Review - Dusk2Dawn at Fort Amherst
Fort Amherst has long been a fixture on the UK scare attraction scene. However, when we heard that the fort were opening their doors to those brave enough to stay all night, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see what the evil normally only released at Halloween had in store.
Our evening began with a tour of the fort, orientation to set up our sleeping quarters and some free time to settle in. This was followed by our evening meal and stories of the fort's rather gruesome history and more recently rumoured paranormal activity from our guide of several years experience.
It was then off to our sleeping bags to see how brave we really were! Our sleeping quarters were deep in the heart of the fort's tunnel system, conveniently situated where no-one could hear us scream. This large room was a perfect environment for the night's main event with it's open plan layout making for a very exposed and unnerving experience leaving many of our group trying to sleep upright or baying for the lights!
We loved the structure of the evening with it's very subtle story-led build-up which tempted us into a false sense of security before being hit with some brilliantly chaotic scenes and very hands-on interaction.
From demons to shapeshifters, lost soliders to witch doctors, there was a great variety of characters; a mixture of those featuring in our guide's earlier mealtime stories in addition to some rather familiar characters from the fort's ever-popular Halloween Horrors event. This really brought the early evenings events to life for us.
As for the scares, there were some great use of ambush techniques and misdirection. It was clear that the actors were so accustomed to their surroundings and the nature of their individual characters, some using the space and shadows really well to conceal themselves whilst others were considerably and very deliberately less subtle when making their entrance!
As exhausted as we were at the end of a very unpeaceful night, we somehow found ourselves craving more, willing the waves of lost souls and malevolent visitors to continue - a real testament to how much we enjoyed this experience and how well it stands up to other overnight events we have experienced.
A special mention here goes to all of the wonderfully talented volunteers involved as it was their effort and passion that made our night so memorable. We can't say that there's anything quite like being mounted by a 6ft 5 demon or having the barrel of a musket comfortably nestled in your eye socket!
Fancy a piece of the Fort's action yourself? The creatures reawaken this October with the return of the ever-popular Halloween Horrors event running from 26th to 31st October.
Our evening began with a tour of the fort, orientation to set up our sleeping quarters and some free time to settle in. This was followed by our evening meal and stories of the fort's rather gruesome history and more recently rumoured paranormal activity from our guide of several years experience.
It was then off to our sleeping bags to see how brave we really were! Our sleeping quarters were deep in the heart of the fort's tunnel system, conveniently situated where no-one could hear us scream. This large room was a perfect environment for the night's main event with it's open plan layout making for a very exposed and unnerving experience leaving many of our group trying to sleep upright or baying for the lights!
We loved the structure of the evening with it's very subtle story-led build-up which tempted us into a false sense of security before being hit with some brilliantly chaotic scenes and very hands-on interaction.
From demons to shapeshifters, lost soliders to witch doctors, there was a great variety of characters; a mixture of those featuring in our guide's earlier mealtime stories in addition to some rather familiar characters from the fort's ever-popular Halloween Horrors event. This really brought the early evenings events to life for us.
As for the scares, there were some great use of ambush techniques and misdirection. It was clear that the actors were so accustomed to their surroundings and the nature of their individual characters, some using the space and shadows really well to conceal themselves whilst others were considerably and very deliberately less subtle when making their entrance!
As exhausted as we were at the end of a very unpeaceful night, we somehow found ourselves craving more, willing the waves of lost souls and malevolent visitors to continue - a real testament to how much we enjoyed this experience and how well it stands up to other overnight events we have experienced.
A special mention here goes to all of the wonderfully talented volunteers involved as it was their effort and passion that made our night so memorable. We can't say that there's anything quite like being mounted by a 6ft 5 demon or having the barrel of a musket comfortably nestled in your eye socket!
Fancy a piece of the Fort's action yourself? The creatures reawaken this October with the return of the ever-popular Halloween Horrors event running from 26th to 31st October.
Links:
Scare Review
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