Scary Tales Live
In 2011, when we experienced Bunker 13 at the Magna Science Park in Rotherham, it struck us at the time as being a stand out attraction that dared to go the extra mile, and even gave us veterans a good few scares. This year, the team from GNG Entertainment are back with a brand new attraction and naturally we were eager to visit to see how it compared with high expectations.
Scary Tales is based around a selection of fairy stories all set in a skewed universe where nothing is quite what it seems: there are no happy endings for anyone that dares to enter through these wardrobe doors. This point was reinforced as we lined up and watched a group of three people enter before us. After a couple of minutes we heard their screams above the soundtrack and soon a pounding at the wardrobe door indicated that one guest was screaming to be let out. Whatever was inside was clearly too much for her!.
Eventually it was our turn, and we were greeted at the wardrobe by 'The Gate Keeper' played by Paul Davies, the talented individual who is also responsible for the soundtrack for the attraction. We later found out that this is his first foray into scare acting, but this isn't evident at all. He has a natural ability to improvise and provide macabre humour as well as getting through the rules and setting the scene perfectly.
We entered through the wardrobe into the mystic world of Orenda, and it wasn't long before we were confronted by our first inhabitant in the form of a gigantic gingerbread man in front of us. We tried to get past without disturbing him but naturally he was soon on his feet and chasing us through the twisted pathways! We were relieved to have lost him, as he was an extremely intimidating presence, and had no issue with getting up close, immediately breaking any preconceived ideas of boundaries. However, seconds later the gingerbread man crept back on us without us noticing and we nearly jumped out of our skins. Despite such a large and cumbersome costume - credit has to be given for being able to sneek up again without us realising.
Within the next few scenes we are introduced to a demented scarecrow, who seems obsessed with sending us down the 'yellow brickroad', the most sinister looking tooth fairy imaginable, and the three little pigs blocking and trapping us as we try to make our way down the tight corridors. All characters exhibit some really impressive prosthetics that wouldn't have looked out of place in a big budget horror film.
Scene follows scene and each one is as twisted as before. We're starting to really like the stop start nature of the attraction and the interaction really works. Rather than the narrative interupting the scares as can often happen, you're left wondering where the next scare will come from. Mr Punch, giant lollipops, a wicked witch all confront us but somehow we get the feeling that it is still about to get worse!
And we are proved right! After a fleeting encounter with a deranged Jack-in-the-box and a truly grotesque Santa we are dragged arm-first into a room inhabited a character from many people's childhood nightmares - the Childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The actor here embodied every childhood fear that we have with a sneer that could make blood run cold and a sly wit that could make you both laugh and cry. Again, we later learned that this gent was not an actor by trade, just a man with genuine enthusiasm and a passion for creeping people out!
Freakishly, after being thrown out of the Childcatcher's domain for being 'too old for his liking' we were sent to meet Alice and the Hatter. Again, another excellently executed scene where we are poked, prodded and inspected for quality, inevitably leading to us being thrown out for spoiling their food with our stench. Straight after that we encounter 'Little Red Riding Slut', a bad bad girl with the intention of humiliating any male that wandered into her trap, and scorning any females that accompany them.
One of our final scenes was that of 'The Girl with the Red Shoes'. A Hans Christian Anderson tale that is often overlooked, yet is one of the most macabre. In this room we find a girl crawling after us with feet mangled and soaked in blood, screaming for help. Her red shoes placed on a table, almost mocking her for her insolence, she cries and wimpers 'All I wanted to do was dance...'
But before we knew it, the door behind us was flung open by what we thought was a woodcutter, as he darted off into a smoke filled room, leaving us to wonder if we were brave enough to follow him. At this point the poor girl was grasping at our ankles and begging us not to leave. She grabbed at our legs frantically as we entered the smoky stairwell and descended into our final scene. With the smoke, the noise and the power tools being brandished around, we ran screaming to the exit...a quiet bar, with several amused guests and a what looked like few petrified looking patrons waiting to go in for their turn through the wardrobe door.
