Warwick Castle - The Haunted Castle 2012 Trip Report

[JoshC.]

This Saturday, I visited Warwick Castle for the first time. The trip was my first ever to Warwick Castle, as well as a first for the three others I was with. Being the final weekend of the Castle's Halloween event, 'The Haunted Castle', it was open till 9 (for the first time as well, apparently), so we arrived just before 12.

The site of the Castle just after the entrance, with added smoke!

The Castle is certainly an impressive site. Looks very impressive whatever the weather as well (come rain, shine or lit up - experienced all three in one day!)

First up for us was the 'Flight of the Eagles' show. Bog standard show with a couple of eagles and an owl; was interesting and entertaining for all.

EAGLE!

After that, we went to our first scare attraction of the day, The Haunted Hallows. We weren't expecting this to be scary in any way, as it was only listed as 2/5 ghosts and 'spooky', but it seemed like fun I guess. There's nothing to really spoil I guess, and now the event's finished it may not matter if I say about what happens as it may not be brought back next year, but...just as warning, this does contain spoilers.

So, you walk through a make-shift corridor which has a few paintings in, one of which talks and had light up eyes. Could be scary for little'uns I guess. In a similar fashion to Alton Towers' Haunted Hollow route, from here on it, it is just an outdoor route with some gargoyles and other bits of theming scattered around. The first shock comes in the first big scene, where a skull squirts water at you, which goes off on a regular basis. I got caught right in the face and it completely caught me off guard...much to the enjoyment of those around me.

The next major 'scene' involved a cobwebbed dining table with skeletons, and these guys overlooking. Was sorta hard to tell at times if they were real or not..

Next, there were two alternative routes (which lead you to the same place very quickly), with one just a bit mistier than the other.

When the split routes come back together, this creepy, silent character was waiting. Certainly scared a couple of little children in front of us.

Dunno why, but I like this photo..

At the end of the route, you meet this fellow. He rewards (young) children who make it through with sweets!

Some general exploring was done, and we went to the mill and walked along the River Avon, enjoying the nice views.

The River Avon.

A view of the trebuchet; more on this later.

After some general walking about and exploring the grounds, we made our way to the main Castle grounds and decided to head up the man-made hill (which I always forget the name of :$). Certainly gives a nice view of the area and Castle:

Tried the panorama mode on my phone at the top, but it's hard getting a good position to take it.

We then decided to trek up the Towers and Ramparts, which gives a warning of having 537 stairs to climb. Again, some lovely views and bits and bobs of history thrown in, and some devilish spiral staircases to tackle. Along the route, there was a room showing the episode of Most Haunted that was filmed at Warwick Castle as well as some other bits and bobs relating to the place being haunted.

I was quite surprised as to how high how up it was.

Lovely views of the town of Warwick.

The end of the route of the towers brought us to the entrance of Kingmaker, which I found to be a Madame Tussauds-esque history walk. I was genuinely surprised as to how life-like the models really were! This part of Warwick Castle in particular strikes me as to just how well they succeed at catering for all ages. Everyone had a good laugh and learnt a couple of bits and bobs whilst at it - exactly what the attraction sets out to do.

Me looking good with a helmet on.

A quick visit to the Gaol happened afterwards. Pretty much a pitch dark room. (Though some Gangnam Style dancing went on down there... )

More milling around and such occurred, and we watched the short Dream of Battle film and wandered around the Castle as well. Unfortunately, most photos inside the Castle haven't come out very well, but photos can't justify the beauty and striking-ness of the inside. It just looks amazing, and has an amazing feel to it. It really is something you have to go to 'get it'.

Model of the Castle.

We went on a tour around the Castle courtyard (was called the 'Ultimate Tour' or something I think) which was interesting and fun, and then watched the trebuchet show. Whilst I really liked the way they performed it (and, of course, watching a trebuchet fire a fireball!), it was a bit ruined by the music, which was too loud and felt unnecessary. It just distracted from the show and made the speech more difficult to hear. I did prefer the evening showing as well, as that had a bit more story to it, but nonetheless it was good. I'll try and upload the video of the afternoon show at some point.

It was nearing 5 and stomachs were rumbling, so we went to The Coach House restaurant. Pretty decent food there, and with two meals for £13 (plus AP discount), it worked out pretty cheap. I didn't even eat all my dinner, which shocked me just a little bit, as normally I'd finish that size of meal (I certainly do at Thorpe and Bar 360!). By the time we'd finished, it was dark and a little bit drizzly, but it was time for what I was looking forward to the most - Séance: The Curse of Mary Black, which is the 'big' scare attraction of the event (I exclude the Dungeons as I believe they're their all year round. Speaking of them, didn't visit them due to the additional cost, but ah well). However, as we were there and we enjoyed it so much earlier, we went through The Haunted Hollows again, which was better in the dark, of course, and the actors certainly interacted with us in a different way to that of younger children / families, which was good to see. One even followed us for a while, which was good.

Again, spoilers of Séance will be here - you've been warned! Before you queue, it is apparent that you have to wear full boiler suits for the maze, which is a bit confusing. When I asked why, the reason was 'because you're about to enter a crime scene, and cannot contaminant the area'. Crime scene = scary stuff.

Good looking shot of me in a boiler suit. Though I put mine on inside-out...

