come up with ideas for museums themselves. I think other children will enjoy going round ss Great Britain with the trail and finding out about the spooky stories."

The project was awarded £1,000 from the National Lottery as part of the lottery's 15th anniversary celebrations.

The trails will be open from today until Monday, and are designed for children from seven to 11. Ms Champion said: "The youngsters really came up trumps and really were central to the trails' development. They told us what they wanted from the style and content. We talked through the ideas about how to make it fun and a little bit scary – but not enough to give children and their parents nightmares.

"The pack contains four of the strangest and most horrible true stories from passengers who travelled aboard the ss Great Britain. Only the bravest of children, and bravest of parents, should consider following the horrid torrid tales trail."

Other events at the ss Great Britain over the school holiday include visits from Mr Brunel and professional story teller Sarah Mooney.