Report by Faye Claridge, web producer
Being scary doesn’t just come naturally. It’s a job most have to die for!
|  | Murder! The story brought to life in the tower |
At Warwick Castle they found an – almost – easier way. For a whole week 12 actors had to train for eight hours a day to learn the art of scaring visitors.
And that was all to set up an attraction that would scare your socks off.
I went along to the training and rehearsal week – called scare school - to see the best of the spook tactics.
|  | Welcome to the tower! |
It was a very frightening experience, as you can hear from listening to the audio link on the left.
You can also see the frightening ghosts (and their gruelling training and make-up processes) by clicking on the images button below.
The photographs give a great insight into what goes into creating an experience like this.
|  | Enter if you dare! |
The actors gathered for Warwick Castle’s spooky attraction called Ghosts Alive.
It ran from 1 April to 31 October 2004, bringing to life the castle’s most famous ghost story - the haunting by an evil servant and the man he murdered, the castle’s 17th Century owner.
The attraction, which used costumed actors and chilling special effects to build on the tower’s haunting atmosphere, was masterminded by America’s top ‘extreme scream’ director, Lynton V Harris.
|  | The scariest man in Warwick? Lynton V Harris |
Lynton left Australia with an idea that he thought would work in New York.
This was Madison Scare Gardens, which still has a massive reputation across the world for its ground-breaking style and reaction it got from audiences.
Since then, Lynton has brought fear and delight to thousands of audiences and has revolutionised the way actors spook and visitors jump.
|  | Preparing for the big fright |
Describing the Ghosts Alive attraction Lynton said: “There’s not one cliché about it, we’re not selling blood and guts and a cheesy horror flick.
"It’s very much a theatrical story brought to life in a really interesting environment.”
I can now vouch for this. As the only person there that knew nothing about the ghost story or the devilish skills of the actors, I was definitely the target. And I’ve never jumped and squealed so much in my life!
Don't believe me? Listen to the horror by clicking the audio link on the top left.
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