So then, the actual maze. Well, thinking about it, I'm not sure maze is the right word, but I'll use it as it's easier to say than 'attraction' or whatever else. You get batched in quite large groups (around 20, maybe more) and then get escorted into a room by a tour guide (also in a boiler suit). The tour guide explains that just over a year ago, a woman killed seven people in the house we are in. We are told that we're the jury, and we're to tour the house, examine evidence and reach a verdict as to whether she's guilty. We then watch a tape with a police recording, where a possessed woman calls the police saying 'They're all dead...I killed them...it's still in the house', amongst other things. Interrogation footage plays, and footage of her possessed is found as well. We're told that all the victims have had their eyes gouged out as well. Whilst the video is playing, the tour guide disappears and slams a door, which provides a nice jumpy moment.

After the video, we're escorted through a couple of rooms, with just the tour guide's light to help us see, and told of the deaths. We then reach a staircase, where the tour guide goes up a few stairs and explains to us about Mary Black, and how she was in the house 100 years ago and her eyes had been gouged out and mouth sewn up by others living in the house. It's at this the torch starts 'cutting out', so the tour guide goes to find the emergency lighting, and as soon as he moves, a woman in black can be seen to be behind him, and she walks upstairs. Of course, everyone but the guide sees this, and it really catches you off guard. I still can't work out how they pull it off! Then, once the emergency lighting (and the torch) is sorted out, and the guide said 'By the way, if anyone wants to leave, just say and I can organise for security to make sure you get out the right way'. Then it's up we go.

In the next room, someone started to have a bit of a breakdown. She was scared and wanted to leave, and started panicking, shouting she didn't want to go alone, and then runs off with someone screaming. The guide chased off after them to ensure they went the right way. After this, we were quickly moved on into the next room, and soon after the guide closes the door, there's a knock at the door, which he ignores. Then, there's a very loud knocking and rattling sound, which startles everyone. The door opens a little bit as well, and we're hurried along into another room. More story is given, then the lights cut out again and after some effects, a door opens and a victim is standing there, with her eyes covered as though they've been removed. This causes much panic, to which the guide leads us to a secret passage, which gets us to Mary Black's bedroom much sooner than planned.

After a bit more story, the lights go off AGAIN and what looks like a painting actually turns out the be screen starts playing. It shows images of Mary Black and how her eyes are missing and her mouth sewn up, and the tour guide disappears. The next bit is a bit predictable - Mary Black appears in black (though out of nowhere), with eyes missing and her mouth sewn up. It causes a lot of panic, and with lights going off and on slowly, it disorientates you and you don't know where Black will be. All of a sudden, she disappears, and the tour guide reappears, shaken. He then tells us to go back to the hidden passage, and opens the door, only for a female victim to be standing there and she then walks in (this scares many people, as they're all brought close to the door). The guide rushes to another door, only for another victim to be standing there and cause plenty of scares. You feel trapped and unsafe; the audio and lighting add to the chaotic feel, and after a while, the guide finds another door which leads us to safety, thankfully.

All in all, it's a nice little attraction. There's some obvious bits, and the person who runs away screaming with someone are both actors, who end up being the victims later on. It builds a lot of tension, but doesn't last very long, much like the chaotic feel near the end. It's all good, but just needs more of it. However, with only 5 actors (Mary Black, 2 victims, and 2 tour guides, who alternate groups) and with only 1 group being in the entire maze at one time, I guess this is understandable. The fact we did it later on in the evening though is testament to how much we enjoyed it. 6/10

After that, we wandered around a bit, went back up the tower for night views, and got views of firework shows in EVERY direction; a really beautiful site! We must have stayed up there for a good half an hour watching various firework shows. As said, we watched the second fireball trebuchet show, which was slightly better, and went through Séance again - in fact we were the last group of the day, though it felt a bit rushed unfortunately. The day ended there at about quarter-past 9.

It was a great day, and I really enjoyed it. Warwick Castle is somewhere I'd recommend for everyone to go to at least once - even if you're not a big fan of the history side of it, it is a great day out, and I'll certainly be going back again.

[pluk]

Not been since I was tiny, it's obviously changed a lot since then.

If you take all the halloween stuff what do you think of what is left? Do you think it'd be worth a visit during the rest of the season?

[Fred]

Warwick Castle is interesting in it's own right. It's okay, but extremely "merlin".

If you don't have a premium annual pass, expect to pay a lot to enter or do most of the attractions around the site. For free, there's a couple of shows, you can walk about in a few of the rooms (with added tussauds waxworks which makes no sense - speak to a guide and all of the figures in the rooms never visited the place), and you get to walk that 500odd step thing. That's a good view though.

Foodwise - they do an amazing carvery there. Amazing.

Apart from that, it's really just a castle. And if you like castles, it's better going to somewhere run by English Heritage.

[JoshC.]

I think it's worth a visit during the year if you're going to be near the area. As I say, even if you're not interested in the history side, it's definitely an interesting place to visit. Though, as Fred said, be prepared to pay for extras, such as the Dungeons and the Merlin Tower (based on the TV show Merlin, that is). At Halloween, I'd say it's worth going to more though.

So yeah, whilst I'd recommend it, I wouldn't say that at any time of the year it's worth travelling half way across the country for, as there's that much to do there (9 hours, though enjoyable, felt a bit dragged out for example). However, if you're quite close / going to pass it somewhere, definitely worth popping in.

[pluk]

Apart from that, it's really just a castle. And if you like castles, it's better going to somewhere run by English Heritage.

This is pretty much what I expected to think of it myself.

[JJ99]

Having decided to give this years event a miss enjoyed reading your review and some nice pics to boot. Was there plenty going on to spend 9 hours there as I only usually do half a day at most ?