Scareworld - Issue 7 by AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment

Alnwick Castle’s Scare Attraction

The UK’s first horror camping experience

SEVENTH scream packed issue

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Scare NEWS

Frightful Feature

10, 20, 32, 35, 36

Attraction REVIEWs

The all New London Dungeon

product Showcase

Frightful Feature

Home is where the haunt is

Scary FX

Scary World

The Science of scare

Frightful Feature

scare attractions

Horror Camp LIVE!

Project Fear,Scare Kingdom Scream Park Doomsday, The Lost Cellars,Scream School, The Passing New location - New scares!

Nox Arcana - Winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Majesty Hotel Krueger

Primrose Unknown Projects

AtmosfearFX - Digital Horror Universal Halloween Horror Nights and Howl-O-Scream Part Five

The Unknown Scareactor

The Scare Network / Halloween and Scare attractions Show current listings

This Issues Cover Image: The All New London Dungeon behind the scenes on the all new attraction

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From the Editor

Fellow Haunters, Welcome to the seventh issue of Scareworld - Europe’s only dedicated scare entertainment magazine. You can now obtain Scareworld as a full size hard copy publication delivered straight to your door by ordering a copy via our website at www.scareworld.co.uk, or you can read the digital issue free of charge online, plus hard copy back issues are now available to buy if you have missed any earlier editions. The growth of the European scare entertainment industry continues unabated at the moment with the return of The Sanctuary at Alton Towers for the beginning of the 2013 season, The Lost Cellars at Alnwick Castle, plus announcements from Discover Robin Hood theme park that their slate will include a Torture Chamber themed scare experience and Paragon Creative announcing several attractions based on The Hammer House of Horror. Three new scare experiences have also recently been announced - Zombie Earth - another city wide chase game, The Horror Dome in Plymouth and Psychosis in The Channel Islands. You can read all the latest scare news in this issue! In this issue of Scareworld we continue our intriguing series of psychological essays from Madelon Hoedt, get an exclusive peak inside ‘Hotel Krueger’ and ‘Halloween Horror Nights 2012’, and look at the all-new ‘London Dungeon’ in an exclusive five page feature. Horror attraction effects company AtmosFX explains how they produce terrifying creations and we explore a home haunt by Primrose Unknown Projects. Our growing band of in-house and independent writers present reviews of Scream School, The Passing at Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights 2012 and we meet ‘The Unknown Scareactor’ Jim Millspaugh. The spring and summer months will be alive with screams across the UK this year with ‘Horror Camp LIVE!’ returning in Lancashire and ‘Ravenwood Manor’ in Nottinghamshire - don’t miss our review of Ravenwood Manor in the Autumn/Winter issue later this year. For all the latest scare news, reviews and listings, no serious scare attraction enthusiast or producer can afford to be without Scareworld Magazine. Remember Scareworld is your magazine, tell your colleagues and friends, its free to subscribe to the digital issue online - and don’t forget to catch all the latest scare attraction news as it happens on our website at www.scareworld.co.uk Stay scary! Jason Karl Editor Editor: Jason Karl jason@scareworld.co.uk Creative Director: Paul Howse paul@scareworld.co.uk Deputy Editor: Jane Willis jane@scareworld.co.uk

Contributors in this issue: Luci Teal Mark Lofthouse Oliver Cook Madelon Hoedt Jane Willis Jim Millspaugh

Matthew Clarkson Laura Strangeway Claudia Parker

Published by AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment © Copyright Scareworld 2013. All material in this publication remains the copyright of Scareworld and no part of it may be re-produced without the written permission of the publishers. Materials not copyright to Scareworld are re-produced with permission and all rights are acknowledged. To get in touch or to advertise in Scareworld please email: info@scareworld.co.uk

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Scare News

its original name and brand to continue trading under new management. Information at www. thelondonbridgeexperience.com

The popular scare attraction ‘The Sanctuary’ is slated to re-open at Alton Towers Resort for the beginning of the 2013 season. Intrinsically linked with the theme park’s new rollercoaster ride, The Sanctuary offers scare seekers a truly immersive experience inside a twisted medical facility. Information at www.altontowers.com

The York Dungeon is set to re-open in late March 2013 following its closure after flooding in 2012. After a 2 million pound re-vamp the cities scariest attraction will open with a new style, branding and direction. Information at www.thedungeons.com

The original London Dungeon closed its doors on Tooley Street as it launches a bigger, bolder and better attraction with all-new content at County Hall from March 2013. A ‘Carnage Car Boot’ sale was held to sell-off old props from the original attraction, and ‘London Deathtrap’, which was located at the County Hall site, closed permanently to make way for the new Dungeon site. Information at www.thedungeons.com FEAR Brighton has closed its doors and is no longer open every day as was originally announced. Whether or not this attraction will re-open is currently unknown. Information at www.fearbrighton.com The London Tombs closed temporarily as the attraction was sold to a new management team. Initially re-branded as ‘The Crypts’ the attraction has since used

Discover Robin Hood, a new 13 million pound Robin Hood inspired entertainment park, was announced for Nottinghamshire. Plans include a ‘Torture Chamber’ themed scare attraction experience. Information at http://www.nottinghamshire.gov. uk/enjoying/countryside/countryparks/sherwood/ robinhood/ The American Scream is now available on DVD, but only in the USA - an international release is expected at some point. Information at www. theamericanscreammovie.com Scare Kingdom Scream Park will return for its fifth season in 2013 and have announced five all new scare attractions and experiences. Information at www.scarekingdom.com Paragon Creative have signed a deal with Hammer to produce scare attractions based on the Hammer horror archives.

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www.scareworld.co.uk There are plans to create attractions at several sites around the country using film characters including Dracula, The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein. Information at http://www. thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/410093paragon-secures-hammer-horror-deal.html# A new Dungeon attraction will open in Berlin, Germany, in March 2013. Merlin’s latest Dungeon site will use local German history to tell authentic and horrible stories. Information at www. thedungeons.com After a sell-out success in 2012, Horror Camp LIVE!, the UK’s first scare camping experience will return to Lancashire for 2013, but with all-new content, dares and scares. Information at www. horrorcamplive.co.uk

The European scare entertainment industry see’s a new trade show organised by The Scare Network in April 2013. The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show is the first of its type and will take place at Alton Towers Resort on April 10th 2013. Information at www.thehalloweenshow.co.uk The London Dungeon’s last seasonal make-over took place during December 2012. ‘Fog Freeze’ placed guests in the chilling smog of old London town in a spookily festive experience. The Blackpool Tower Dungeon offered a quirky Christmas gift in the form of ‘Mort Noir’ - a medieval perfume which made the perfect Christmas gift for scare seekers! Following its 2012 re-brand Carnesky’s Ghost Train will return for the 2013 season on Blackpool’s seafront. Information at www.carneskysghosttrain.com

GNG will produce ‘Ravenwood Manor’ - a scare experience themed around paranormal happenings at Newark Castle in late March 2013. Information at www.ravenwoodmanor-live.co.uk

The Prison of Terror scare entertainment experience will take place in Bad Sackingen, Germany, from April 26th-28th 2013. Information at www.children-of-the-night.de A zombie event named ‘Castle Zombie’ will take place in Colchester on April 3rd 2013, including a Zombie Dungeons experience. Information at www. silent-studios.co.uk For all the latest scare entertainment news at it happens, check out the Scareworld Blog - follow the links at www.scareworld.co.uk

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Frightful Feature By Jane Willis

HORROR CAMP LIVE! It was never going to be a boy scouts’ jamboree but I’m not sure scare-seekers to the UK’s first camping horror experience really anticipated it was going to be so terrifying either... Yet reading the reviews in the UK national press, on horror review websites, guest opinions from Horror Camp Live!’s 1000plus Facebook page ‘likers’ and those on twitter, this new twist on an outdoor frightfest certainly seems to have put a whole new spin on camping for pleasure and fun. It is no surprise, therefore, that Horror Camp LIVE! creator, AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment, plan to get the campfires burning again this year with tickets already on sale throughout 2013. The creators have come up with some new scary camp games although details of which are not being revealed!

We do know, however, that it will be a13-hour overnight terror experience which will no doubt have campers screaming throughout the night while placed in the middle of a live horror experience where actors unleash dare-based games with evil twists and turns. According to campers from 2012 this interactive scare attraction style experience made them feel as if they had actually wandered into the middle of a horror film where things most certainly went ‘bump in the night’. Bedding down for the night in a regular twoman tent with nothing but a flimsy zipper to restrain the chainsaw wielding Crazed Magnus and his creepy crew, might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but it was this sort of scare-based entertainment that brought screams of fear from guests at the fictional ‘Camp Mass Acre’. And considering that none of the brazen scareacters were averse to climbing into campers’ tents either, that zipper might as well have been made of tissue paper for all the good it served in keeping the creeps out!

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As for the all new, scary dares, well that is anyone’s guess as AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment is adapting the same “wait and see” tactic as they did for the first camp run in late summer 2012. Not quite the big sales pitch but this ‘keep quiet’ marketing style didn’t do the company any harm last year nor did it put off the scare-seekers who came in their droves from across the country to experience this UK first. Clearly, if you read the comments and reviews, it was its difference in the scare market coupled with this ‘not knowing what would happen’ that made Horror Camp LIVE! such a big hit and got those allimportant ticket sales moving and fingernails biting. It stirred-up excitement in the media too with articles and interviews featuring in the local and national UK press, scare magazines, Kerrang magazine and features in Canada, Spain and across the internet followed by streams of national press, television, radio and online reviews. So based on 2012’s scare camp experience what can we guess might happen at Horror Camp Live 2013? Well, in 2012 two over-enthusiastic camp leaders, Dawney and Davey, lead the camp although Davey did get killed off in 2012, so unless his rotten corpse is going to rise from the dead (and you never know!) we can safely assume that he’ll be absent this year or will at least be replaced by another character perhaps. Last year campers were split into groups and tasked with a series of challenges and dare-based games designed to shock, scare and entertain so I imagine the games will feature again although what they will be and how they will be formatted is again, anyone’s guess. But one thing is for certain, you can ‘Carry on Camping’...if you dare, from March 2013 and throughout the summer until Horror Camp LIVE! will close for the year ahead of Scare Kingdom Scream Park which returns for a fifth consecutive year during Halloween 2013. Horror Camp LIVE! runs at the same location as Scare Kingdom Scream Park, on the A49 Longsight Road, Clayton-leDale, Ribble Valley, Lancashire, BB2 7JA, minutes from junction 31 on the M6, from 8pm to 9am the following day. Tickets are £89.99 per person and include food, overnight stay in a tent and the interactive scare experience. Bookings are via the Horror Camp Live! website at www.horrorcamplive.co.uk

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w Attraction Revie PROJECT: FEAR by Jason Karl

Horror beyond everything else you have experienced in a scare attraction is promised to guests enduring GNG Entertainments’ ‘Project: FEAR’ attraction this weekend near Sheffield. But if you are expecting to be bought to your knees with fear, worry not... the attraction opened last night and is fun, freaky and fast, but won’t leave lasting scars...

