Warwick Castle 2013 The Haunted Castle
Warwick Castle have been holding family Halloween events for several years and last year they took the gamble to add a few extra scares and extend their operating hours to a 9pm close. Clearly the demand was there, as this year the Haunted Castle is back with even more attractions, But how would it compare to other events?
Firstly, we must commend the castle on the underlying atmosphere around the venue. Everywhere we went there was atmospheric lighting and music and in the main building a lonely female ghost paced up and down in her bedroom - sometimes solemnly looking out into the courtyard below, sometimes just vanishing into thin air! Of course this was all just a precursor to the attractions themselves:
The Revenge of Henry Black
Following the introduction of last year's scare attraction - Seance: The Curse of Mary Black, this year Warwick Castle have extended the story to detail what happened after her murder. Attacked and blinded by workers on the estate, Mary's husband, Henry, sought revenge by beheading the 6 potential culprits. But of course - neither the spirit of Mary or Henry can rest in peace and 200 years later it would seem that one more person has been beheaded. It was up to us to investigate.
Like last year, the scare attraction starts as a tour of the crime scene and all guests are required to don a protective overall to protect the evidence. It's an amusing touch for the whole show but does create a bottle neck as all guests have to pull on the suit before entering and then have to remove it afterwards, This would be ok in the summer but when wearing winter coats etc it is quite a hassle to get the suit on.
Once inside, the story builds slowly as we learn more about the back story of Mary and Henry, but very soon takes a darker turn. A very subtle scare on the main stairway (directly lifted from last years show) still manages to scare those who see it, but once upstairs, all bets are off!
The show uses a number of different scare tactics from sudden special effects and noises through to an effective use of darkness. Supposed mannequins come alive and more of the story is revealed in lightning flashes, until we are trapped in the castle, trying to escape from the Inferno created by Henry to hide the evidence. The smell and and sound of burning is extremely effective and as the show takes place in many of the genuine rooms within the castle, it feels more grounded and realistic that most theatrical productions. By the time the spirit of Henry Black is stalking us with a sickle, the tension has built up so much that most of our group were pushing past each other in an attempt to escape!
We saved this show till the end of the evening and were so impressed when we got out that we immediately got back in line to do it again. Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for!
As we entered the attraction for the second time we were informed that we were the final group of the night (and in fact the final group of the season) The attraction designer asked if, as the final group, we wanted an extra scary version!. Of course, the decision was a unanimous yes!
The extreme version of the Revenge of Henry Black was one of the scariest scare attractions we have experienced all year. With extra scares throughout and many, many jumps, the actors took it upon themselves to be much more extreme and close up. By the time time we got to the finale and every actor was bearing down on us in the dark we were all desperate to get out! Perhaps it's because we are used to so many generic zombies, vampires etc - but this simple story of ghosts in a genuinely haunted castle was so believable and scary that we never stopped screaming.
The show is the brainchild of Mike Kennedy (a veteran of Alton Towers Field of 1000 screams and Carnival of Screams) and Dave Nichols, and talking to Mike afterwards, it is clear that this is just the second part in the Black family trilogy, and that at least one more instalment is coming. We cant wait to go back next year to see how the saga ends!
Like last year, the scare attraction starts as a tour of the crime scene and all guests are required to don a protective overall to protect the evidence. It's an amusing touch for the whole show but does create a bottle neck as all guests have to pull on the suit before entering and then have to remove it afterwards, This would be ok in the summer but when wearing winter coats etc it is quite a hassle to get the suit on.
Once inside, the story builds slowly as we learn more about the back story of Mary and Henry, but very soon takes a darker turn. A very subtle scare on the main stairway (directly lifted from last years show) still manages to scare those who see it, but once upstairs, all bets are off!
