Sessions House of Horrors - Review 2023
Having operated an impressive linear scare maze for a number of years, the owners of Sessions House in Spalding decided change was needed for the 2023 season. Wanting to continue with their Halloween festivities, whilst not running a full scare maze they opted to craft a full theatrical seance experience. Not knowing what to expect, but with vivid memories of how fantastic their previous efforts were, we entered with high expectations!
The experience started off in quite a subdued manner. Befittingly so, as we honestly questioned whether we had inadvertently booked onto a genuine séance and not a theatrical scare experience. The Sessions team blurred the lines between reality and theatre to great effect, forcing us to question what was real and what wasn't. Unfortunately, it took a significant time for things to start building up.
Given there weren't enough spaces around the seance table for the whole audience, things were a little disjointed and there was a level of patience required to ensure everyone got to try out all the different elements. Whilst quite basic, we enjoyed the séance element of the experience. It was fully immersive with the cast of actors delivering believable performances. It's just a shame that they didn't really deliver any scares within this section. We could tell they were trying to build up tension with certain techniques, but nothing really paid off, with a bare bones setup, without any special effects, major audio queues or air cannons to generate some scares. It felt very raw, which both worked in its favour, building an impressive level of immersion, but also against it, by limiting the scare potential.
At this point we still felt that we had a significant portion of the event left, so we weren't too worried about the lack of impact from this opening. It just felt like a nice slow atmospheric build-up. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case.
The show culminated rather abruptly, with a rather confusing scene in the attic. Despite some fun misdirection, and an excellent jump scare due to our proximity to the action, unfortunately, it wrapped the plot up too quickly and didn't really create a satisfying narrative conclusion. It just failed to pay off the tension that had gradually been built up previously, and it felt like the attraction ended just as it got started. It's a shame as this scene would've been a fantastic set up to a grand finale. There were some incredibly eerie visuals and a real sense of urgency. We just wish it hadn't ended with us being lead out of a door only to realise the experience had finished.
Given how much we adored Session's previous scare attractions, it was a shame to feel somewhat deflated upon leaving their Seance experience. Whilst there were some excellent performances and some interesting ideas, it felt very anticlimactic and didn't adequately pay off on its premise. It's admirable that Sessions attempted something new, however we feel this one needed more time in the oven to fully develop upon the concept. At around roughly 30 minutes long, there just wasn't enough substance during the short duration to satisfy our appetite for scares and tension.
The experience started off in quite a subdued manner. Befittingly so, as we honestly questioned whether we had inadvertently booked onto a genuine séance and not a theatrical scare experience. The Sessions team blurred the lines between reality and theatre to great effect, forcing us to question what was real and what wasn't. Unfortunately, it took a significant time for things to start building up.
Given there weren't enough spaces around the seance table for the whole audience, things were a little disjointed and there was a level of patience required to ensure everyone got to try out all the different elements. Whilst quite basic, we enjoyed the séance element of the experience. It was fully immersive with the cast of actors delivering believable performances. It's just a shame that they didn't really deliver any scares within this section. We could tell they were trying to build up tension with certain techniques, but nothing really paid off, with a bare bones setup, without any special effects, major audio queues or air cannons to generate some scares. It felt very raw, which both worked in its favour, building an impressive level of immersion, but also against it, by limiting the scare potential.
At this point we still felt that we had a significant portion of the event left, so we weren't too worried about the lack of impact from this opening. It just felt like a nice slow atmospheric build-up. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case.
The show culminated rather abruptly, with a rather confusing scene in the attic. Despite some fun misdirection, and an excellent jump scare due to our proximity to the action, unfortunately, it wrapped the plot up too quickly and didn't really create a satisfying narrative conclusion. It just failed to pay off the tension that had gradually been built up previously, and it felt like the attraction ended just as it got started. It's a shame as this scene would've been a fantastic set up to a grand finale. There were some incredibly eerie visuals and a real sense of urgency. We just wish it hadn't ended with us being lead out of a door only to realise the experience had finished.
Given how much we adored Session's previous scare attractions, it was a shame to feel somewhat deflated upon leaving their Seance experience. Whilst there were some excellent performances and some interesting ideas, it felt very anticlimactic and didn't adequately pay off on its premise. It's admirable that Sessions attempted something new, however we feel this one needed more time in the oven to fully develop upon the concept. At around roughly 30 minutes long, there just wasn't enough substance during the short duration to satisfy our appetite for scares and tension.
Sessions House of Horrors - Review
2020 has been a difficult year for the scare scene in the UK. Many of our larger events have cancelled, leaving the space open for multiple new attractions to pop up around the country. Sessions House of Horrors is one such event, located in Spalding, Lincolnshire inside an old court house. Promising a terror inducing tour of the house and grounds, we were intrigued by the premise.
Walking towards the attraction we had no idea what we were in for. Almost immediately we were in awe of the acting in Sessions. The cast clearly have a passion for the dramatics, offering up jump scares followed by impressive theatrical interactions. The opening section of the attraction used common horror tropes, such as serial killers and creepy medical patients, but used them in fun interactive ways. Our personal highlight was an intense semi-escape room encounter, which left our heart pounding more than we care to mention, due to the horrifying actor interactions.
What followed was an intense series of scares in the rooms and corridors of the house. The setting was grandiose and really added to the whole attraction, especially given the fantastic lighting throughout. We were particularly stunned by the courtroom itself which was used in a criminal sentencing scene with a lively judge and guard. We loved the interaction and touches of comedy; however, we did worry about the use of physical contact, however minor it was.
