Now I must apologise in advance, because I have to acknowledge that there's no way that I'm going to be able to accurately convey the genuinely terrifying experience I had at the '13th Seance', Tom Spindler's latest pop-up project, in a series of cavernous rooms under the old railway lines on a side street in Bermondsey, but I will do my best!
Tom, a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama, initially practiced his art at the Thorpe Park attraction but has taken a very twisted path since then, creating various horror-themed events where he dresses odd locations all over London and elsewhere, and then employs various techniques to scare visitors to these strange and disturbing creations. His 'Asylum Hill' events have attracted rave reviews and I've been really looking forward to his latest outing, 'The 13th Seance'. I felt quite fortunate yesterday afternoon as I was the first to turn up, right on the dot at 5pm. After chatting with the charming guy outside for a short while there was the sound of a buzzer from inside and I was escorted through the doors. Queue the first creepy encounter, with a stooped figure obscured by swathes of bloody bandages who I gingerly offered my printed ticket to. Slowly rising from his (or her - I couldn't tell) chair he snatched it from my hand and slowly opened the creaking door behind him and beckoned me through.
Now at this point the enormity of what I'd let myself in for slowly started to dawn. There was a long pitch black corridor ahead of me, with a chink of light seeping through that must have been more than a hundred feet ahead. Fearing being pounced on at any moment I shuffled slowly forward, only to find myself slightly feeling disappointed when I reached the door at the far end completely intact! Things got stranger from there on in however, as I gingerly groped my way into the maze of corridors and passages beyond. My heart raced as my ankle was grabbed by an unseen hand, and I started to come across a confusing mixture of manikins and live actors who lurched around me as I slowly made my way around the obstacles. I was almost in a state of panic after about five minutes, because a dizzying combination of the chilling sounds, moans and curses emanating from who knows where, and flashing lights and pitch-black corners left me completely confused about where I was and what direction I was supposed to be going in, particularly at the point where I came across a series of low-slung chains obscuring my path while a strobe light flickered intermittently overhead. As I started to fight my way through them a shrouded figure just inches away suddenly appeared and started wailing and clawing at me as I struggled to get away.
Now what came next had me wishing that I'd armed myself, a la the slew of popular zombie computer games. What I'd have given for a sawn-off shotgun or chainsaw at this point as Tom's set piece (and what makes his attractions so popular) was set into motion. Turning a corner, in the dim light ahead of me I could just make out two moaning, bloodied asylum patients banging frantically on a closed door. As I approached they warily backed away, gesturing me to go inside. As I stepped through, the door slammed violently behind me and the flickering lights went out. After what I'm sure was only a few seconds (although it felt like an age) the lights came on again, but this time incredibly bright, to reveal a scene of utter carnage and gore - a bucket filled with body parts spun in the middle of a small room covered in blood, as one of the patients (who had somehow got into the room with me) staggered around, blood spewing from his mouth before crashing to the ground as I was once again plunged into darkness!
Now in any regular attraction that would be your lot, with the next door taking you through into the safety of bright sunlight, but not here, because at Tom's events its all about building the tension to breaking point... Leaving the room behind me I turned to face the next corridor and an even scarier sight. Silhouetted against the light beyond was the figure of a young woman in a flimsy dress with bedraggled hair holding a hammer over her head, and I realised that to proceed any further I would somehow have to get past her! I inched slowly forward as she dragged the hammer along the metal on the wall, all the while screaming and clawing at her hair and face. As I approached she retreated into a small side room, smashing a mirror onto the floor and crushing the pieces with her bloodied and mangled feet as she continued to wail and started to hammer at her own head! At this point, dear readers, I have to tell you that I was absolutely petrified - I'd forgotten that this was supposed to be a tourist attraction, imagining that I was in the middle of some ghastly horror movie. Thank goodness that after only a few more shaking steps I was out and in the bar that they've clearly set up to steady the nerves of visitors!
Downing a whiskey to calm myself - I was shaking uncontrollably at this point - I made light of my experience with a couple of the guys responsible for helping Tom to put this all together. Apparently it took them three days to set up and dress the spaces and, after the three days of the event, will take a similar period of time to take it all back down again. I was also surprised to find that inside the attraction there are only nine actors. Clearly there are ways for them to move quickly around the space, change costumes and so on, because it seemed like there were a lot more.
Can I recommend a visit to Tom Spindler's next event? Well yesterday definitely represented the most visceral and frightening experience I have ever had bar none, so frankly I can't wait! Keep an eye on the site here, and also make sure that you follow Tom on Twitter so that you can find out about his next happening. Long may the horror continue!
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