Muncaster are creating a new adult-only scare event – and it’s not for the faint of heart.
Scarecaster will run as part of the castle’s Halloween week from October 20 to October 28 and will feature an immersive poltergeist experience in the castle as well as a ‘truly terrifying’ scare maze made up of different horror themes.
People attending will be plunged into a night of adrenaline rush inducing jump scares from live actors, sustained suspense and fear and times where audiences interaction is needed.
Muncaster’s usual family-friendly Halloween week – which has been running for 20 years – will go ahead during the day, but once evening draws in, a loud siren will go off and Scarecaster will take over on the Friday and Saturday.
The event is recommended for people aged 18 or over, but 16-year-olds are able to attend with parental guidance.
Ewan Frost-Pennington, 32, who has recently taken over the day-to-day running and event organising for Muncaster from his parents, said: “It will be Muncaster like you’ve never seen before and it will be very scary – so bring an extra pair of underwear!
“It’s shaping up to be quite the event. We recommended that anyone with a nervous disposition comes to the family event, it is supposed to be scary and leave you terrified.”
He added that the inspiration to create Scarecaster had come from noticing that there was a divide between visitors wanting real scares and a family friendly experience.
Ewan said: “Last year was my first Halloween as organiser and I found it really interesting that we have people looking for different things.
“We get people looking for that family experience, which is what we traditionally attract but we also have a growing audience wanting a real scare event.
“The way we’ve done it in the past has made it hard for us to cater for both parties so if you’ve got a two year old, they’re very different to someone wanting a big adrenaline rush.
“What we’ve formulated with Scarecaster is an evening event that will get really scary and is explicitly catered for adults.”
Alongside the main scare attractions being created a ‘safe zone’ will also be in place with live music, food a bar and entertainers suited to adults in the Stable Yard.
Ewan added: “We’re progressing the Halloween week event as a whole. Halloween has grown so much and it is really exciting, so by splitting it up it means we have more space for people to visit.
“I’ve met with lots of people who are into the world of horror and some of them are huge enthusiasts. We have a friend advising us who goes to different scare attractions around the UK and knows what works and what doesn’t.
“Our Scarecaster tickets are already proving the quickest sellers and we’re in talks about creating more availability for evenings throughout the week as well as having it on the Friday and Saturday.”
Over six months of preparation have already gone into the castle and maze experiences.
He said: “For me, then show in the castle has previously been scary, but not scary enough for adults. The people who ran that event will now be doing this year’s Frankenstein family castle tour showings during the day.
“The Hyde Brothers from Penrith will be producing our poltergeist experience ‘The Vanishing’ which will be a blend between a theatre production and an escape room
“We’re working with a big group of horror enthusiasts from Maryport who have been doing the planning for our maze ‘The Seven Deadly Screams’. They’re bringing in a large number of actors from across the UK to make it a really scary experience.
“We’re also looking at creating another scary part of the gardens and that will be produced by the people who have previously done our maze.”
The shows will feature themes of psychological torment, mental illness and exorcism and take inspiration from some of the castle’s real ghost tales.
It will run from 5pm until 11pm and fancy dress is encouraged.
Ewan added: “I took over from my parents about a year ago, so I’m at the early stages still of figuring out what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. But it’s all very exciting and we’re looking forward to what we’ve got coming up.”
