Was it scary or was I stupid?
Returning to Fright Night
Imagine your most disturbing nightmare, the type that leaves sweat clinging to the goosebumps on your trembling skin, shaking, unable to move a single miniscule muscle.
Now, prepare to live the experience as you head to Thorpe Park this October.
This year Thorpe Park offers a unique Halloween twist as it welcomes the global phenomenon ‘The Walking Dead’ as its theme.
I remember leaving Fright Night as a kid, the adrenaline still seeping through my body on the journey home; absolutely petrified - and I loved it. Ten years later and I find myself sprinting from the park, equally as scared with a sense of déjà vu like no other.
It was a cold Saturday evening as crowds of people streamed through the gates, the scent of freshly baked doughnuts creeping into our nostrils. We were chatting, smiling, a false sense of security creeping upon us. As the sun set, we were plunged into darkness, unnerved slightly by the ominous music being played around us.
Toni Currie was amongst the quivering crowd being led into the park. “After 21 years of living, this is the first time my friends managed to convince me to go,” she said. “As a big fan of ‘The Walking Dead’ I thought this was probably the best time to face my fear.”
An uneasy sensation could be felt from the very beginning, walking towards the first new maze ‘living nightmare’. Visitors constantly checked over their shoulder to ensure there were no unwelcome additions to their party. Beautiful immersive sets looked like they had been lifted directly from the TV series, making it feel realistic for both visitors and the cast.
Alex Blackmore, 17, has returned to Fright Night every year for the past four years. Whilst anxiously queuing for the maze ‘escape’, he said: “I’m in love with the feeling of being scared, it gives me such an adrenaline rush which is why I keep returning.”
After asking him whether he believes the mazes get less scary with age he responded: “Absolutely not. I feel like they keep doing things to make it scarier.
“Maybe if they were the same each year then the essential ‘scare factor’ would disappear. I’ll probably still be coming when I’m an old man!”
Reaching the front of the queue meant you were greeted by a creepy looking individual with a knife plunged into the side of his head and fake blood dripping from his fingertips. A dark hood was placed over his head with the words “there is no going back, there is no escape” chanting from his mouth. He then led a train of petrified individuals into the heart of the maze followed shortly after by the scattered sounds of high pitched screams.
An actor at the new maze, Leena Alsibahie, said that the job is a massive adrenaline rush: “The mazes are well thought out and involve each actor being at the right place at the right time, otherwise half the scares won’t work and your audience won’t be pleased.”
After working at Fright Night you would assume that the actor’s become ‘immune’ to the mazes and anything scary in general, but Leena seems to think otherwise.
She said: “I’m not very good with horror mazes or anything horror at all. Therefore, if you told me to return as a guest I would probably run for the hills!”
People began to trickle out of the park as it turned 10pm with the sounds of laughter, screams and in some cases, tears.
Returning for Fright Night was an entirely different experience from when I came as a child; however, as I tightly gripped my pillow as I crawled into bed that night I was sure I wouldn’t forget it anytime soon.
