FORENOTE: This post turned into an essay when I got enthusiastic. Yayyy. I think Slenderman has the potential to be just as scary as Thorpe's other mazes; obviously a different thread of terror but it could really wow if done well. I think even with groups of ten it could be scary if Thorpe pull off the queue experience and convey the story of who the Slenderman is, where/how he originated (the old black and white photos of him lurking around both urban and uninhabited areas such as this and this). Do something like a photo wall of sightings, newspaper clippings of disappearances, with a blood spatter across them. Have "He's here. RUN." messily written in fresh blood, to suggest the man who originally compiled all the evidence for his existence was recently taken by Slenderman. All this subliminal planting that Slenderman has a legacy will dispel the thought he's just any normal foe. I'd have the experience at the old Canada Creek railway station, with the guests walking along the old railway line to the Abbey Lake peninsula and back, with a slight detour when the tracks appear covered in blood. THE PRE-SHOW When inside the station, you could have a scene that looks you've arrive just after Slenderman disappeared. There'll be a tape recorder playing some of the man's daily logs with skips in the track to quickly show how long he was there hunting Slenderman. Staring all the way from "Day 1: I saw a man. Doing my weekly checks of the old Thorpe Park railways, I saw a man through the trees. He was so tall, with long arms and... this man... he had no face," to the more adjusted "Day 19: No further sightings since last week, but the mood of the forest is definitely darkening. No large game seen for the last four days. Slenderman is hungry". And then Day 22: Slenderman has taken our camp-site. We have had to retreat to the safe house." You could, as ambient on the track, have the sound of rain on a wood and corrugated shack roof, claps of occasional thunder etc. And after something like Day 23: "He's here. I can feel his stare. He's nearly the house. He found us!-" getting more and more panicky; the sound of a rifle firing; and then suddenly a loud, long scream accompanied by the knocking over of tables and chairs before the clean killing sound. Then silence, save the continued rain on the roof. No sound of footsteps of Slenderman leaving, no opening or closing of doors. Not even the sound of the body falling to the floor. It would be almost as if they both just disappeared. This would give the impression that Slenderman is a perfect killer, inescapable and deadly silent. This is how we would inflict the fear that Slenderman is not just a man in a Halloween mask. By taking away the sense of sight and relying only on ears and your imagination, this tape recording would be the transition between being able to rely on some senses, and then being able to rely on none of them in the forest. They will naturally be distorted and perverted by fear, imagination, anticipation, and adrenaline. The station will be decorated like Slenderman has only very recently attacked his latest victim(s?). A tour guide (member of staff, slightly Lez Cougan-y) taking you on a "Halloween Haunt experience" about the mythical Slenderman will paint the picture of this terrifying foe. He will also mention urban myths about him, such as the doll that signals his imminent arrival. The old hunter's shack will have things like supernatural protection charms across the windows and door, and a pentagram spray-painted on the door to the forest. All these have clearly failed as the hunter is nowhere to be seen. A table with a half eaten bowl of soup and bread has been knocked over, along with a fake rifle, bear traps (open, because Slenderman never set any of them off) and recently extinguished fireplace (gentle smoke/smell effects maybe?). More newspapers clippings, photos and crazed drawings of Slenderman are scattered all over the floor, with a single line of spattered blood across them, but no body. The telephone will also have been disconnected, the dial tone sounding constantly in the background. A single picture of the hunter and presumably his wife hangs on a wall.
This is another way the fear will seep into the guests. They will appear completely cut off from everything, immersing them further into the hellish world where Slenderman is king. They are at the best-protected point in the forest, with all these supernatural charms which have clearly failed against Slenderman. The guests certainly won't have such protection in the forest, where Slenderman hides. It's this vulnerability that will eat at the guests the whole time they are out there, and even when they are experiencing this pre-show. THE MAZE Stepping out into the forest, it is deadly silent. The maze will be indicated by very dim, generator-powered lanterns throughout the path, but they will only be bright enough to light the ground. This will make seeing into the darker parts of the forest a little harder, as your eyes will need to adjust. Aside from this narrow path, the maze is relatively free-roaming, up until the perimeter fences. Naturally, the further from the path you stray the darker it gets and the closer you are to roaming Slendermen. Each group will have two low-battery torches, and the maze ends in a different position to the start, รก la X, creating this sense of "Where did the others go?" when more people join the queue and don't see their friends return. The experience will be similar, though not identical, to Slender: The Eight Pages. Only six of the pages will feature, as will some of the locations from the game, such as the "Two Vehicles" (the hunter's old camp-site where he escaped Slenderman"), the "Tunnel", the "Scary Tree" and the "Rusted Tankers". See here for the original game map, and here for the eight pages, six of which will appear in the maze. See below for a map of the maze. N.B. - The black circles are where Slendermen will be positioned. The actors for this role would naturally have to be very tall. They would have prosthetic fingers to elongate their appearance and make them seem less-than-human. They may also walk on 1ft tall stilts if possible. The overall experience should take about 25-35 minutes. Staggered entry could counter the dip in throughput. There could be a group at each number on the map. My guess is it would have to be a limited-availability, paid-for maze with separate tickets to park admission ones.
