Farmaggedon actor speaks out as police drop probe
AN investigation into a Farmaggedon actor who was dismissed from his job over allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” has been dropped.
The actor, Paul*, was working at the Downholland horror attraction last year when his contract was suddenly terminated in October.
It was alleged at the time he had behaved inappropriately towards a 15-year-old girl who had attended, with a widely-shared video appearing to show him approach the girl while in character.
Lancashire Police launched an investigation into the alleged incident but has since said no further action will be taken against the actor.
A spokeswoman confirmed: “Following an investigation into the allegations, we are now satisfied that no criminal offences have occurred.
“The man will face no further action.
“All affected parties have been informed.”
Paul* - whose real name has not been used - says he is “innocent” and has revealed how the allegations have impacted his life. He claims:
He was told to act out a character which was a mash-up between the Child Snatcher and The Greatest Showman
Co-workers never questioned his act and said it was ‘good’ and frightening visitors, as intended
He found out he was dismissed via Facebook
A code of conduct on how to behave with guests was created after he was dismissed
Farmaggedon was approached by in relation to all of these claims, and did not respond.
Paul said: “I’m not a monster, I’m not a paedophile, I’m not any of these things that were put out about me, I’m genuinely not.
“I’m not any [of the things] that I’ve been put out there to be.
“I was hit with the arrow straight in and it was like the poison spread, it spread like wildfire.”
Paul said he was hired to work at Farmaggedon and his role was to entertain and frighten people in the queue.
Farmaggedon describes itself as “one of the best scare attractions in the UK” and its entertainment is based around offering customers a scary experience.
Paul* claims: “During training a select few people were picked out for what is called ‘Queue Line’.
“And during ‘Queue Line’ you’re out among the public and you entertain/scare them, and each character is different.
“The outfit I was given was riding boots, leggings and a show man outfit. I was told to base my character on The Child Snatcher, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the Greatest Showman, so I was like a ring master.
“During training, I asked appropriate questions, like how close exactly can we get to guests, and one of the managers said ‘You can get close, but you aren’t allowed to touch them’.
“I said ‘How close is close’ and one of them got close to me and said ‘This close’, and I said ‘Alright, that’s fine,’ if it’s a horror attraction and the intention is to scare people, I can do that.”
Paul said he based his character on horror films and imitated mannerisms such as “using their tongue in a serpent-like manner”.
He said using such tropes would elicit different reactions from members of the public, with some laughing, some walking away and others being scared.
Paul claims he was told by his managers his acting was “good” and “getting a good reaction”.
The actor said it was these types of mannerisms he had been doing on Friday, October 18, when the incident was said to have occurred.
Video footage was posted on social media of Paul, in character, as he approached guests, some understood to be under-18.
A mum of one of the guests said she believed the behaviour was inappropriate towards the girls, which prompted outrage on social media.
Paul said he believes the attraction should “not be for anyone under 18-years-old” and made particular reference to some of the outfits worn and parts of the attraction, including “the meat locker”.
He said: “Just looking on the website, it’s not for the faint hearted and it’s an intense horror attraction.”
According to Farmaggedon’s website, at the time, visitors needed to be 15-years-old and had to provide ID on entry.
In Paul’s claims he added: “These three girls said to me ‘can I scare their friend.’
“I’m a method actor and that sometimes involves becoming the character.
“So I went over to the friend and I used the wooden barrier, I went to lift my leg up on the barrier and that is something I was doing with so many guests, because it creeped them out.
“I started scaring this girl and her friends in the video are laughing and her friend was getting scared and turning away.
“The reason I was holding on to the barrier at the time was to make sure I didn’t fall over, and to balance myself.”
Paul said towards the end of the evening a manager pulled him to one side and showed him a video, which was circulating online.
He claimed he was told to leave the site immediately, despite protesting adamantly he had not touched the girl in question.
After he was sent home, he claimed he was told managers would be in touch as to what action would be taken.
But Paul claims a few days later he saw a Facebook post which stated an actor had been dismissed with immediate effect.
Paul claims he protested to managers and was adamant he “hadn’t touched anyone.”
However the post on social media gained a lot of attention and Paul said it was not long until he was receiving death threats.
He said: “Some people were saying ‘who’s he, we need to kill him, we need to go round his yard [house] and kill him.’”
Paul claims he was scared to leave his home and his mental state got to a desperate point, after being questioned by officers.
He said: “When I went to the interview, I said I’m innocent, completely.”
All allegations have since been dropped by the force.
Paul, who claims he has been unable to contact his former managers, said he now wants a public apology from attraction bosses, and desperately wants to express his innocence.
He’s also expressed concern about how quickly rumours can spread on social media, and the devastating effect it can have on an individual.
He said: “I want an apology from Farmaggedon and I want it emphasised that I am innocent.
Farmageddon was approached for comment on all claims raised in this article and did not respond ahead of publication.
*Paul is not the actor’s real name.