The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Night of horror is a real scream
From the travelling circus of terrors to the zombie maze, the fourth Spirits of Scone offers visitors the ultimate Halloween experience in the grounds of Scone Palace until October 31
Freezing mists swirl through the forest as blood curdling screams drift eerily through the darkness.
Ominous-looking no-entry signs fuel a sense of fear and anticipation along the path when suddenly, lurching from the blackness, a blood-soaked zombie staggers forward baring her teeth closely followed by a manic cannibal wielding a knife and a freakish werewolf.
It’s almost too much for some visitors whose screams add to those already echoing through the forest.
Anyone brave enough to visit Spirits of Scone last year can testify that it was genuinely scary and not for the faint-hearted. Highlights included the beech hedge maze where, with limited visibility, visitors scuttled down darkened passages encountering everything from ghoulish nuns and bloodied butchers to sinister cloaked figures lurking in the shadows.
Now, with the fourth annual Halloween fright-fest getting under way in the grounds of Scone Palace, organisers have made some changes to “keep it interesting” while promising that there will again be no shortage of scares.
Vicky Glennie is creative director for Create Events – the company that is providing 22 actors for this year’s event. Combining her love of theatre and horror, the 46-year-old doesn’t stick to one single theme when planning. But there is a single aim – to scare people!
“The forest is incredible,” she said. “It’s quite creepy during the day actually. We’ve walked the route about three times and we keep getting lost.
“But stewards will keep people right. “What happens is someone gets a fright
and they run, and everybody follows the person that’s running. You’ve just got to hope that they are running in the right direction!”.
Building on her knowledge of how to create tension and atmosphere in theatre, and assisted by her partner Steven Reid who does set design, Vicky describes the forest as the “best stage in the world to work on”.
She describes the mix of sound, lighting and actors as “super-important” and, with the route changed this year, tension builds right away.
Highlights last year included a drillwielding zombie in the maze, a veiled nun and a horrible hag in a rocking chair.
“Without giving too much away, there’s a good likelihood that Penny Wise will be making an appearance this year,” she added.
“The detail’s not as important for something like this because people are terrified.
“Serial killers from movies will be there as well. The route’s a lot darker this time. We’ve kept zombies to the maze this year because I know a lot of people were getting freaked out by that last year. It’s a case of ‘let’s keep them in there so if you don’t want to go in there that’s fine’! There will also be a little bit of Evil Dead going on.”
Vicky first got involved with Spirits of Scone through her drama teaching with Ad Lib Theatre Arts in Perth.
She’s again roped in a few volunteers from there as well.
“We’re using quite a lot of masks this year for the simple fact they don’t have an awful lot of time to turn around,” she added.
“Actually what we discovered was obviously when you are working in theatre it’s attention to detail. When you are out in the forest at night, no one actually cares what shoes you have got on your feet because they are not looking at your feet – they are running away from you!
“The detail’s not as important for something like this anyway because people are just generally terrified.”
Spirits of Scone is not suitable for young children and teenagers under the age of 16 should be accompanied by an adult. Parental guidance is advised.