It's clear that the GNG team love what they do for the sheer amount of detail that's gone into the attraction. A completely original soundscape has been written with each zone having it's own theme. Despite this being only a temporary attraction you really do feel like you are part of another world, you know that its not real, but something draws you into each and every scene. It's a kind of magnetism to the darkside that makes you cower with fear, yet yearn to go deeper down the rabbit hole. We can't wait to see what they come up with next!
One of our final scenes was that of 'The Girl with the Red Shoes'. A Hans Christian Anderson tale that is often overlooked, yet is one of the most macabre. In this room we find a girl crawling after us with feet mangled and soaked in blood, screaming for help. Her red shoes placed on a table, almost mocking her for her insolence, she cries and wimpers 'All I wanted to do was dance...'
But before we knew it, the door behind us was flung open by what we thought was a woodcutter, as he darted off into a smoke filled room, leaving us to wonder if we were brave enough to follow him. At this point the poor girl was grasping at our ankles and begging us not to leave. She grabbed at our legs frantically as we entered the smoky stairwell and descended into our final scene. With the smoke, the noise and the power tools being brandished around, we ran screaming to the exit...a quiet bar, with several amused guests and a what looked like few petrified looking patrons waiting to go in for their turn through the wardrobe door.
It's clear that the GNG team love what they do for the sheer amount of detail that's gone into the attraction. A completely original soundscape has been written with each zone having it's own theme. Despite this being only a temporary attraction you really do feel like you are part of another world, you know that its not real, but something draws you into each and every scene. It's a kind of magnetism to the darkside that makes you cower with fear, yet yearn to go deeper down the rabbit hole. We can't wait to see what they come up with next!
GNG return later in the year with Project Fear, a Scaremaze on an epic scale which will see your nerves tested as you experience it completely on your own. More details coming soon!
You Review
A group from Fear Masters visited on 18/03. We were impressed by the acting skills of everyone involved. We are all scare actors and had ideas about what to expect but still screamed throughout. Actors were brilliant at staying in character, which we know is difficult in the event of a grown man screaming like a banshee. Absolutely brilliant event, with the added bonus of Yorkshire Air Ambulance reaping the benefits. Looking forward to Project Fear :oS Well done!!!
You review 2
We travelled a long way for this event and i must say we were not dissapointed.
It was excellent, the make up, the acting and the twisting paths left you totally disoriented and you didn't have time to think rationally because something was happening all the time.
Absolutely fantastic and very very scary
It was excellent, the make up, the acting and the twisting paths left you totally disoriented and you didn't have time to think rationally because something was happening all the time.
Absolutely fantastic and very very scary
You review 3
I was part of the screaming girls group!! And believe me I was not the only one screaming to get out!! We went back for seconds! It was amazing totally following these guys with what they do in the future! Luv you!
You Review 4
I was quite surprised to hear about Scary Tales, as it seemed a rather random time of the year for a scare attraction to pop up -the middle of march - normally these things tend to happen around October. This is in no way a complaint as personally I think its a billiant idea, and if anything should only help to put a bit of a focus on your event.
Finding the location was very easy as described on their website - Speaking of which the only minor issue I would raise with their otherwise lovely website is that they didn’t have any pictures at all. I understand this on some level as they obviously want to keep what they have locked away inside their attraction a surprise, but still even some vague yet intriguing images would have been nice to get the excitement building.
I attended on the Friday, and took my partner and her 15year old daughter along for the experience. We arrived quite soon after the attraction opened and found that we didn’t have to wait for long at all -in fact we were actively encouraged to steel our nerves for the event ahead with a drink at the bar first, an excellent idea! (Sadly being a responsible driver the strongest thing I had was a J20).
