It was real scream on a fun ride to terror
WHAT better backdrop could there be for a Halloween event than an old-fashioned railway journey?
Since bringing the abandoned 12-mile long passenger route back to life in the 1980s, the team at the Bury-based East Lancs Railway have devised a packed calendar of family-focused events .
Since 2008, they have been running a Halloween express experience involving their vintage railway engines and carriages and a mix of volunteers and staff to provide frights and fun.
The experience starts at the entrance to the ELR’S Bury station, with passengers ushered through the suitablydecorated hallways and where a number of evil things are lurking (yes, there are jump scares).
I was a little worried that my children (11 and 13) would be too old for the experience.
But they were immediately drawn by the Hogwarts-like atmosphere of the platform, wreathed in steam and populated with macabre, Dickensian charactures and skeletal figures in Dia de Muertos attire.
Once they’d loaded up with toffee apples, brownies and treats from the platform stall, it was on board to the carriage and heading north towards Ramsbottom.
Goodie bags, including colouring kit and spooky masks, are handed out to kids, while booming narrator delivers a ghost tale in the style of Hammer Horror icon Vincent Price.
During the hour-long rail ride, a series of spooks, ghouls, ghostly brides and monsters parade down the ailse staring out the young passengers, frightening mums and embarrassing dads in the carriage before the train brakes to a halt and a lights-out mystery ghost hunt takes place.
I’m not ashamed to admit to feeling a little bit unnerved (my wife was screaming after a zombie appeared by her shoulder).
There had been plenty of jumps, scares and nervous laughter by the time we arrived back to the safety of the platform.
The overall experience was like stepping into a huge escape room.
And before you head off (or indeed before you arive), there was also the chance to visit the Halloween-themed fairground across the road at Bury Transport Museum - which included a mini-roller coaster, waltzer, haunted house and entry into the museum to view its collection of vintage buses and rail memorobilia.
It was a scary, interative experience that kept the kids of all ages on the fun side of terrified.