It’s always hard managing expectation based on your marketing strategy and delivering a experience which lives up to your promise, stays within the law, and pushes boundaries. Project: FEAR delivered some unpleasant content, but was mixed with a healthy dose of hilarity which makes it both a fun, and frightful, experience that will have you laughing as much as it does screaming. Guests enter the experience alone - a brave move as this severely hinders potential throughput, and therefore revenue, but money was not at the forefront of the creators minds when deciding to produce this attraction - for them it was more about experimenting with new forms of scare. Prior to entry guests are given an escape word. Saying this word aloud in the attraction means the content will stop and you will be escorted out, but no-one last night was pushed far enough to say it, despite the ‘tortuous’ element at the beginning of the attraction. It was perhaps misplaced to put this element at the beginning of the show, as anyone saying the escape word will most likely say it during this scene, which would mean they would miss out on the second, more theatrical, part of the attraction, which would be a great shame as the scareactors and team behind the show have put a lot of effort into creating something new and different.

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Parallels to ‘Black Out Haunted House’ in the US, could be made, as it is clear the inspiration for the overall concept has come from here, but it’s unlikely any of Project: FEAR’s guests will have seen that show, and so no benchmark has been set in the UK for this style of horror experience.

Guests expecting an experience similar to Alton Towers Scarefest or a ‘Dungeon’ type experience will find the attraction very extreme, but hardened enthusiasts will find it less of a torture and more of a new and different way of presenting ‘scare’.

Themes include those of a sexual nature, and are dealt with in sensitive ways - both verbally and visually. The promised nudity is mild and quick, but the forceful physical nature of the navigation of the show is well executed, as is the use of a relatively small space in which several different ‘scenes’ play out.

Project: FEAR was great fun. It’s good to see new ideas being explored in the UK scare entertainment market, and the team behind the show are to be commended for producing something with I found entertaining, fun, freaky and clever.

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Frightful Feature

Fear is a Funny Thing by Jason Karl The all New London Dungeon swings open its doors this March, amidst huge anticipation from hardened scare entertainment fans, dungeon lovers and themed entertainment enthusiasts. Dungeon Marketing Manager Matthew Clarkson spoke to Scareworld Magazine Editor Jason Karl about the new dungeon’s direction, content, and the challenge of migrating the UK’s oldest and most loved attractions down the river...

attraction, adding and altering features which have gradually turned it from a free-flow gore museum, into a world-class historically authentic visitor experience.

A Horrible History

It is now one of the world’s most famous attractions. The attraction brings to life London’s dark history with a mixture of live actors, special effects and theme park style thrill rides.

The Dungeon first flung open its doors in 1974 and was the brainchild of 31 year old house wife Annabel Geddes. Originally a graphic horror museum showcasing the country’s darkest history, it has changed numerable times over its 38 year heritage.

Merlin Entertainments, who now operate the attraction, have sister sites in York, Edinburgh, Warwick, Blackpool, Warwick, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Berlin (2013). The Dungeons brand offers historical edutainment delivered with humour and scares, and appeals to both thrill seekers and families.

After changing hands in 1984, and subsequently again a short time later, the attraction finally came under the wing of Vardon attractions, and subsequently Merlin Entertainments. Each operator has left their mark on the internationally famous

In 2013 the original attraction closed its doors, and sold off many of its macabre props at a public Carnage Car Boot sale in preparation for a move to County Hall where in March 2013 it will open its new flagship Dungeon.

Historical Dungeon Features The Theatre of the Guillotine

Judgement Day

Labyrinth of the Lost First introduced in the original London Dungeon, and subsequently other dungeon sites, this disorienting mirror maze was themed as the Crypt below All Hallows Church.

Jack the Ripper Experience

A three part show in which the story of how The French Revolution turned public execution into an orgy of grisly mass entertainment, culminating in a ‘live’ execution, and a predictable water splash in the dark!

Surgery Blood & Guts

A gory spectacle of sinister surgery which was reimagined several times over the Dungeon’s history. It is widely known as the ‘autopsy’ show.

The Great Fire of London

Guests journeyed back to 1666 to face the fireravaged streets of old London town. Navigating through squares and side streets guests watched as the fire took hold, and felt its unforgiving heat.

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A boat ride which was first introduced to the original London Dungeon, and subsequently other Dungeon venues. Originally named ‘Judgement Day’, the ride was later re-imagined and re-launched as ‘Traitor Boat Ride to Hell’.

Extremis

Originally termed ‘Extremis’ this drop ride simulates being hung, and can be found at several Dungeon venues. It has been renamed ‘Drop Dead’ across all venues from 2013.

Vengeance

Several versions of the Jack the Ripper show were operated at the original London Dungeon including a fire-breathing animatronic version, a suspended animatronic version and most recently a live performer based version.

An atmospheric 4d ride set at 50 Berkeley Square - a famous haunted house in London. Guests rode on a spinning ‘disc’ as they witnessed spirit medium Florence Cooke perform a seance which unleashed angry spirits. Guests engaged with the experience by shooting them with a steam-punk style revolver!

Bedlam

Wicked Women

A madhouse of strobe lit passageways, bought to life (sometimes) with live performers.

Bloody Mary - Killer Queen

Introduced in 2010, this show engaged audiences with the tale of Queen Mary as she declared one guest as ‘a heretic’, and burned them at the stake in a realistic fire effect bought to life with lighting and smoke.

A chilling step back in time brought guests face to face with wicked women in history, including Boudica who massacred 70,000 Roman soldiers, Highwaywoman Lady Katherine Ferrers and even Anne Robinson, presenter of the television game show ‘The Weakest Link’!

www.scareworld.co.uk Interview with the Dungeon Master! Scareworld Magazine readers were asked to pose questions for Matthew Clarkson, Marketing Manager for The New London Dungeon, in this interview he shares some of the secrets of the new flagship Dungeon. What can you tell us about The New London Dungeon? “The New London Dungeon will be bigger, better and bolder than the original. We are creating a series of dramatic London landscapes with epic scale. Our move from Tooley Street to County Hall has given us the opportunity to really push boundaries with what can be achieved in an entertainment space, and were clarifying our target audience in a way we have never done before”. “Gone are the white faced, blood splattered characters of the original Dungeon, replaced instead by a re-imagined set of shows and characters which will provide a fright that is fun and authentic. Authenticity is one of our key brand values and The New London Dungeon has been designed and built to reflect that – if something looks as though it should be made of wood, leather or metal, then it actually is. The means it feels more realistic than ever before.” “There is a similar linear layout as in the original attraction, but our footprint is around 25% bigger, and over three stories. We have introduced new environments and transitional spaces which create a cohesive experience throughout, and are rich in detail. It is all about storytelling – from the design, styling and the live characters, we love to tell an ‘orrible’ yarn!” “There are more gags, more live actors, more authentic styling in wardrobe and make-up, and more effects throughout the attraction. When combined, this creates a more grounded experience which is more scary because it is more ‘real’ than ever before.” “Everything we have included, with perhaps the exception of Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, is based on authentic history. It is factual which means some parts of the experience are very intense, while others are more lighthearted. Our new strap-line ‘Fear is a Funny Thing’ sums up The New London Dungeon experience – we want to scare you, but make you laugh out loud at the same time”. Why did you decide to move the attraction from its original location on Tooley Street? “The re-development of London Bridge station, means that there will be considerable issues with visitors trying to reach that area in the coming months, and this is something which we had to consider, but perhaps more importantly the space available in the cavernous County Hall building, offered us the opportunity to expand our footprint and create something fresh and exciting which would retain the charm of the original Dungeon, but let us explore new possibilities and update the shows and general experience.” “Operationally the original location posed many challenges, and the move has allowed us to create a space that we can

operate in an easier fashion, this means that guests get a better experience and we have an easier time running it! Being part of the cluster at County Hall (The EDF London Eye and Sea Life Aquarium) also has its benefits for visitors, meaning they can take advantage of multiattraction discounted entry and they don’t have to walk far.” “In a nutshell it was too good an opportunity to miss. The project has allowed us to create a flagship attraction for the Dungeon’s brand that will be an international benchmark for Dungeon’s worldwide, and we will be rolling out the new scripts, styling and values of The New London Dungeon across all Dungeon sites in time.” How much of the original London Dungeon will we see in The New London Dungeon? “Nothing at all, everything is new. Although we have migrated some of the classic show content, such as the Court Room, Mirror Maze and Plague shows, they are presented in an entirely new way – and everything you see, touch, hear or smell has been created for the new attraction.” “Keen eyed Dungeon fans will be able to see a torture device which had been in the original attraction since it opened in 1974, and there is an updated version of the wench-woman who throws water out of a window into the street – so we are giving a ‘nod’ to the original attraction in a couple of ways – a kind of ‘thank you’ to the original Dungeon.” How long has the project of moving the Dungeon been in the planning and design phases? “We have been planning the move for about 12 months – it’s been a quick turnaround with a dedicated team. It’s a monumental task to move something so iconic to a new home, but we think we have created something which is fundamentally better than the original – come and see for yourself!” How much has the new Dungeon cost? “Merlin have invested significantly in this project as its set to become our flagship Dungeon. The overall cost was in the region of 20 million pounds, and it shows in the quality and richness of everything you will experience.” Why have you changed the branding and advertising styles to appeal to a different audience? “I don’t think it was really to appeal to a different audience, but rather to clarify the audience we appeal too. Our brand values have shifted slightly, and the new logo, marketing styles and visuals reflect that. Our audience is made up of 14-30 years olds, couples and their friends and ‘go for it’ families. Our new direction in marketing appeals to these groups, and reflects our values of gripping storytelling, authenticity and scary fun.” “We have shot a new television commercial which we are very excited about. It will be aired in the south eastern TV regions, but we will also make it available online

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www.scareworld.co.uk for Dungeon fans. It uses a clever television technique called ‘bullet time’ which was used heavily in The Matrix films. Viewers will see families meeting some of our new characters in the commercial including Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, and we created some great sets at Malcolm Ryan Studios to film in.”

that haves them laughing one moment and then fearful the next.”

