In an exclusive interview with us earlier today, Laura Sinclair, the entertainments manager in charge of Fright Nights, told us everything about this year’s event.

Haunted Attractions: Hi Laura, thanks for spending the time to talk to us today. So with under six weeks to go to the event, can you tell us what Fright Nights will bring this year?

Laura Sinclair: I’ll start with the big news – we have a brand new attraction called The Curse. This will be a new horror maze experience to complement our existing attractions of The Asylum, Hellgate and Se7en. On certain nights we will also be hosting a promotional attraction for the new computer game Dead Space. Finally we are also bringing the amazing Circus of Horrors back to present their latest show Apocalypse.

HA: So can you tell us more about The Curse?

LS: The Curse is going to be a brand new maze attraction telling the chilling story of a cursed ship that has recently washed up on Amity beach. Years ago a fishing vessel went to sea and the Captains daughter who was in love with a lowly crewman, secretly stowed away. Through a cruel twist of fate the pair of them got washed over board and an evil curse fell upon the ship.

Now 50 years later, the Spirit of Amity has mysteriously sailed back to Amity beach and a crack team of forensic experts are investigating the remains of the ship to find out what happened to everyone on board!



HA: Sounds creepy! How will this differ from the existing mazes?

LS: Well we are aware that all our mazes have their own particular characters. The Asylum is loud and chaotic, Hellgate is Gothic Horror and Se7en is very filmic and disturbing. We have taken elements of each of these and included them in The Curse, so there will be a mix of high energy, dark and spooky, and all combined with atmospheric sets and effects.

HA: Has the attraction been designed completely in house?

LS: It has been a very collaborative project. We came up with the initial ideas and storyline and have worked closely with RMA Themed Attractions who have created a very impressive setting for our story. We are all very excited to see our plans starting to take shape.

HA: It seems to have quite an elaborate back story – will this be told through scripts and specific scenes?

LS: We are not keen on scripted performances for our actors as we find they tend to slow the scenes down and have less of an impact. Obviously Fright Nights gets very busy so stopping guests too many times has a massive impact on throughput and we are keen to ensure as many guests experience our shows. We feel that the back story above and certain clues and scenes throughout the attraction will tell the story adequately.

HA: We’ve seen some building work in the drained beach area. Is this where the attraction will be placed?

LS: Yes – we have had to clear some sand and as of today the flooring has now been settled in. This exposed area is very visible on entering the park and as such our “forensic team investigation” story will cover for the fact that guests will see another marquee from the outside.

HA: Can you tell us more about Dead Space?

LS: This is a one off touring attraction that will be open on selected days during the run. It will be an intense experience tied into the soon to be released game, Dead Space. Like the game itself, this small attraction will push the boundaries and as such will carry an 18 certificate!

HA: How about the existing three mazes? Have you got any exciting plans for them this year?

LS: Every year we go back into the mazes to give them a freshen up. Obviously with the amount of people going through, they take a bit of a battering, so we take the chance to play around with a few things. Guests should see a couple of new features in The Asylum and Hellgate and we are planning to introduce a new state of the art sound and lighting system within Se7en.

All of these little touches just help to keep these popular mazes looking fresh and to the standard people expect from Thorpe Park.

HA: At Thorpe’s first ever Fright Night there was a small US style haunt zone. Is there any reason we haven’t seen one since?

LS: It’s something we have looked at but we really don’t have the infrastructure. Any scare zone needs to have a “chicken run” as not everyone wants to be scared and there’s no where large enough and suitable at the moment. Obviously with development plans across the whole park, this could always change in the future.

HA: Finally, last year the park saw a lot more decoration everywhere (bodies under Stealth and decoration around the train).Will we see some more of that this year?

LS: We are working with the rides team to encourage more theming around the park. We do have to be careful though. During the day we still receive a lot of family guests and have to make sure that we don’t push the boundaries. Some guests found the bodies underneath Stealth were just a bit too distasteful so it is unlikely that they will return.

We also hope to make subtle changes through lighting and music – such as the creepy voice (which was me incidentally) on Detonator.

That’s brilliant – thanks for your time today and good luck with the build and preparation over the next few weeks. We look forward to experiencing The Curse for ourselves when the event opens on Monday October 13th.

For full details of opening times and ticket prices:

Click here to visit the offiicial website

Click here to visit the attraction page

Further Information
Fright Nights EVILution article
2007 Review
2006 Review
2005 Review

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