Maze starts. It begins in the old Canada Creek Railway station, which has been decorated to fit the theme of a man hunting Slenderman. A Halloween Haunt-style tour guide (member of staff) introduces the group to the legend of the Slenderman.
The guests walk in near-darkness along the Logger's Leap drop and lift hill section, following the railway. The path then diverts from the railway. They may glimpse Slenderman straight ahead of them before they turn off and into the darkness. After walking for a while, the guests will approach two vehicles, one a pick-up truck with the bonnet up, and one a caravan (the "Two Vehicles"). Attached to the pick-up truck is the page saying "Always watches. No eyes," scribbled angrily on it. The page is similar to the drawings at the Hunter's cabin. The camp-site is recently abandoned. There are chairs left with some form of charred, blackened meat on a spit over and extinguished fire and some clothes are on a make-shift washing line.
In the upcoming clearing, the bridge is blocked off with police tape. This is a new location that doesn't feature in the game - "The Broken Bridge". The bridge (Monk's Walk bridge) has 'fallen through' into the lake, so partly-damaged, temporary perimeter fencing blocks the path off. Attached to the fencing is the page saying: "Follows." Again, Slenderman might be viewed in the distance across the damaged, inaccessible bridge. The diverted path leads the group back into the forest. Walking down past the "Rusted Tankers" on the map (the storage shed for the CCR trains), the group find their third page. This one says "Don't look. Or it takes you." A Slenderman will be positioned at the very end of the tunnel, in the near-pitch black.
The group then makes a turn to cross the bridge over the lake to the Abbey Lake peninsula. There are no lanterns across the railway bridge, meaning vulnerability is heightened considerably, as this is where the batteries in the torches will start to die if left on for the entirety so far. They find two dead bodies on the lake bank as they reach the end of the bridge. Covered in blood, the mutilated bodies seem to have been lacerated all over. One wears a Thorpe Park merchandise hoodie. The other is holding another page: "Can't run". This will be another nail in the coffin of the idea that Slenderman is a simple foe. Just because there's one of him doesn't mean he can't do damage to hundreds.
The group turn left and follow the railway once more. Slenderman is lurking in the woods behind them as they walk into much more dense woodland. Fewer working lanterns, dead torches, approaching Saw. Slenderman will disappear into the trees behind them. After losing him, and walking for a while, they will pass a peculiar tree. It is a single, fully-grown, twisted tree trunk with no branches and no leaves, painted very dark brown (the "Scary Tree"). On it is the fifth page with the drawing of Slenderman in the trees. Next to the page, also pinned to the tree, is the doll Slenderman leaves to announce his arrival, signalling he is near (for those who remember its significance). As the trees get denser, sightings of Slenderman become more common, whether they're true sightings or not. The group seem completely alone and cut off from everywhere else, the density of the trees acting as a sound barrier from the rest of the park. They then enter the Canada Creek Railway tunnel (the "Tunnel"). This climax of the maze has only indicative lightning, running along the length of the tunnel, like the old Logger's tunnel. It is not illuminating; it's almost completely in the dark except for the light at the ends. Occasionally there will be the running footsteps and banging as the group move further along. Slenderman will appear behind them but not venture into the tunnel. He will just block the light from the entrance, panicking those that look back, before disappearing again.
The group emerge into the exterior Saw area, following the rest of the track to the end. A further sixth page attached to the nearest Saw support. This is the page that reads "NO NO NO NO etc." After they walk halfway through the SAW exterior layout section, they will see the Hunter and his wife hanging from underneath Saw's air-time hill, dripping blood from their multiple wounds. Slenderman approaches behind them slowly (this one will need to be the tallest actor). Lightly touching the shoulder of one of the group, they will turn, scream (possibly) and run for their lives to the end of the path and escape next to Samurai, while Slenderman engages in pursuit for a short while. And as the group approach an overturned wagon another Slenderman comes into view directly in front of them, showing them his ability to teleport while the other Slenderman has disappeared. The group will naturally bolt the last 10 meters to the park mainland away from him.
Maze ends just outside Rocky Express. There's no official announcement of the end, and no staff there either. There will be additional Slenderman figures hidden throughout Canada Creek/Ranger County to continue/promote Slender. After their experience, the figures could be truly terrifying and since it's all over so suddenly, guests may still be on guard when they leave, taking their terrifying experience with them!
This would definitely be the maze logo. Or something like it since this is probably copyrighted. Oh, wouldn't it be nice?