How do you decide which elements of London history to include and which not?

“We have worked with Siam Costumes to create a new style and look for all the characters both in terms of costumes and make-up. Siam are well known costumiers that work on major West End theatre productions, television and films. The costumes have been designed to be as realistic as possible, and reflect the theatrical authenticity we are looking for.”

“We are spoilt for choice with the rich and dark history of the capital, and our creative team spends a lot of time researching and devising possible things to include. The most important consideration with the new Dungeon has been authenticity – real history brought to life for guests to experience.” “There is some speculation that the tale of Sweeny Todd the demon barber may in fact be simply a story, or it might be a mixture of fact and fiction, but it’s so well known and iconic in London that we have included it, and allow the guests to make up their minds.” What new characters will meet in the New London Dungeon? “We have a whole host of new characters which will be portrayed by more live actors than ever before. Returning favourites will include Jack the Ripper, the Judge and the Torturer, but they will be joined by the murderous monarch Henry VIII, Guy Fawkes, The Black Jester, Mrs Waldren the landlady of The Ten Bell’s pub, The Lift Leper, The Gong Farmer and Robin Graves the grave robber.” “Legendary actor Brian Blessed plays Henry VIII virtually, his performance displayed as a projection effect onto a stationary manikin of the King. It’s the first time Brian has been available to play the role in his career, despite being asked several times, and it is great to have him as part of the attraction condemning guests to execution!”

What is different in terms of wardrobe and make-up?

“Make-up styling has been created for us by MAC Cosmetics. Our sidestep away from ‘white faces and blood’ means that the new characters look dirty, dishevelled but ultimately realistic and as close to history as we can get.” Do you have room for further expansion for the attraction within the new site? “Yes, although it’s unlikely we will make any significant changes in the near future, there is plenty of ‘black box space’ (unused space) to us for when we do want to add.” Will the New London Dungeon continue with seasonal make-overs? “There is always much discussion about these kinds of ‘add-on’ events as to whether we should enhance what we already offer or try to integrate something new which is temporary.”

Brian Blessed said “It was all about the eyes and teeth and getting into the mind of the man. He was dangerous and menacing, a frightening King, and I will bring a wonderful extravagance and confidence to the role.”

“The Dungeon is already very much the ‘home of Halloween’, and we will continue with that trend this year by enhancing the existing experience but twisting it a little. You are likely to see other seasonal events too, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day.”

How are the scripts different from the original Dungeon?

What is happening to Vengeance?

“The new Dungeon experience has been totally re-scripted by comedy scriptwriter John Arthur, who usually works with the likes of Tim Vine and Jon Culshaw. They deliver the storyline with a plentiful dose of comedic quips and tongue in cheek humour.”

“The question on everyone’s lips! Yes it is true that Vengeance will not make the move to County Hall, and neither will the Bloody Mary show. Vengeance has been packed up into shipping containers and is being stored at Thorpe Park in the short term. It is unlikely that it will be installed into a theme park setting because it’s throughput is relatively low, so as its long term future – we don’t know yet!”

“Some scripts are quite intense while others are more light-hearted, in this way we can take guests on a journey

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A Tour with New Twists Your journey through the New London Dungeon takes place over three levels of authentic narrative-driven environments consisting of 18 shows and bought to life by 20 performers. Guests begin their journey in the interactive internal queue area named The Corridor of Misdemeanours, in which live actors taunt and jest with guests from behind locked prison doors. The corridor leads into the Jailmaster’s Chamber where coffin shaped bookshelves house dusty old books and parchments. Here you collect your ticket as you are ‘processed’ as a prisoner into the Dungeon. An interesting overarching back-story which explains ‘why’ you are there... The Black Jester welcomes guests with his gentle japes and twisted taunts, before sending ‘prisoners’ into Descent, a medieval styled lift which grinds and shudders as winches strain to take you down into the Dungeon itself. Descent is managed by The Lift Leper - a kind of Dungeon Keeper who is responsible for taking guests deep into the sub-basement of County Hall as they prepare to face 1000 years of horrible history bought to life. At the bottom of the lift shaft, guests emerge into the watery world of Thames River Docks, where guests become embroiled in the vengeance of Henry VIII - he believes that YOU are in league with his 2nd wife Anne Boleyn, and her conspiracy against him and his court. Guests board Henry’s Wrath - a turbulent indoor boat ride during which they follow Anne Boleyn as she makes her ill-fated final journey along the dank river towards The Tower of London, where she meets her ultimate doom - execution by beheading! Guests who manage to ‘keep their heads’ will find themselves at The City Gate - the grand entrance to Tudor London, where The Gong Farmer’- a street sweeper who cleans the streets of waste, shares a few defensive tricks when it comes to dealing with invaders... Normans! Beyond the city gate, guests navigate through Conspirator’s Walk - a rat-infested tunnel which winds beneath the city towards The Palace of Westminster. Here guests become embroiled in a conspiratorial plot to blow up parliament in Guy Fawkes - Gunpowder Plot - an encounter that is sure to go with a ‘bang’. Leaving Fawkes behind, guests find themselves in The Torture Chamber - a firm Dungeon favourite, where a sadistic Torturer delights in demonstrating his well-worn devices on unlucky volunteers.

Those that evade the Torturer’s clutches find themselves on a corpse filled Plague Street. The year is 1665 and the Black Plague is rife in old London town. Inside The Plague House, guests can watch as an unlucky victim ‘tries’ to die in peace... Next, guests pass by the Coughin’ Coffin, where they can listen to the chatter of two incarcerated plague sufferers - a kind of comedy duo akin to Coronation Street’s Jack and Vera! Guests who have been wandering the streets are most likely infected and The Plague Doctor has a mind to cure them, his assistant’s techniques may repulse those of a sensitive nature -but it’s all the name of fun in this new take on the classic Dungeon ‘autopsy’ experience. After being whisked forward in time to Victorian London, guests will be in a spin as they wander disorientated through a soft-floored ‘trommel’ (a huge spinning cylindrical tunnel which circles a stationary central walkway- Ed.) representing Bazalgette’s Sewer system. Rats gnaw at your feet as you pass through the fetid tunnel - an effect bought to realisation by ankle-tickler technology. Sewer escapee’s will find themselves in Fleet Street and soon is Mrs Lovett’s Pie Shop, where the inimitable Lovett is cooking up a devilish spread of meat pies. Guests witness a truly ‘fresh’ delivery as they observe the ‘finger’ licking goods, and make a hasty exit into Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop. Here, guests are invited to take a seat for a ‘cut’ as Sweeney gets to work. Dungeon regulars will notice the chairs from the original London Dungeon - but with a new surprise! Taking leave of the barber shop, guests find themselves in Mitre Square at the heart of London’s east end - it’s 1888 and fear fills the fog filled alleyways of old Whitechapel. Lady of the night, Mary Jane Kelly, tells of a serial killer named Jack the Ripper - he on the loose and expected to attack again at any moment... As storm clouds brew above, panicked guests are hurled into Whitechapel Labyrinth - a confusing mirror-maze of narrow streets where the killer’s knife must be evaded to reach safety. Seeking safe haven in the nearby Ten Bell’s Pub, landlady Mrs Waldren warns guests of impending danger - Jack is still on the prowl and could be getting closer with every second. As the storm surges the lanterns are extinguished, plunging the public house into darkness. But guests are not alone as the frightful figure of Jack looms from the shadows for a heartstopping cameo that will leave guests screaming for more! The Court Room is the next stop on the dungeon tour, where guests find themselves sentenced in the dock by The Judge. There is no escape as the gavel lowers condemning guests to the Gallows. This is a re-imagined version of the classic Dungeon courtroom experience, with an equal mix of comedy and history. Passing into Newgate Gallows, guests can learn the art of a ‘good death’ in an exciting ‘first’ which presents The Long Drop being used for the first time outside of Newgate Gaol. The Executioner will ‘show you the ropes’ as you plunge to your ‘death’ down three storeys in a faster than gravity descent on Drop Dead - the drop ride to doom. This updated version of ‘Extremis’ is the largest of its type, and incorporates new

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www.scareworld.co.uk technology to simulate being hanged, and provides the ‘ultimate end’ to your New London Dungeon experience. If you survive the Dungeon tour, guests will find themselves in a retail environment themed as Highgate Cemetery, where you can obtain a suitably sickly memento of your visit. The shop is brought to life for the first time in Dungeon history by a live character named Robin Graves, a grave robber with a twinkle in his eye and an eye for your trinkets!It’s 1783 Dungeons Around The World! The York Dungeon Re-imagined Faced with a daunting £2 million re-build after successive winter visits from the River Ouse, owners Merlin have taken the opportunity to completely re-model the city’s favourite nail-biter. It will be less ‘ham’ more Hamlet … with both sets and scripts given a more authentic, more theatrical aspect. York’s most infamous rogues, villains and rascals, like Guys Fawkes and Dick Turpin, will still be in evidence, but they too will have enjoyed a makeover to suit a new more dynamic and thrill-filled …rather than fright-filled…journey through York’s murky past. Gone will be the fake scars and boils and in their place will be premium quality theatrical make-up and costumes that more accurately reflect the fashions of the relevant historic chapters. The York Dungeon is proud to be working with MAC Make Up Pro and Sam Norman, Make Up Artist from film Pirates of the Caribbean who have both been involved in creating the new look. “Our objective is to provide an altogether bolder, funnier and more realistic authentic storytelling experience. We know from extensive research and feedback that our guests love actors, laughter and performance. So we’ve really concentrated on polishing that for our re-opening. Visitors can expect some really quite different and very special.” said Dungeons Marketing Director Rebecca Hamilton. That is why professional writers have been burning the midnight oil revising the scripts to strip out the old puns and inject some real wit. Writers that are used to working with national comedic genius Tim Vine have been roped in to help. “The Dungeon with a cast full of brilliant actors and its 11 shows, with rich sets and special effects will appeal to everyone and visitors should still be a teeny bit nervous because after all - Fear is a funny thing,” she added.