As we headed downstairs towards the grounds we were assaulted with a couple of strong jump scares from some deviously hidden characters. Be warned there are plenty of distraction scares to be had in Sessions, with theatrics often taking your attention away from someone waiting to pounce. This level of creativity was very noticeable, offering plenty of memorable moments throughout the experience.
Once outside we headed into an untraditional take on your standard hooded maze. First off, we were blindfolded rather than hooded. Sessions used tied fabric strands, which appeared to be disposable, to avoid any risk of contamination. In theory this was appreciated, however they unfortunately let in far too much light, meaning there was little point in wearing them. This was a shame as we loved some of the unsettling sounds used throughout this short section. We heard everything from shattering, to metallic scraping and worst of all a swarm of flies buzzing in our ears. It was mostly enjoyable, but we really didn’t appreciate having an airhorn fired directly into our ears. It was definitely not needed when the other sounds were so eerie by themselves. The blindfolded section was certainly a nice surprise, but we do wish there had been extra hand sanitiser available at the end of the rope, not just at the start.
Once we were un-blindfolded we exited into a church scene, with an actress giving an engaging performance as a priestess. As immersive as this was, we were slightly disappointed that they didn’t use this as an opportunity to get a scare as were sat in the pews totally engrossed. With our backs turned to the entrance of the tent, we were easy targets, but unfortunately nothing gave us the fright we were hoping for. However, that was certainly about to change with the finale.
The finale to Sessions was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve had all season, with a dramatic scene playing out within the cells of the court. The talent of the actors within this scene was unparalleled. Their unhinged, disturbing performances totally immersed us into the action. What followed was unexpected, leaving us frozen in absolute terror for what seemed like forever. By the conclusion of this particular scene we didn’t even need to be told to run. We were eager to escape the cell block, back to the safety of the outside world.
Whilst it certainly does bare resemblance to a couple of attractions in the UK, there’s nothing which uses theatrics alongside jump scares quite like Sessions. We were blown away by what we had just experienced, buzzing from the sheer creativity of the scares. This may be their first year, but Sessions House of Horrors is already a must visit. We can only imagine how this attraction will evolve in the future as it grows and COVID measures become unnecessary. We personally can’t wait to return in 2021 to see how they expand on this already fantastic attraction.
Walking towards the attraction we had no idea what we were in for. Almost immediately we were in awe of the acting in Sessions. The cast clearly have a passion for the dramatics, offering up jump scares followed by impressive theatrical interactions. The opening section of the attraction used common horror tropes, such as serial killers and creepy medical patients, but used them in fun interactive ways. Our personal highlight was an intense semi-escape room encounter, which left our heart pounding more than we care to mention, due to the horrifying actor interactions.
What followed was an intense series of scares in the rooms and corridors of the house. The setting was grandiose and really added to the whole attraction, especially given the fantastic lighting throughout. We were particularly stunned by the courtroom itself which was used in a criminal sentencing scene with a lively judge and guard. We loved the interaction and touches of comedy; however, we did worry about the use of physical contact, however minor it was.
As we headed downstairs towards the grounds we were assaulted with a couple of strong jump scares from some deviously hidden characters. Be warned there are plenty of distraction scares to be had in Sessions, with theatrics often taking your attention away from someone waiting to pounce. This level of creativity was very noticeable, offering plenty of memorable moments throughout the experience.
Once outside we headed into an untraditional take on your standard hooded maze. First off, we were blindfolded rather than hooded. Sessions used tied fabric strands, which appeared to be disposable, to avoid any risk of contamination. In theory this was appreciated, however they unfortunately let in far too much light, meaning there was little point in wearing them. This was a shame as we loved some of the unsettling sounds used throughout this short section. We heard everything from shattering, to metallic scraping and worst of all a swarm of flies buzzing in our ears. It was mostly enjoyable, but we really didn’t appreciate having an airhorn fired directly into our ears. It was definitely not needed when the other sounds were so eerie by themselves. The blindfolded section was certainly a nice surprise, but we do wish there had been extra hand sanitiser available at the end of the rope, not just at the start.
Once we were un-blindfolded we exited into a church scene, with an actress giving an engaging performance as a priestess. As immersive as this was, we were slightly disappointed that they didn’t use this as an opportunity to get a scare as were sat in the pews totally engrossed. With our backs turned to the entrance of the tent, we were easy targets, but unfortunately nothing gave us the fright we were hoping for. However, that was certainly about to change with the finale.
The finale to Sessions was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve had all season, with a dramatic scene playing out within the cells of the court. The talent of the actors within this scene was unparalleled. Their unhinged, disturbing performances totally immersed us into the action. What followed was unexpected, leaving us frozen in absolute terror for what seemed like forever. By the conclusion of this particular scene we didn’t even need to be told to run. We were eager to escape the cell block, back to the safety of the outside world.
Whilst it certainly does bare resemblance to a couple of attractions in the UK, there’s nothing which uses theatrics alongside jump scares quite like Sessions. We were blown away by what we had just experienced, buzzing from the sheer creativity of the scares. This may be their first year, but Sessions House of Horrors is already a must visit. We can only imagine how this attraction will evolve in the future as it grows and COVID measures become unnecessary. We personally can’t wait to return in 2021 to see how they expand on this already fantastic attraction.
Links:
Sessions House of Horror website
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