Halloween Nights at Nevendon Manor 2014
Nevendon Manor is a 16th Century manor house in Wickford, Essex which hosts a number of different events throughout the year, culminating in their scary Halloween Nights. Despite running for several years, the event have never really needed to advertise as their word of mouth is so strong. Certainly after our visit last year, we knew we had to go back for more in 2014 - and we weren't disappointed!
The hour plus experience is all set in the grounds and the out-houses of the Manor and with set start times, each group gets to experience the various show elements from beginning to end in one walk. Unlike other events that have a walk then a maze, followed by a walk then another maze, The tour round Nevendon feels like one long cohesive experience despite the range of different characters we met along the way. One minute it was freaky doll like children, then it was a nuclear ravaged family and/or a Frankenstein monster in a pond. It sounds random, but it genuinely isn't - everything just comes together to create an experience filled with humour, scares, genuine horror, creepy designs and some terrifying actors.
Also there are never any long walks between shows and experiences with nothing happening. Every inch of the grounds seem to be decorated with Halloween props so there is always something to look at (if you can dodge the numerous actors trying to interact with you along the way). Also - we have to just mention the incredible spider webbing that was everywhere. Anyone who has ever used the special effect webbing, will know how hard it is to stop it clumping and at Nevendon they had whole shrubberies covered in the stuff. At least we hope it was the artificial kind - otherwise they have a VERY large arachnid problem on their hands!
When a show has SO much going on, SO many actors and SO many different scenes its hard to actually remember everything that happened. A couple of real highlights were the freaky and claustrophobic Doll's House maze near the start of the walk, the werewolves destroying the camp-site and the aforementioned Frankenstein in the water. He looked like a dummy and on a cold night we knew that it couldn't have been a real person - so when it came to life and was thrashing in the water to get to us, we all genuinely screamed!
Of course with so many different themes and ideas, some work better than others. We were disappointed to see Freddy Kruger, as this just seemed like a generic High Street fancy dress costume and didn't fit into a story, and the pre show for the nuclear fallout section ran too long But by the time we returned to the car park, the event had thrown so many different scares and actors at us that we were almost exhausted from all the screaming laughing and running.
Nevendon Manor really is a unique event that deserves to be visited by anyone who appreciates fun scares, lively acting and something a little different. It may not be the biggest event but it is all delivered with such passion and enthusiasm that you cant help but have fun on your visit. We're certainly planning our return in 2015!
For more details of this annual Halloween event check out their Facebook page
The hour plus experience is all set in the grounds and the out-houses of the Manor and with set start times, each group gets to experience the various show elements from beginning to end in one walk. Unlike other events that have a walk then a maze, followed by a walk then another maze, The tour round Nevendon feels like one long cohesive experience despite the range of different characters we met along the way. One minute it was freaky doll like children, then it was a nuclear ravaged family and/or a Frankenstein monster in a pond. It sounds random, but it genuinely isn't - everything just comes together to create an experience filled with humour, scares, genuine horror, creepy designs and some terrifying actors.
Also there are never any long walks between shows and experiences with nothing happening. Every inch of the grounds seem to be decorated with Halloween props so there is always something to look at (if you can dodge the numerous actors trying to interact with you along the way). Also - we have to just mention the incredible spider webbing that was everywhere. Anyone who has ever used the special effect webbing, will know how hard it is to stop it clumping and at Nevendon they had whole shrubberies covered in the stuff. At least we hope it was the artificial kind - otherwise they have a VERY large arachnid problem on their hands!
When a show has SO much going on, SO many actors and SO many different scenes its hard to actually remember everything that happened. A couple of real highlights were the freaky and claustrophobic Doll's House maze near the start of the walk, the werewolves destroying the camp-site and the aforementioned Frankenstein in the water. He looked like a dummy and on a cold night we knew that it couldn't have been a real person - so when it came to life and was thrashing in the water to get to us, we all genuinely screamed!
Of course with so many different themes and ideas, some work better than others. We were disappointed to see Freddy Kruger, as this just seemed like a generic High Street fancy dress costume and didn't fit into a story, and the pre show for the nuclear fallout section ran too long But by the time we returned to the car park, the event had thrown so many different scares and actors at us that we were almost exhausted from all the screaming laughing and running.
Nevendon Manor really is a unique event that deserves to be visited by anyone who appreciates fun scares, lively acting and something a little different. It may not be the biggest event but it is all delivered with such passion and enthusiasm that you cant help but have fun on your visit. We're certainly planning our return in 2015!
For more details of this annual Halloween event check out their Facebook page
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