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The Berlin Dungeon Opens The latest Dungeon will open in Berlin on March 15th 2013. An exciting adventure through historic Berlin bought to life in the usual Dungeon style will see 9 shows and a gaggle of creepy characters including the limping monk Father Roderick, the legendary phantom white woman and Berlin’s most notorious serial killer, Carl Grossmann. Guests can test their nerves on a boat ride through the murky, dark waters of the river Spree, while trying to escape the deadly plague that has spread across the capital. The attraction will breathe life into the stories of the Hohenzollern, the City Palace, the Cathedra and the Silesian Station. Shows are available in German and English. The Vitals The New London Dungeon opens for grisly business from March 1st 2013, The York Dungeon re-opens on March 29th 2013 and The Berlin Dungeon opens for the first time on March 15th 2013. For locations, ticket prices and opening times, including The New London Dungeon’s Late Night openings from May 2013, visit the Dungeons mother site at www.thedungeons.com Many thanks to Matthew Clarkson at The New London Dungeon, Nina Zerbe at The Berlin Dungeon, Laura Strangeway at The York Dungeon and Claudia Parker at Freerange Communications for their help in creating this feature.

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Product Showcase

WINTER’S MAJESTY Nox Arcana

takes his place upon the crystal throne. With a single breath he transforms the woodlands into an enchanted kingdom of ice and snow. Raising his staff, he summons the four winds and sets them forth to spread his magic throughout the land. And as the earth is covered beneath a blanket of ivory white, the world rejoices in the wondrous realm of winter.

Winter’s Majesty - the new album from Nox Arcana invites you to return once more to the realm of Ebonshire to celebrate the magic and glory of Winter... In the heart of the Ebonshire forest, the Winter King

This album features enchanting melodies and heart-warming songs for the holiday season, including an instrumental version of ‘We Three Kings’ and a ghostly rendition of ‘Scarborough Fair’ with original lyrics and musical arrangements by Joseph Vargo and vocals performed by Jeff Endemann. Winter’s Majesty provides the perfect musical backdrop for a wintry seasonal scare and is available from the Nox Arcana website at www. noxarcana.com

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w Attraction Revie

Scare Entertainment, creators of Scare Kingdom Scream Park said: “It would give the game away if we told everyone the plans for Scare Kingdom 2013.

Scare Kingdom Doomsday Scream Park 2012 By Jane Willis

Coming up for its fifth consecutive year, Scare Kingdom Scream Park is firmly cemented in the UK Halloween scare attractions calendar as a must-see scare experience. Pledging new scare attractions year-on-year Scare Kingdom Scream Park, based in Lancashire, in the north west of England, sets itself a mighty challenge every Halloween scare season, but one it never fails to deliver on. What lies in wait for 2013? Well your guess is as good as mine as the Scream Team behind the park are keeping tight-lipped about this year’s all-new terrors... but if it is anything like 2012 or year’s past, then I can safely say that I will be terrified! Jason Karl, creative director of AtmosFEAR!

“But I can assure you there will be more all-new attractions than in any previous year, and each will be more thrilling than those that guests have experienced in the past. We have several exciting announcements to make this year so keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook page where we announce things first”. At Scare Kingdom Scream Park 2012, AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment took the brave step to cut the cornfield attraction which has been a feature of the scream park since it opened in 2009, it will return in 2013 but in a different form. Although always differing in route, scares and theme, for me the corn maze has been something of an expected, enjoyable feature at Scare Kingdom due to it being the attraction that focused mainly on story-telling rather than extreme horror. Nevertheless, the lack of a corn maze didn’t dampen my enthusiasm to attend the scream park for the new Halloween season ‘trick or treats’.

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www.scareworld.co.uk And I wasn’t disappointed even after encountering the frightening witch child ‘Jenet’ at the start, delivering the standard ‘rules’, which got my heart racing for an evening feast of frights. Wandering along a darkened footpath our group of 12 or so came first upon a grim-looking, wooden blood-shed. It looked a little like those rarely frequented, rickety shacks you might find in horror films... the ones located in the depths of an unkempt and overgrown forest, where silence is usually interrupted by a scream or howl.

And ‘Inbreeds Impound Scare Zone’, the first of two outdoor scare attractions, certainly had the fear factor of those scary movies but here I was on ‘set’ and there were no cushions to hide behind! A creepy hillbilly character that would not have looked out of place in ‘A Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ gave us a soaking with something wet, hopefully water, before ushering us into the darkened shed where rusted tools and chains littered the bloodstained walls. Through gaps in the slats lunged Pighead, a macabre and very loud character hell-bent on putting us through mental torture, while the hillbilly outside menacingly slammed a stick against metal barrels, just to add to the fear. Out of the shed stood Mama Pusstula, a fearsome woman who screamed, “fresh meat” to her devil incarnate son, Hell-Razor, a chainsaw wielding brut who terrorised us with the noise of the menacing machine as we passed-by onto the second of the four scare attractions.

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www.scareworld.co.uk It was dark and it was muddy, but as we stepped into ‘Apocalypse 2012’ where old cars and a double-decker bus looked like they had just been thrown on site, it really did feel like the end of the world, especially when the mutants of a bizarre experiment gone awry started to appear... In the dark night sky it was really hard to see where we were treading as we took orders from the ‘rebels’ in this post-apocalyptic war zone, where the infectious mutants crept up on as we were ushered onto a wrecked double-decker bus. Mutants circulated the top deck and terrified us with their near-miss swipes and on leaving the fog filled strobe lit interior were sniffed and harassed at close proximity, which personally gave me the fright of my life! Apocalypse 2012 was certainly a scary, yet entertaining scare attraction, which fitted the ‘end of the world’ fear that spread across the world last year, stemming from the predictions in the ancient Mayan Calendar. We stumbled through the field and toward the gated exit of this, the final outdoor attraction, and headed toward a ramp leading to an archway sealed with a billowing red curtain where an abrupt Parisian lady creepily welcomed us into ‘The Theatre of Gore Guignol’.

A clever spandex ceiling bowed and anonymous hands touched our heads as we ran toward an area resembling a boiler room, covered in blood and decapitated heads adorned the place. A baby’s bedroom seemed to hold some comfort with a large bed in the centre of the room with cuddly toys, but the sinister, half-masked, insane ‘baby’ Van Der Blood on the bed leapt up in chains and terrified us. A torturous moan emerged from another room we entered as a skinned alive inpatient began to peel his bloody face off in front of us! By this point it was apparent that the terror was building to a crescendo as the shocks were now coming thick and fast. An evil priest appeared before us blasting us with pneumatic air and then grabbing our feet as we passed before finally we walked straight into the professor’s trap and ended up in a cage from where he harassed us at every angle. As the cage opened we dashed out right into the watchful gaze of several amused faces in the Fright Bar. Phew... we made it out alive! For details and tickets for Scare Kingdom 2013 visit www.scarekingdom.com

A concealed door opened and we were in yet another maze although this time our group had to navigate its way down twisted corridors where characters leapt out from hidden hatches or stood intimidating in our path including the very wicked-looking icon character Gorevinsky Guignol. We had to push our way through life size puppet bodies hanging overhead before entering a room that was black apart from UV lights and glowing spots on the walls. Here we screamed in horror at the character that was camouflaged in the same dotted clothing as the walls that jumped out from nowhere - an illusion I have seen before at CarnEVIL of Horrors, but still frightening all the same. The fourth and final scare attraction was the most terrifying for me, especially when we were warned by ‘Gaunt Hill Asylu’’s demented psychiatric nurse about Professor Abadon Vein and his evil ways. “Do not go into Ward 13!” she hissed, as she had never seen anyone come out …at least not alive anyway!”. Body parts dangled everywhere as we journeyed through the maze of corridors where blood-soaked scareacters with monstrous faces emerged from every corner.

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Frightful Feature HOTEL KRUEGER - Tibidabo, Spain

by Mark Lofthouse

In the summer of 2012, an opportunity manifested to visit one of Europe’s star scare attractions, Hotel Krüeger. With a rare full behind the scenes tour and in-depth insights offered, how could I refuse? Situated on a mountaintop overlooking the city of Barcelona, Parc d’Atraccions, Tibidabo aka Tibidabo, is home to many unique thrilling attractions and is famous world round for itseclectic mix of vintage rides and new groundbreaking products. One of the park’s most iconic and popular attractions is their infamous scare attraction, Hotel Krüeger. Hotel Krüeger is a household name in the European scare Industry, with over 13 scenes and a walkthrough time of about 10-15 minutes, not much inside information of the show is actually known. You’ll notice that I used the term “show” to describe the attraction, this is simply because, naming the production a “scare attraction” doesn’t justify the product that the performers and production team have created. I was lucky enough to gain an extensive in-sight and behind the scenes tour from the artistic director, Óscar Hidalgo and the show producer, Andreu Sànchez, which as any keen scare enthusiast will know, is very rare for Hotel Krüeger. The sheer passion that the pair injects into the project is just staggering. Never before have I seen two people so in love with their workplace, it truly was a lovely experience.

Hotel Krüeger originally opened in 1990 under the name of Pasaje Del Terror. For those familiar with the well-known UK Blackpool attraction of the same name, will know that there are several of these attractions across Europe, all produced by a company named MPE Europe. The ‘Pasaje Del Terror’ attraction operated for a mere five years, before the park made the brave decision to purchase the attraction and make it an in-house production which has since been operating for another 16 years, as of August 2012. The attraction was shut for several months while everything inside was renovated and transformed and given a new outlook on how it was operated. When operated as a Pasaje Del Terror attraction, it was just a blur of random horror scenes dotted together, with no meaning or story present. One of the biggest changes was the attraction being given an extensive storyline to merge all of these different themes into one narrative. The design team behind Hotel Krüeger also decided to keep the movie tie-ins by enforcing a story of the audience entering a horror movie, allowing random scenes whilst making sense of the situation, it was a very clever decision to make. Mr. Hidalgo explained: “Everything was given meaning, a belonging to being there”, which perfectly sums up the move. Some of the scenes, costumes and characters in the attraction are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Mr Hidalgo described them as “romantic, beautiful scenes, but still with an edge of horror to scare the guests”, the ethos behind the creative team, in my opinion. Two characters stand out in my mind the first being a Mexican femme fatale whose soul has been trapped in the hallway of the hotel. A male performer always plays the role as “to keep the character operating as close to real life as possible, only a male has the stature”, said Mr. Sànchez. The level of detailing is absolutely staggering throughout the whole attraction, with them working on a 360º theming basis, so absolutely everything will be themed and nothing untouched.

