Halloween 2018: How to terrify people, from the team behind Alton Towers Scarefest

The minds responsible for one of the UK’s most chilling attractions reveal their best ‘scare secrets’

Whatever it is that makes a shiver run down your spine, chances are the Scarefest team at Alton Towers have already thought of it – and used it to inspire a scenario guaranteed to make you jump.

The UK’s biggest Halloween event, which sees the theme park transform into a spooky incarnation until 2 November, takes five months of preparation, with more than 100 people recruited, cast and trained to be specialist “scare actors” just for the event. And they aren’t taking any chances when it comes to ensuring visitors are sufficiently terrified.

“Throughout Scarefest we aim to hit different notes with different attractions,” Kieran Kimberley, creative manager and lead creator of Project 42, the park’s newest scare maze, says. “We create environments that are out of the ordinary and places our guests wouldn’t normally go, allowing them to step into a world of fantasy.

“We’ve developed a wide variety of sets, from creepy medical facilities to dark abandoned mines. This plays on everyone’s intrinsic fears of the unknown and the dark.”

Darkness is just one of the common fears the mazes capitalise on; lighting and smoke effects are used to play tricks on visitors’ eyes, specifically created audio enhances the tension, “smell pods” create unwelcome odours and some floors even vibrate as a low frequency note is played through a base sub underneath to increase a sense of unease.

In Project 42, “brown noise” is played – it’s inaudible to the human ear but proven to heighten the feeling of claustrophobia in humans.

However, spooking members of the public isn’t getting any easier – exposure to horror via video games, films and TV shows means some people are increasingly desensitised to thrills and chills.

Alton Towers Scarefest uses scare actors to create an interactive experience (Alton Towers)

“Today, sometimes it isn’t enough to simply turn off the light; we have to use extra layers of terror to provide the scares,” says Chris Carter, head of entertainment at Alton Towers Resort and the brains behind Scarefest. “The team works tirelessly to work out ways to artificially generate these moments and they are regularly reassessed to ensure we have what it takes to create a scare that appeals to a mass audience of different ages, expectations, experiences and backgrounds.”

Most basic innate fears remain the same, says Carter – “the shadows that move in the dark, fear of the unknown and a fear of death” – and they prey on these to get a reaction.

“During our scare maze ‘Altonville Mine Tours’ our guests have to wear miners’ helmets. As part of the experience these purposely fail, plunging the guests into complete darkness. It takes just moments for panic to set in as they enter unexpected, unknown territory with the added fear of being in the dark.”

Performers are recruited for their versatility (Alton Towers)

Kimberley says his top tactic is using a “punchline” scare: “A slow build-up to increase the feeling of tension, followed by a sudden sound or movement that makes you jump.

“The key is us being able to artificially generate an atmosphere that builds apprehension through the use of unusual props and unexpected special effects, as well as audio and lighting changes.”

The team also ups the ante by changing the physical environment – throwing in winding, narrow pathways with lots of twists and turns to disorientate people, long corridors and dark confined spaces.

“The jump can then be created by an effect that makes a loud noise, a lighting change or an unseen actor who is trained to specifically notice when you’re most vulnerable,” he says.

The park creates interactive scare mazes that visitors can explore (Alton Towers)

The scare actors themselves are key and can make or break the experience; they need to be able to read an audience in an instant and go for the jugular. It’s a quality that Simon Allen, chief recruiter and trainer, is adept at identifying in potential recruits.

“After years of experiencing and creating scare attractions I have developed a comprehensive method for finding the most terrifying actors.

“Potential ‘monsters’ are invited to open auditions where we put them through their paces, often pushing the boundaries of what they feel comfortable performing – but this isn’t because we’re cruel. It’s genuinely an important part of the process as every scare actor needs to be versatile.

“The audience isn’t static, it’s moving through a maze, so they only have a very short window of time to make an impression.”

After recruitment, the scare actors are given intensive training at Alton Towers before Scarefest begins, with “scare workshops” on skills including characterisation, animation, scare techniques, positioning and wellbeing. “The result being the most well-educated bunch of zombies, aliens and ghouls that you’ll ever come across!” according to Allen.

It’s tricky to maintain tension when the performers can’t physically harm participants, but Allen says it’s all about anticipation.

“Imagine a grotesque creature standing at the end of a dark and dismal corridor with the only option being to walk towards it. Now imagine that same creature grunting, twitching and slightly tilting its head in a playful yet curious manner that suggests it’s preparing to unleash an attack on you; feeling scared yet?”

It works, and is one of the reasons Scarefest’s mazes have built up a reputation as one of the UK’s most chilling Halloween experiences. But why is it we enjoy being frightened? Why do we crave that building pressure followed by something to make us jump?

It’s the human ‘fight or flight’ response, according to Carter – the feeling that causes guests’ palms to sweat, pupils to dilate, and ensures the body is pumped with dopamine and adrenaline.

Scare actors go through rigorous training (Alton Towers)

“People like that feeling and it’s been around long before scare attractions became popular. But it’s also the escapism the scare attractions offer. It takes the guest away from the outside world and delves them into an immersive fantasy we have created, with the help of a backstory, special effects and the characters.

“They’re suddenly starring in their own movie in a world of complete, yet safe, uncertainty – and what could be cooler than that?”

Travel essentials

Scarefest is on at Alton Towers until 2 November. Adult day passes including access to three mazes from £50.