The show uses a number of different scare tactics from sudden special effects and noises through to an effective use of darkness. Supposed mannequins come alive and more of the story is revealed in lightning flashes, until we are trapped in the castle, trying to escape from the Inferno created by Henry to hide the evidence. The smell and and sound of burning is extremely effective and as the show takes place in many of the genuine rooms within the castle, it feels more grounded and realistic that most theatrical productions. By the time the spirit of Henry Black is stalking us with a sickle, the tension has built up so much that most of our group were pushing past each other in an attempt to escape!
We saved this show till the end of the evening and were so impressed when we got out that we immediately got back in line to do it again. Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for!
As we entered the attraction for the second time we were informed that we were the final group of the night (and in fact the final group of the season) The attraction designer asked if, as the final group, we wanted an extra scary version!. Of course, the decision was a unanimous yes!
The extreme version of the Revenge of Henry Black was one of the scariest scare attractions we have experienced all year. With extra scares throughout and many, many jumps, the actors took it upon themselves to be much more extreme and close up. By the time time we got to the finale and every actor was bearing down on us in the dark we were all desperate to get out! Perhaps it's because we are used to so many generic zombies, vampires etc - but this simple story of ghosts in a genuinely haunted castle was so believable and scary that we never stopped screaming.
The show is the brainchild of Mike Kennedy (a veteran of Alton Towers Field of 1000 screams and Carnival of Screams) and Dave Nichols, and talking to Mike afterwards, it is clear that this is just the second part in the Black family trilogy, and that at least one more instalment is coming. We cant wait to go back next year to see how the saga ends!
The Seance
The Seance is another new show for this year and is an impressive lesson in how to scare and baffle an audience. Once invited down into the Castle's original dungeon, we were asked to form a circle holding hands around around a table so a seance could be conducted. What then followed was so jaw droppingly impressive, that every time the lights came on the group were looking around trying to work out what had just happened. In periods of darkness, things moved and things appeared. All apparently out of nowhere. We could see there was no one under the table and seeing as we were all holding hands it couldn't have been the host (especially as she took one of our hands and didn't move through the whole performance). The Seance built up quite quickly to a terrifying finale and as the lights came back on everyone was left wondering just how it had been achieved (and, more importantly, where had that ghost come from!)
Looking back in the cold light of day, we were able to work out the tricks of this show, but at the time, in that dark dungeon we could genuinely believe that we had just witnessed something paranormal. Who knew that a simple piece of magic and trickery could be so effective?
Looking back in the cold light of day, we were able to work out the tricks of this show, but at the time, in that dark dungeon we could genuinely believe that we had just witnessed something paranormal. Who knew that a simple piece of magic and trickery could be so effective?
The Castle Dungeon After Dark
We have experienced the Castle Dungeon a number of times, and despite being the smallest of the UK Dungeons, is still one of our favourites due to the incredible Witches of Warwick finale. The advertised after dark element didn't seem much different to the normal show but we did feel that the actors were trying to be more impactful and scary than normal. Check out our recent review of the Castle Dungeon here
The Haunted Hollows
The Haunted Hollows is an elaborately themed outdoor maze set in a deserted part of the castle's grounds. At day time it is a little spooky for small kids, but by evening, it takes on a more sinister turn as the elaborate lighting and effects turn it into a genuinely creepy little walk through. Unfortunately, the actors in the Hollows aren't there to scare people and just help set the atmosphere and interact with guests accordingly. If they ever wanted to, they could easily make this into something a bit scarier just by getting the actors to jump out more. The detailed sets hide multiple routes through most of the scenes and we can imagine how scary this could be if it wasn't aimed at a family audience.
Having visited The Haunted Castle for the last few years, we were really surprised by how much it has grown and how much slicker the main scare attraction has got. The terrifying show and the incredible Seance, combined with the other activities around the castle - really makes it a viable destination over the halloween period. We certainly can't wait to see what they do next year, and hope the event continues to keep growing!
For more details about the seasonal events held at Warwick Castle, visit their website - www.warwick-castle.com
Previous ScareTOUR reviews of Warwick Castle at Halloween 2012, 2011
Previous ScareTOUR reviews of Warwick Castle at Halloween 2012, 2011
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