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The second ‘standout’ character is a female maid phantom, that doesn’t want to leave. As you enter her bedchamber, you see a corpse on the bed in her gown and complete with cobwebs, she’s been there a LONG time. Without spoiling any surprises, she may appear more thanonce in the room, in a live format, and also as an ode to her in the paintings. Mr. Hidalgo said: “I love her. She was by far my most favourite. I have a million different dresses for her.”

magically terrifying attraction as in-depth as I did. Hotel Krüeger is included in the admission of the park, when bought with a wristband. Information is on their website to the location of the park and opening times at http://www.tibidabo.cat/ Special Thanks to; Oriol Monroig, Óscar Hidalgo & Andreu Sànchez.

Authentic clothing creates every costume inside the attraction and nothing is used that’s a shop-bought costume. Mr. Hidalgo has been known to travel around the city of Barcelona to pick up certain clothing items and has even had tailor made costume pieces created to make a “real” feel to the show. This also works for the masked characters. The only characters that are masked are ones which would masked anyway therefore a lot of the characters have in-depth face makeup that’s been designed specifically for that cast member’s face. Hotel Krüeger is run to military precision, with the whole team having a deep love for what they’re doing. From the cast, to the cleaners, the pride they have for their work is heart-warming and leaves you with a deep sense of fulfillment in how the scare Industry should be operated. Hotel Krüeger is an absolute must-see attraction. If you’re in the city of Barcelona and are looking for a good fix of thrills with an incredible view, I’d highly recommend visiting Tibidabo for a day. I cannot thank Mr. Hidalgo and Mr. Sanchez enough for the special tour they provided, letting me see the passion behind such a

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Home is Where The Haunt Is

but for the following year we wanted to up the scale of our home haunt so it was expanded in 2011 when the project took over 600 sq ft and three neighbours’ gardens.

By Jane Willis

“It included strobe lighting, smoke machines, special effects, music and live actors and we entertained to more than 150 guests.”

A mutual love of Halloween and things that go bump in the night sparked a British couple to transform their West Yorkshire home in England into a chilling scare zone.

The couple’s enthusiasm for scare entertainment was the drive behind them putting on several small charity events last year with the first being in April and entitled Crypt 2012.

With Sarah Wilson’s love of hellish interior designs and partner Lee Conway’s creative eye for scary construction, some might call this couple’s pairing a match made in ‘Hell’.

“It included the usual fright effects as well as volunteer performers and backstage staff,” said Lee. “We then went on to create a charity scare attraction called Lost in a cricket pavilion in nearby Bolton-upon-Dearn over the Halloween season last year. This attraction attracted 200 people and raised about £250 for Rotherham Hospice.

But over the past three years the couple’s home scary projects have brought entertainment to hundreds of people and helped raised more than £500 for local good causes. Their passion for Halloween started long before the pair met four years ago as both have been doing small-scale home haunts for more than a decade. So after settling down under one roof in Rotherham three years ago it was a natural step for Sarah, 39, and Lee, 41, to decorate their home into a home haunt. “Sarah always decorates the interior with wonderful colours and designs and I like doing the outside of the house,” said Lee, who works in customer service for a UK construction firm. “We both really enjoy Halloween and creating our home scare zone. Over the years we’ve had hundreds of people coming to our event and raised hundreds of pounds for local charities, so that’s been great as well.” The couple’s first home haunt, in 2010, was a much smaller affair than their more recent haunt, despite it including a maze which spread the width of their garden and a neighbour’s too. “It wasn’t that big compared to others we’ve done since,” said Lee, “although we did use strobe lighting and smoke for effects. “It was mainly for family, friends and neighbours

“At home we also put on another home haunt over Halloween called Last Rights which covered both the front and back gardens as well as the house. It attracted about 100 guests and raised £300 for charity.” Now the couple have launched their own scare entertainment group called Primrose Unknown Projects and aim to build their interest in the scare genre into a thriving business with emphasis on making “their dreams and your nightmares become real”. Lee said: “At the moment it’s just a sideline but we’d both like to do more in the scare entertainment industry as it is something we are both passionate about and last year we were short listed in three categories in the Scare

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www.scareworld.co.uk right now.” Before the couple press ahead with their new scare enterprise, however, they have a Halloween wedding to plan. “We got engaged last year at the London Dungeons and this year we’re getting married on Halloween, said Lee. “But it won’t be anything scary and just a small affair for close family and friends in a lovely stately home.” For news and information about Primrose Unknown Projects including upcoming events go to www. primroseunknownprojects.com

Awards 2012 and voted the best home haunt in The Willies, a UK home haunt website. “We both like scare attractions and theme parks, particularly those in the US, and people have always enjoyed what we’ve done so what started out as just a bit of fun, slowly evolved into a business last year. “However, we both have full-time jobs and four children between us so it’s just fitting it all in really. Hopefully though, we might be doing something this year on a more professional scale, although it’s an idea that’s just in the pipeline

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Scary FX The Digital Terror of AtmosfearFX From starting out as a producer on the hit US animated TV comedy series, Beavis and Butt-head, to heading up a major visual effects company aimed at the Halloween haunts and enthusiasts, Pete Reichert’s career has certainly covered the scale in the entertainment market. From its headquarters in Seattle, Washington, in the US, Pete is president and co-founder of AtmosFX, a visual effects studio that has been developing high-quality video effects for the professional haunt industry since 2007. Developed with co-founder Pete Williams, AtmosFX started out as a high-end visual effects firm aimed largely at the wider entertainment industry. But as word got around about the cost effective, yet quality visual effects that AtmosFX supplied, it wasn’t long before the Halloween attraction owners and home haunters started knocking at the door. “We came from the world of providing high-end visual effects to the entertainment industry but more and more we began doing custom work for the top haunt attractions,” said Pete, 43, who worked for ten-years on the MTV networks as a producer of Beavis and Butt-head and as a supervising producer for MTV animation’s development department before co-founding AtmosFX.

“Custom animated effects cost thousands of dollars to produce, which put them way outside of the price range for home haunters and everyday Halloween enthusiasts,” he said. “When we saw the incredibly positive reactions to the effects we were creating for professional haunts, we knew that there would be a huge demand for a line of cost-effective products that would allow anyone to decorate their houses in a way that looks just as cool as what they’d find in professional haunted houses.” On a mission to bring the best in entertaining digital decorations to consumers and businesses around the world, AtmosFX has now branched out from its highly specialized custom work and expanded into the mainstream marketplace, creating the AtmosFEARfx and AtmosCHEERfx product lines which include festive digital decorations for the holiday season and other festive occasions. Currently, the company offers a line-up of uniquely themed digital decorations that includes multiple effects and display modes. For added versatility, the effects can even be displayed with a projector or TV/monitor. Pete, whose professional training includes a BS in Film and Video Production, said: “By utilizing a projector, TV or monitor, their dynamic, versatile and easy-to-use video effects allow anyone to transform any setting – including their home, office, business or

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www.scareworld.co.uk special event – into a thrilling, atmospheric experience. “AtmosFEARfx provides the highest quality, most customisable Halloween/haunt video effects available on the market. We are pioneers of digital decorations and at this point our quality in unparalleled. With that we are seeking to bring the best in digital effects to everyday Halloween enthusiasts and have pioneered the “digital decoration”, a versatile and cost-effective way to allow holiday decorating enthusiasts to transform their homes into thrilling, haunting experiences. “As we reach out more and more to the everyday Halloween consumer, we’re not only seeking to establish a new line of products, but a completely new genre of decorations. “We’ve found that many people have a hard time visualizing exactly what a “video effect” is, and a large number of the Halloween enthusiasts that are familiar with the term equate these types of products with professional decorations that cost more than they’d like to spend for holiday decorating. “Moving away from calling our products “video effects” and referring to them as “digital decorations” has actually helped people understand that these offerings are not only affordable, but something that they can easily pick up and use just like any other type of traditional decoration.” With worldwide sales booming this year AtmosFX is aiming to further cement its name in the digital decorations market by partnering with US-based seasonal holiday costume and accessories giant, Spirit Halloween, as a featured product in their store for Halloween 2013.

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Frightful Feature ALNWICK CASTLE’S LOST CELLARS By Jason Karl

Something dark and mysterious was uncovered in the old cellars of Alnwick Castle in 2012 - a new scare attraction named The Lost Cellars... Locked and undisturbed for decades, the old cellars are hidden deep beneath the Castle’s walls. Throughout 2012 this abandoned space was transformed into a brand new attraction which is unique to the North East of England. Catherine Neil, Programme Manager at Alnwick Castle and the leader on the development of this project, said “Someone once asked me, ‘Where do ghosts go in the day?’ It was enough to set my imagination racing. I was very clear about the setting I wanted to create: a scare that would appeal to an older audience. I wanted it to be unique, with high production values and for it to live up to the magnificent surroundings of the Castle. Developing a piece of theatre was a natural choice for me and worked from an artistic and operational perspective. I had an excellent team to work with from Paragon Creative to build the attraction, as well as very talented staff who are excited to be performing in such a unique location.” Scare entertainment fans can expect to be led in small groups by a costumed guide – the Keeper of the Lost Souls – on a journey down deep into the mysteries of the Cellars. There are tales of terrible fates and grisly folklore combined with character holograms, hair-raising lighting and the very latest audio technology, keeping the sounds of the past lingering on.

The Lost Cellars are a major milestone in the continued development of Alnwick Castle, intended to offer a range of attractions and features that will appeal to all ages. David Hawke, Commercial Director, said “The Lost Cellars are the first stage of a major three year investment plan to expand an already amazing day out into one of the UK’s must-see visitor attractions. The combination of historical State Rooms, a magnificent setting and leading attractions is unique in terms of a compelling visitor experience. I believe that The Lost Cellars are a fantastic addition to our offer, widening the Castle’s appeal to a broader audience.” Entrance to The Lost Cellars was included in admission prices to Alnwick Castle for a limited period in 2012, and the attraction will re-open for the 2013 season. Demand is expected to be high, but with the introduction of the new Alnwick Castle Unlocked ticket – where visitors pay for the day and can visit for free for the whole season – there will be plenty of opportunities to take a tour and discover what lies below Alnwick Castle. The experience will be restricted to visitors aged 13 years and over. For more information including opening times and prices visit www.alnwickcastle.com

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Scream School by Luci Teal

I am always keen to pick up new skills but having not been in a drama class for years I was quite nervous at what lay ahead after signing up for AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment’s Scream School. My fears soon lessened, however, after chatting with the rest of the scare students when I realised that we were quite a mix bunch in terms of performance ability as well as being from different locations across the UK. Some students already worked in the scare industry and wanted to learn more skills, some were scarefans looking for extra skills while others wanted to expand their existing skills beyond make-up, costume and set design and so forth. First off was an icebreaker which included a quick game to have a chat with the people around us and an opportunity to get that first all important scream out! We were positioned in circles facing a partner and told to simply scare them. It was interesting to see and hear the different ways people opted to do this, some by a look, others by screams and so on. With energies now high and people feeling more confident we focused on movement, especially on eye contact and personal space and how certain people, animals and creatures would move in certain situations. Along with this we were given voice training and work with masks.