The Theme of Scary Tales: Live was childhood stories and well known characters with a demented twist and for the most part they were easily recognisable and well acted, particular favourites that come to memory were the tooth fairy, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Little Red Riding Hood. One character that we highly debated was some poor lass who was crawling on the floor, her feet mangled and bloodied by a pair of new shoes -which I imagine is any girls nightmarish vision - but we were unsure as to who she was meant to be. Our best guess was Cinderella?
What is worth noting about this particular scare attraction is that the actors seemed to be happy to engage you as their characters for quite some time, where as in other events I've been to you are rushed through a room as quickly as possible with little or no real interaction. Particularly this stood out with Alice and the Hatter, where I suspect had they of not realised that other groups of people would eventually come through we would have enjoyed an entire tea-party with them... For EVER. But hats off to them for their commitment.
The use of the space within the building seemed to be utilized exceptionally well, and the lighting and sounds within were also done very effectively, my only concern was the use of strobe lighting in a stairwell, which as an afterthought didn’t seem like such a good decision as disorientation combined with stairs can’t make for a good combination.
Overall It was a very enjoyable experience for me as a veteran of such attractions, and as for my partners 15year old daughter, she screamed solidly for at least half the time we spent in the attraction.
And the icing on the cake? The ticket price -which was only £5 per person - all went to a good cause as it was all in aid of raising funds for Yorkshire Air ambulance.
When we spoke to one of the actors who was working on the door and admitting people into the attraction after our walk through, he mentioned that they would be doing a more extreme version later this year. Consider me signed up for this as soon as I hear about it, as I can't wait to see what they do next.
Written by
Steven Uden
'Zombie Specialist' and event’s organiser for Zombie Boot Camp
Finding the location was very easy as described on their website - Speaking of which the only minor issue I would raise with their otherwise lovely website is that they didn’t have any pictures at all. I understand this on some level as they obviously want to keep what they have locked away inside their attraction a surprise, but still even some vague yet intriguing images would have been nice to get the excitement building.
I attended on the Friday, and took my partner and her 15year old daughter along for the experience. We arrived quite soon after the attraction opened and found that we didn’t have to wait for long at all -in fact we were actively encouraged to steel our nerves for the event ahead with a drink at the bar first, an excellent idea! (Sadly being a responsible driver the strongest thing I had was a J20).
The Theme of Scary Tales: Live was childhood stories and well known characters with a demented twist and for the most part they were easily recognisable and well acted, particular favourites that come to memory were the tooth fairy, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Little Red Riding Hood. One character that we highly debated was some poor lass who was crawling on the floor, her feet mangled and bloodied by a pair of new shoes -which I imagine is any girls nightmarish vision - but we were unsure as to who she was meant to be. Our best guess was Cinderella?
What is worth noting about this particular scare attraction is that the actors seemed to be happy to engage you as their characters for quite some time, where as in other events I've been to you are rushed through a room as quickly as possible with little or no real interaction. Particularly this stood out with Alice and the Hatter, where I suspect had they of not realised that other groups of people would eventually come through we would have enjoyed an entire tea-party with them... For EVER. But hats off to them for their commitment.
The use of the space within the building seemed to be utilized exceptionally well, and the lighting and sounds within were also done very effectively, my only concern was the use of strobe lighting in a stairwell, which as an afterthought didn’t seem like such a good decision as disorientation combined with stairs can’t make for a good combination.
Overall It was a very enjoyable experience for me as a veteran of such attractions, and as for my partners 15year old daughter, she screamed solidly for at least half the time we spent in the attraction.
And the icing on the cake? The ticket price -which was only £5 per person - all went to a good cause as it was all in aid of raising funds for Yorkshire Air ambulance.
When we spoke to one of the actors who was working on the door and admitting people into the attraction after our walk through, he mentioned that they would be doing a more extreme version later this year. Consider me signed up for this as soon as I hear about it, as I can't wait to see what they do next.
Written by
Steven Uden
'Zombie Specialist' and event’s organiser for Zombie Boot Camp
You Review
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