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Guest Review We were given a thorough insight into the anatomy of fear from AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment’s ‘Frightologist’ and Senior Show Producer, Gary Oke, who explained the different types of actor and guest, circumstance and the typical guest reaction. Following this we are given a master class in horror make-up. Fine details on health and hygiene are presented and we are then talked through a typical scare actor’s make up style and let loose on each other to bring to life our own designs. The student who did my make up was very good, and it turned out well, sadly I didn’t do her the same justice but AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment’s makeup and character effects designer, Annie Cabasa, was on hand to help me fix mistakes, explain where I had gone wrong and how it could be improved! I thoroughly enjoyed Scream School, with a lot packed into the day course. We not only learnt techniques and styles but also the necessary rules and regulations needed when working in certain environments. Scream School promises a fast track through AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment’s own audition process for anyone with potential, so is a great stepping stone for those with sights set on scareacting. Courses run throughout the year and details can be found at www.screamschool.co.uk

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Guest Review THE PASSING - Thorpe Park Fright Nights 2012 by Ollie Cook After rave reviews of Experiment 10, many people had high hopes of Thorpe Park pushing the boundaries yet again in the UK with the introduction of ‘The Passing’. Imagine your usual scare attraction with live actors and darkened passageways. Now imagine doing it with a hood covering your head restricting your vision and internal speakers playing the echoing voices of those who you have hurt ringing in your ears as you stumble through the after-life in search of salvation. In ‘The Passing’, there’s no need to imagine it as you’re experiencing it. In 2012 Thorpe Parks annual Halloween event, ‘Fright Nights’ reached its 11th year playing host to one of the largest theme park Halloween events in the UK. Since its debut in 2001 the event has played host to 9 other horror attractions so for its 10th the park wanted to push the boundaries and make something guests wouldn’t forget. The back story for ‘The Passing’ saw guests become one of the darkest and twisted criminals to wreak havoc upon society, and are then tried, tested and sentenced to death. Once you are ‘shot dead’ a hood is placed over your head which restricts your vision. The maze represents just the beginning of your suffering as the after-life will demand you brave the unknown horrors of ‘The Passing’ in order to reach your final resting place...

psychological elements that could be used to manipulate the senses of the guests who experienced the attraction. Using a mixture of new techniques and simple scares, such as breathing in your ear and loud unexpected noises, they tried to balance out events during the maze to ensure there was something that would affect each of the guests. ‘The Passing’ also introduced smells to help induce fear “In our research, we found what really gets people scared is taking them out of their comfort zones and smells trigger past feelings of fear” says Morris. Thorpe Park enlisted the help of Psychologist Dr David Lewis to make it the scariest maze yet. “The hood gives the wearer sensory deprivation, a state that has been known to cause disturbing side effects such as hallucinations, extreme anxiety, bizarre thoughts and suggestibility,” he says. “Confronted by such an experience, the body is flooded with hormones triggered by a primitive survival mechanism, known as the flight, fight or freeze responses.” Lewis goes on to say that the emotions experienced by guests in ‘The Passing’ are controlled by a primitive part of the brain and could be as intense as in a real-life situation. “Emotions can be intense in the maze but most individuals know nothing bad will happen,” he added. “What would be experienced as painful and negative feelings are enjoyed as excitement and thrilling ones. This can be described as fun fear.”

Each addition to the ‘Fright Nights’ line up usually sees a new style of maze appear so it differs from the others and generates an entirely new experience when compared to the others around the park. For example, ‘The Asylum’ is known as the most intense of the mazes with loud audio, fast strobes and energetic actors. This differs from the other mazes such as ‘The Curse’ which uses low lighting and silent but detailed scenes with actors using the shadows to their advantage.

‘The Passing’ was constructed on the site of the old ‘Hellgate’ scare attraction which shares the building with the X:// No Way Out roller coaster. Eagled eyed fans of the previous maze will notice the familiar layout and recycled set pieces whilst been provided plenty of new elements to catch them off guard. Due to the limited number of people able to go through the attraction and the added element of the hoods, ‘The Passing’ was the first maze at Thorpe Park to include a small fee to enter. This was advertised before the event on the parks website and social media pages to allow guests to ‘pre-book their death’ as spaces were limited.

Thorpe Parks spokeswoman, Sarah Morris, said the parks creative team wanted to push the boundaries with the new maze and include not just physical scares but also

When the attraction first opened to the public it received mixed responses. Some guests complained that the hoods could be seen through easily and that some of the scares

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weren’t very effective or were missed due to the group being split. The team at Thorpe worked hard collecting guest feedback and improving the maze where they could which showed, with reviews of the attraction being much more positive later. The impaired vision of guests from the hoods gave perfect opportunities for jump scares and the actors took great advantage of the opportunity by appearing from all sides and being able to move around the group quickly and appearing when least expected. However this also meant that some of the scares and effects were missed including a section which played out above guests which went unnoticed by the majority due the restrictions of the hoods. This was made up for with an ingenious use of UV lighting and a false sense of security, the clever twist at the end of the attraction caught a lot of visitors of guard and wrapped up the attraction nicely reminding them that they’ll never reach a peaceful resting place in the afterlife... The park must be applauded for trying something new and pushing the boundaries even further since shocking people with Experiment 10. Although the hood is considered a gimmick by some, the majority of guests lapped up the new element and were talking about it long after leaving the maze. The only points that let the attraction down was the lack of actors, audio and any decent theming. Even though the maze still got in the scares it felt a little empty, which went against the expectations of a paid maze providing a

better experience than the free ones. ‘The Passing’ was a great idea but not pulled off as well as it perhaps could have been, nevertheless it managed to provide a unique experience for guests and add another maze onto the ‘Fright Nights’ line up. It will be interesting to see what plans Thorpe Park have in store for Halloween later this year, and if we’ll be seeing any additional updates to ‘The Passing’. The park knows they have something special and are the only theme park event in the UK to attempt such a bold idea. They took a risk, but it paid off in the end with tickets selling out completely on several days, and a constant queue of people lining up to experience what was an innovative leap in the realm of scare entertainment.

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Scary World HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS HOWL-O-SCREAM

Orlando, USA By Mark Lofthouse As an ardent scare enthusiast, the chance to visit the reputed home of Halloween was an opportunity too good to miss, so late in summer 2012, I flew across the pond to see first-hand what the Floridian Halloween season had to offer... From leaving the airport, it was clear just how big of a holiday Halloween truly is in the States, from locals’ lawns being littered with pumpkins through to the more prominent billboards advertising larger events. It is very apparent just how advanced the industry is compared to the UK and other European countries where Halloween entertainment is about a decade or so behind. Halloween Horror Nights – Universal Studios, Orlando Quite possibly the most famous Halloween event at Universal Studios which saw its 22nd year of operation in 2012 and voted the Best Halloween Event for several years in the Golden Ticket Awards. So would it live up to its infamous reputation?

This year saw a large lineup of seven haunted houses, two sinister shows, a newly structured street experience and ample going on for all the family. As much as the event is geared towards adults and older teens, plenty of families joined in the Halloween festivities, screaming and laughing as roaming hoards of vampires attacked them, an all-female chainsaw wielding drill team and the undead. It also hosts some of the best sets available on the market in its scare houses and due to it still being a working movie studio, a lot of the extravagant sets use authentic materials. One that springs to mind as memorable is the Gothic façade in ‘Gothic’ where you entered a crumbling monastery to be hunted by gargoyles, bats and bell ringers. It was very atmospheric with clever use of space and trickery to create illusions. Other attractions had tie-ins with big productions namely ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Silent Hill’, both with sets and characters from the widely known films. Fans of either would recognize the brilliance behind these attractions, which left you feeling as though you were really in them, facing mortal danger. They were a huge hit, regularly getting queues of over 2-3 hours long. This year saw a whole new reinvented street experience as oppose to the previous ‘scare zones’ where a designated themed area would host a series of monsters and maniacs with a hoard-style of performers and copious guest interaction. Through the night, you would be constantly ‘attacked’ by an array of monsters all using the space in a tactile manner to alienate and corner the audience.

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www.scareworld.co.uk Instead of the scareactor each having a designated area, they were mingling and scaring together, it seemed somewhat messy and disorganized. It was a nice try, and I’m sure in time they’ll perfect the routine, as Universal Studios are fantastic at listening to guest feedback. Halloween Horror Nights had two shows for the audience, 20 Penny Circus: Fully Exposed, which was a circus themed show of illusions and magic and the returning pinnacle show Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure containing pop culture from the past year linked by a central narrative. I loved this show. It was a huge crowd pleaser and very amusing. Howl-O-Scream – Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay Busch Gardens is well known for its blend of thrilling rides and animal interactions, but not very well known for its astonishing Halloween event. But, does this mean it’s not as good as its larger competing event, Halloween Horror Nights?.. Due to its location, about an hour away from Orlando, it’s not on the beaten path in terms of holidaymakers, which is a shame as it’s one of my favourite events. This year saw its 13th year of fear and an impressive seven haunted houses, three DJ areas and two shows. The night we went was one of their quieter days and made it that much more exciting and enjoyable as we managed to get everything done, two or three times, which was perfect and also included a roaming scareactor based street experience. But the biggest difference with ‘Howl-O-Scream’ street theatre compared to ‘Halloween Horror Night’s’ was that it seemed organized to military precision. The groups moved around the park in a staged manner, never bumping into another group, which was spectacular to watch and flawless despite it probably being a complex production to produce. ‘The Haunted House’ at Howl-O-Scream is also absolutely fantastic, even on a much smaller budget than ‘Halloween Horror Nights’, they seem to theme to the last tiny little detail to provide an extensive narrative based experience. It seemed on our visit that the performers were so much stronger than its rival event. We saw more interaction at the event and the performers really got into their characters and wanted to frighten the life out of you, they have to be applauded for their efforts. ‘Howl-O-Scream’ has been known to create groundbreaking, novel attractions, one of them being ‘Alone’. This experience lasts around 10-15 minutes and as you can guess, you can experience it solo...

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The story revolves around a hoarder that collects eclectic objects in his warehouse. You’re on a visit but things take a turn for the worse as his band of misfits set you up a deathly quest. It’s quite possibly the best scare attraction I’ve visited and is more a theatrical event than just ‘boo’ scares. In summary, ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ lived up to the hype, but is debatable in being the best Halloween Event in the world, in my opinion, as ‘Howl-O-Scream’ is a dark horse that is no longer standing in its shadow. www.halloweenhorrornights.com www.howloscream.com

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Get Scared and Get Involved Find scare attractions to visit, Get the latest information, Scare reviews and news Join scare seekers by sharing your own public reviews and take advantage of discounts 40 and special offers Spring/Summer 2013

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re The Science of Sca

Part five

Madelon Hoedt is a Ph.D. student and parttime lecturer at the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Glamorgan (UK). She has been researching scare attractions and other forms of horror performance for a number of years, focusing on audience response and perception, and has published several articles on these and related topics. If you wish to contact her, please send an email to the following address: m.e.hoedt@gmail.com. In previous issues, a number of topics regarding scare attractions have been explored and today it is the turn for the so-called ‘rules of horror’. From the perspective of designers and directors, there is the simple notion of health and safety, the ‘laws’ of the venue which need to be in place in order to facilitate the safe and smooth running of the scare attraction. In addition to these very concrete rules, however, the genre is subject to more abstract notions, tied up in conventions and how familiar its audience is with these. To start with, consider this quote, taken from Noel Carroll’s The Philosophy of Horror (1990): “[Horror] is not an obscure notion. We manage to use it with a great deal of consensus; note how rarely one has cause to dispute the sorting of items under the rubric of horror in your local videostore.” Whether someone likes horror or not, they are able to recognise the genre and its products, its literature, films and other media. These judgements are often based on a certain aesthetic: the cover of a book or DVD which is dark and bloody, which looks scary, which

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www.scareworld.co.uk looks ‘horror-y’. If we get past the stage of judging a book by its cover, the idea of rules goes even deeper, and the 1996 movie Scream offers an excellent example of this. The character of Randy (played by Jamie Kennedy) is shown as being a die-hard horror fan. The film shows a party where a group of characters, including Randy, is watching the original Halloween, actively anticipating and enjoying the scares and thrills. When some of the others start joking about the character of Laurie and the lack of nudity in Halloween, Randy states that the actress Jamie Lee Curtis always played the virgin in horror movies: “That’s why she always outsmarted the killer in the big chase scene at the end. Only virgins can do that. Don’t you know the rules?” Referring to the rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie, Randy proceeds to outline the conventions: no sins (no sex and no use of drugs and alcohol), everyone is a suspect, and “never ever ever under any circumstances say “I’ll be right back”, because you won’t be back.” What is interesting about this sequence is the fact that Randy literally speaks of the rules of the genre and how this leads the viewer to not simply anticipate, but predict what will happen. Like Scream, the recent Cabin in the Woods plays on this knowledge of

conventions, as do many other movies, and it is at these moments that an active game is played with the audience. In the words of critic Mark Kermode in his 2001 article “I was a teenage horror fan: or “How I learned to stop worrying and love Linda Blair”, “[Horror fans] are not laughing at pain; they’re laughing at the movie. Or, more precisely, they’re laughing with the movie.” (132, author’s emphasis) Similarly, in the 2000 paper “Horrality – The Textuality of Comtemporary Horror Films”, Philip Brophy offers the definition of horrality as follows: ‘Horrality’ is too blunt to bother with psychology [...] because what is of prime importance is the textual effect, the game that one plays with the text, a game that is impervious to any knowledge of its workings. The contemporary horror film knows you’ve seen it before; it knows that you know what is about to happen; and it knows that you know it knows you know. (279, author’s emphasis) It is the idea of knowing which is important here: familiarity with the genre, with its monsters and its rules, creates knowledge in the audience, not only of what to expect, but of how they are expected to react to it. It can be said that it is incredibly difficult to generate a truly unique and original

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idea, horror has embraced these classic conventions, repeating itself over and over again, but in such a way that it draws in rather than alienates its fans. Many authors speak of the use of ‘in-jokes’, and it is this feeling of ‘getting the joke’ which creates a feeling of connection amongst fans, fuelled by the perception of those with a love for horror outside of the fandom. As is stated by Kermode: “I was made profoundly aware of the absolute divide between horror fans and everybody else in the world...” (2001:128) Horror demands that we play its game, and as an audience we expect and indeed are expected to play along. Where this game of action and reaction is perhaps not as important when reading or watching a film, the response can be said to become vital within a scare attraction: no screams, no glory, if you will. As was discussed in an earlier instalment of this column, any form of aesthetic distance and appreciation is missing within this setting. The emotion takes over and this is exactly what the fans seem to want: the scarier, the better. Although bad sets and makeup are among the criticisms levelled at some attractions, in the end, it is about value for money. How long does the attraction last, and how many

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scares are there? Yet what are the consequences of this familiarity for creators and designers? In a way, it prompts a choice. As I mentioned in the column about space and design, and again here, audiences will have certain expectations before entering a venue. They will know what a dungeon should look like and will judge whether what they see is scary, is ‘horror-y’ enough. The familiarity will also determine how they will react to who or what they encounter inside. Do you offer well-known monsters, such as zombies or vampires? Perhaps famous film characters, such as Michael Myers

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or Pinhead, are part of your line-up? The audience will know these and they will know the rules, the way in which these creatures will act. They will know which rules apply to them from the big screen, how the other characters in films responded and how they are supposed to react when encountering Dracula or Freddie Krueger. They know what a dungeon should look like, an old laboratory, a deserted hospital or shopping mall. As I have said before, a large part of the pleasure of the genre is embedded in these conventions and in-jokes, but what would happen when you create something new? Clive Barkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cenobytes caused a bit of a stir when Hellraiser was first released; a new monster, a new type of monster, something which had not really been seen before. These strange, alien creatures, watching us, partially inhabiting our world, scary and dangerous. How would an audience respond to such a creature, such a creation, especially

in the potent setting of live performance? Scare attractions are still growing and developing as a new form of horror media, becoming more and more sophisticated. There is the option to follow the rules, but to what extent can you start setting your own?

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Frightful feature THE UNKNOWN SCAREACTOR

determination, in my opinion, due to the fact that people are afraid of different By Jim Millspaugh things and guests are becoming more exposed to the standard scare Scare attractions and haunt houses techniques through horror films and so have been a feature of the US Halloween forth. season for the past 35 years or so Just when you think you have it all although these days, and over the past figured out, an attraction guest will turn 15 years, many have made huge leaps up who may not react in the expected in production value. manner. So, we adapt. The children who made the little haunted houses all those years ago are now the ones turning their passion into a business and making their love of scaring people into a multi-billion dollar industry year-on-year.

Here in the US, many scareactors try different methods of scaring. We usually play to our strengths. A large actor, such as myself, may not be good at outright stealth, but being a ‘silent stalker’ and sneaking up on someone works wonders for me.

It is a staggering amount of money for a holiday season that began as a A small actor can hide much better, Pagan ritual centuries ago to celebrate coming out from under things low summer’s end. the ground, staying out of the line of Now, Halloween and scare zones are sight until the time is right. However, catching on in Australia, Europe and the intimidation factor may be lost, at pace in the UK where Halloween especially when attempting to threaten is fast becoming the second biggest larger guests, but make no mistake, it can be done, and I have seen a 7-year-old celebratory festival after Christmas. girl scare a 40-year-old man, through But just as investment and the sheer intensity. perception of people’s fear has increased and changed since the early While it is hard to generalize the types days of horror films, for instance, so too of scareacting roles, they do fall into has the role of the performer in a scare certain categories. attraction who has to do more than Pop scares, for example, are the quick shout “boo” to get those all important and easy scares, a “hit and run” if you screams. will, usually aided by a drop panel which Scareacting is an ever-evolving art form that requires imagination and

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scares two fold due to the sound of the drop and the actor behind the panel.

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In most cases pop scares are a decent startle scare, which can put the guests on edge and if strategically placed, can keep guests off balance.

We do have scene actors as well. These will vary from haunt to haunt. Some are very story driven, so the scene actors are helping to tell and continue the story or overall theme of the attraction, while Pops scares can be a set up or be included other haunts employ scene actors for the in another scare technique often used purpose of distracting from the true scare, called misdirection. This generally and if the scene actors are lucky, they may involves either two or more actors, or a just get a scare or two themselves. prop/animatronic and an actor. Statue or mannequin mode, as often seen While I have personally seen and worked in shopping malls these in both situations, I days, is a great way to do prefer the dual hide in plain sight and performer approach, come to life when the as working with a time is right. prop tends to keep the scaring stagnant Using statue, I have and uninventive been able to silently as opposed to the observe the guests communication and passing through my inventive chemistry area and select the that two good actors ones must likely to can create. be scared. When they have passed and Stalking is another forgotten that I’m method used in standing there, I have scare performing slipped into stalking and I find this one to mode and combined my liking, as there the techniques to is just something great effect. chilling about a large intimidating man Invasion of personal steadily following space is a technique guests with the sole I recommend for our purpose of creating more experienced terror. actors, as it requires finesse. Here in the Some of the classic US and common in most scare haunts the characters from the slasher film era world-over, we employ a ‘no touch’ guest employ this very well and usually never policy. utter a word. Famous characters such as Michael Myers (Halloween) and Jason So how do you make someone scared Voorhees (Friday the 13th) never vocalize, without touching them? Get as close as yet their unstoppable determination has you can. In everyday life, most people have scared many a moviegoer for years. a “bubble” of personal space, largely the

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area the arms length, so a scare performer will learn to carefully invade this space. Once this technique is mastered, people will usually do all they can to re-establish that personal boundary. Altering normal physical traits with something as simple as a limp or a twitch is enough to make your guests feel uncomfortable, as most people shy away from the unusual. One of the things that I stress to scareactor wannabes is that in spite of all the set decoration and animatronics, a haunt has to have performers who work and communicate well together so that as a team they not only scare our guests but entertain them as well. Guests visit haunted attractions to be scared and entertained. As scareactors it is our job to bring guestsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; phobias to life and ensure they have an enjoyable and memorable experience. www.unknownscareactor.com

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Frightful Feature THE SCARE NETWORK HALLOWEEN SHOW 2013 By Jane Willis

& THE

& SCARE ATTRACTIONS

The first annual trade conference of a UK network of scare entertainment professionals is set to open its doors at the country’s Alton Towers resort in April 2013. The Scare Network’s Halloween and Scare Attractions Show is a trade industry convention produced by some of the UK’s top scare haunt creators and operators. It is designed to be a showcase of the very best in UK scare entertainment, which is booming across the country and in other European markets. The show is expected to offer professional delegates the opportunity to meet with significant industry leaders, network, take part in workshops and attend seminars.

The Scare Network was developed last year following a significant growth in the UK scare entertainment and Halloween haunt markets, a season that is now hailed as the country’s second biggest holiday after Christmas.

Industry pros will have access to The Scare Network Awards and the latest scare entertainment products will be available on a trade floor.

It is the aim of The Scare Network to now unite all aspects of the UK industry to collectively promote scare entertainment in all its current, and future, forms to a wider press.

Trade stands will be provided free-of-charge to members of The Scare Network which is free to join.

The network hails itself as a ‘business tool’ for members, which pro-actively promotes scare entertainment in the UK at Halloween, and throughout the year.

A spokesman for The Scare Network said “For 2013 we have teamed up with Alton Towers to provide guests with a conference experience never seen before in Europe. Our schedule includes an impressive line up of speakers representing seminars and workshops covering aspects of business and operations, plus creative and production. If you are thinking about creating a scare attraction or Halloween event then The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show is the place to be in 2013 – we give you direct access to the professionals in all areas of the booming scare entertainment industry. You can speak to operators, creators, insurance and risk management specialists, marketers and much more – learn about horror makeup and take away your own creation in our ‘make and take’ workshop.”

As an unbiased collective, it’s aim is to be an umbrella organisation for scare entertainment events and attractions, be a source of networking for members, develop a forum for best practice with the UK scare entertainment industry, make available a list of suppliers offering products and services to the UK scare entertainment industry, showcase news, interviews and features of interest to network members and the public and create a fair and respected system of awards. Similar to those already rolled out in the US, The Scare Network aim to build-up a map featuring UK haunt zones, allowing the public to search quickly and easily for scare entertainment in their locale. For details about The Scare Network, or to sign-up free-ofcharge go to www.scarenetwork.co.uk. The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show 2013 will be held at Alton Towers, home of the annual Scarefest Halloween event, on Wednesday April 10, 2013. The show opens at 9am and continues through the day until 6pm with an evening event starting at 6pm until midnight. For all enquiries regarding The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show visit the website www.thehalloweenshow.co.uk or call 07889 628516.

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Scare Listings CURRENT EUROPEAN SCARE ATTRACTION & Scare Entertainment LISTINGS

PERMANENT SCARE ATTRACTIONS

The Castle Dungeon, Warwick Castle Warwickshire, England www.warwick-castle.co.uk

Buccaneer Bay Cornwall, England www.buccaneerbay.co.uk

The Lost Cellars, Alnwick Castle Alnwick, Northumberland www.alnwickcastle.com/explore/whats-here/the-lostcellars

The Sunken Village of The DAMNED Cornwall, England www.buccaneerbay.co.uk

Dracula Experience, Whitby Yorkshire, England www.draculaexperience.co.uk

The Haunted House, Dickens World Kent, England www.dickensworld.co.uk

Terror Tower, Scarborough Yorkshire, England www.terrortower.co.uk

Carneskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ghost Train Lancashire, England www.carneskysghosttrain.com

Terror Tombs Rhyl, North Wales www.palacefuncentre.co.uk

Haunted Crypt, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Lancashire, England www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com

Bunker 3Zero Pembrokeshire, Wales www.faceyourfears.tv/bunker-x

Pasaje Del Terror Lancashire, England www.pasajedelterror.co.uk

The York Dungeon Yorkshire, England www.thedungeons.com

The Blackpool Tower Dungeon Lancashire, England www.thedungeons.com

The Bram Stoker Dracula Experience Dublin, Ireland www.thebramstokerdraculaexperience.com

Scream, Madame Tussauds London, England www.madametussauds.com

The Edinburgh Dungeon Edinburgh, Scotland www.thedungeons.com

London Tombs London, England www.thelondonbridgeexperience.com

The Black Chasm, Silver Mountain Experience Aberystwyth, Wales www.silvermountainexperience.co.uk

The New London Dungeon London, England www.thedungeons.co.uk

Scream, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam, Holland www.madametussauds.com

SAW Alive, Thorpe Park Surrey, England www.thorpepark.com

Le Manoir de Paris Paris, France www.lemanoirdeparis.com

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The Amsterdam Dungeon Amsterdam, Holland www.thedungeons.com

Krake Lebt, Heide Park Lower Saxony, Germany www.heide-park.de

The Hamburg Dungeon Hamburg, Germany www.thedungeons.com

SEASONAL EUROPEAN SCARE ATTRACTIONS

The Berlin Dungeon Berlin, Germany www.thedungeons.com The House of Fear, Allou! Fun Park Athens, Greece www.allou.gr Horror House, Luneur Park Rome, Italy www.luneurpark.it

The Sanctuary, Alton Towers Staffordshire, England www.altontowers.com Ravenwood Manor Nottinghamshire, England www.gng-entertainment.co.uk Psychosis Channel Islands www.secretsbeneath.com

Horror House, Movieland Park Verona, Italy www.canevaworld.it

PERMANENT EUROPEAN SCARE EXPERIENCES

Phobia, Mirabilandia Ravenna, Italy www.mirabilandia.it

Horror Camp LIVE!, Scare Kingdom Scream Park Lancashire, England www.horrorcamplive.co.uk

Demonia, Rainbow Magicland Rome, Italy www.magicland.it

The Ghost Bus Tours London, England www.theghostbustours.com

El Viejo Del Caseron, Parque De Attraciones Madrid, Spain www.parquedeatracciones.es Hotel Krüeger, Tibidabo Barcelona, Spain www.tibidabo.cat La Pirámide del Terror, Terra Mitica Benidorm, Spain www.terramiticapark.com Pasaje Del Terror Malaga, Spain www.tivoli.es Grusellabyrinth Kiel, Germany www.grusellabyrinth.de Enchanted Manor, Creaky Cauldron Warwickshire, England www.seekthemagic.org

CONTINUING EUROPEAN SCARE EXPERIENCES Prison of Terror Waldshut, Germany www.repage.de The Woodland of Terror, Ace Airsoft War Games Staffordshire, England www.woodlandofterror.co.uk The Stratford Ripper Experience, Victorian Imagiscarium Warwickshire, England www.stratfordripper.co.uk Evil Rising Regional, England www.evilrising.co.uk

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Bunker 51 London, England www.ultimaterecreation.co.uk/bunker51 Castle Zombie Colchester, England www.silent-studios.co.uk Zombie Weekend Stafford, England www.silent-studios.co.uk

STAGED SCARES Circus of Horrors, Touring The UK www.circusofhorrors.co.uk The Woman In Black, The Fortune Theatre London, England www.thewomaninblack.com

WORLDWIDE INDUSTRY TRADE EVENTS

2.8 Hours Later Regional, England www.2.8hourslater.com

Transworld’s Halloween Attraction Show St Louis, Missouri, USA www.haashow.com

Zombie Boot Camp Worcestershire, England www.ramtraining.co.uk

Canadian Haunted Attraction Conference Hamilton, Ontario www.canadahaunts.ca

Zed Zombie Survival Events Regional, England www.zedevents.co.uk

Mid West Haunter’s Convention Columbus, Ohio www.midwesthauntersconvention.com

The Last Survivors Essex, England www.thelastsurvivors.co.uk

The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show Alton Towers www.thehalloweenshow.co.uk

Zombie Earth Leicester, England www.zombieearth.co.uk

ScareCON Unknown www.scarecon.weebly.com

SCARE DINING

TRADE MAGAZINES

The House of Magic London, England www.houseofmagic.co.uk

Scareworld Magazine www.scareworld.co.uk

Frankenstein Bar Edinburgh, Scotland www.frankensteinedinburgh.co.uk Frankenstein Bar Glasgow, Scotland www.frankenstein-pub.co.uk The Creaky Cauldron, Stratford upon Avon Warwickshire, England www.seekthemagic.org

Hauntworld Magazine wwwhauntworld.com Top Haunts Magazine www.tophaunts.com 13th Hour Magazine www.13thhourmagazine.com Selling Halloween Magazine www.sellinghalloween.edgl.com

The Hellfire Club Lancashire, England www.thehellfire.co.uk

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The Scare Network INVITES YOU TO. . .

The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show Alton Towers Resort 2013

The Scare Network is a UK based scare entertainment operator collective body which was launched in 2012 to unite and support the scare entertainment industry in the United Kingdom. It has a wide membership of attraction operators and producers who, collectively, represent all areas of the growing scare entertainment and Halloween industry. The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show is an annual trade industry convention produced by industry professionals whose combined experience places them at the top of the independent scare entertainment market in the United Kingdom. The show offers professional delegates the opportunity to meet with significant industry leaders, network, take part in workshops and attend seminars, attend The Scare Awards, and find out about all the latest scare entertainment products on the trade floor. The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show is the only European tradeshow dedicated solely to the professional scare entertainment and Halloween attractions industry. For 2013 we have teamed up with Alton Towers to provide you with a conference experience never seen before in Europe. Our schedule includes an impressive line up of speakers presenting seminars and workshops covering aspects of business and operations, plus creative and production.

If you are thinking about creating a scare attraction or Halloween event then The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show is the place to be in 2013 – we give you direct access to the professionals in all areas of the booming scare entertainment industry. You can speak to operators, creatives, insurance and risk management specialists, marketeers and much more – learn about horror makeup and take away your own creation in our ‘make and take’ workshop. Visit the trade floor to view the latest UK based scare entertainment products and services, grab a bargain in the ‘Grumble Sale’, get an exclusive peak ‘behind the scenes’ of Alton Towers’ ‘The Sanctuary’ scare attraction, attend the annual Scare Awards and dance the night away with our live entertainment – all at Alton Towers Resort – the home of ‘Scarefest’.

The Halloween & Scare Attractions Show 2013 will be held at Alton Towers on Wednesday April 10th 2013. Sponsored by

info@thehalloweenshow.co.uk or call Sally on 07889 628516

thehalloweenshow.co.uk