Music & Reviews: Welcome to the Horror Show by Sam Haynes

Track Listing:
1. All Hallows
2. Ghost House
3. Shadows
4. Scarecrows
5. Zombie
6. Doll House
7. Ghost Train
8. Midnight
9. Seance
10. 31-13
11. The Dark
12. Halloween Night
13. Midnight at the Funhouse
14. Endless Nightmare
15. Ghost House (Fettdog remix)
16. Scarecrows (Cheekyboy Dub)
17. Witching Hour
18. Spirit Box

Welcome to the Horror Show, the second album from Sam Haynes, is a collection of tracks that were created to be used in Halloween haunts and on horror movie soundtracks. There are sixteen individual pieces, plus two remixes; Fettdog's more aggressive remix of Ghost House and Cheekyboy's darker take on Scarecrows.

The album is very atmospheric throughout and tracks such as Ghost House, Spirit Box, Doll House, Midnight and 31-13 are particularly ominous and would be perfect for haunts and horror movies. There are, however, some more up tempo, danceable and almost "cute" tracks like Zombie, Halloween Night, Ghost Train, and Witching Hour, which would be great for Halloween parties and spooky fairgrounds.

While the influences of 70's, 80's and 90's horror soundtracks - everything from John Carpenter's Halloween and Christine scores to the Phantasm and Suspiria soundtracks by Fred Myrow/Malcolm Seagrave and Goblin respectively -  are overt, Sam Haynes manage to mix in their own brand of creepy to Welcome to the Horror Show as well. Many of the tracks have a familiar feel to them, but are simultaneously unique. 

Overall, Welcome to the Horror Show is an enjoyable and creepy album, with a great balance between horror-influenced scares and mischievous fun. It's definitely one for those with a love for movie scores and Halloween haunts.

Sam Haynes are giving away 5 free digital copies of Welcome to the Horror Show and all you have to do to win one is head over to their Facebook page and hit the "Like" button! Winners will be chosen at random on August 13th, 2013.

Websites:

• Haunt Music (Sam Haynes website) 
• Facebook
• Twitter
• iTunes

Haunted Places: Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy Castle during my visit in Summer 2010

One of the few things I like about the town I live in, is its close proximity to several interesting, spooky, unusual and beautiful places. The ruins of Berry Pomeroy Castle certainly fit all four of those categories very well. Situated near Totnes in Devon, the castle itself was built in the late 15th Century by the Pomeroys, followed by later buildings erected within the caslte walls by the Seymours during the 16th and 17th Centuries. It's also said to be one of the most haunted places in the UK, so naturally, I had to visit!

Even on a sunny day the exterior of the castle looks quite gloomy and foreboding. The inside is also very dark and claustrophobic, so I can see why some people might feel uneasy - with or without any paranormal happenings! However, there are many of tales of spooky happenings and two ghost stories in particular have been associated with Berry Pomeroy Castle since the early 1900's.

A far off view of the Castle, Summer 2010

The first apparition, known as 'The Blue Lady', is said to be that of the daughter of a Norman lord. After she gave birth to her own father's child, she strangled the baby in one of the tower rooms because she hated it so much. That seems an unlikely source for the ghost, as archeological research has shown that the castle did, in all likelyhood, not exist during Norman times. That said, 'The Blue Lady', whoever she may be, has been seen on numerous occasions, wearing a blue hooded cape, wringing her hands in despair and the cries of a baby are often said to be heard in the tower.

The second famous ghost associated with the castle is 'The White Lady', who is said to be that of Lady Margaret Pomeroy. The story goes that Lady Margaret was imprisioned by her sister, Lady Elanor, because they fell in love with the same man and she was jealous of Lady Margaret's beauty. After being locked in the tower for approximately 20 years, Lady Margaret was finally allowed to die slowly of starvation and now resides in the dungeons, ascending in order to lure people to the more dangerous parts of the castle. Strong feelings of malevolence, fear and hopelessness are also said to accompany her appearances.



A gloomy stairway through
a hole in the wall. Summer 2010 

There are also stories about people who have wanted to take a small rock or shard of brick home as a memento of their visit. They often feel a strong negativity afterwards and feel compelled to return the taken item. After doing so, they report that this negativity disappears completely. (Don't steal, kiddies!)

I have been to Berry Pomeroy Castle twice; once about twelve years ago and once last year. However, I didn't experience anything paranormal, nor did I feel anything particularly unwelcoming about any part of the grounds. In fact, I found it to be a very beautiful area and quite a relaxing location in which to spend time! Of course, that doesn't mean that there's nothing supernatural there; it just means that I didn't experience it personally. Then again, I do like "creepy" places, so it's possible I just didn't notice!

I don't know whether Berry Pomeroy Castle is haunted or not, but it's still a gorgeous place to visit with an interesting history and, if you do decide to visit, who knows what you'll find there...

For more information, visit the English Heritage page:

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Halloween: Tulleys Farm Halloween Festival

Running each year from mid-October to Halloween, Tulleys Farm Halloween Festival has made a name for itself as a fun park/scream park over the past few years, even being voted the UK's #1 Halloween event at The Screamie Awards in 2008.

The event is split into two halves - October Fest during the day, which is more suitable for younger children and those not looking for a fright, and Shocktober Fest after dark for those of you who love a good scare (not recommended for under 12's)!

Wed 27th - Sunday 31st October opening times are 10:30am - 4:30pm (October Fest), 5:30pm - midnight (Shocktober Fest)

Daytime events and attractions:

• Creepy Cottage
• Boo Barn
• Spooky Trail
• Horrid Hayride
• Circus Maze

Nightime events and attractions:

• Haunted Hayride
• Field of Screams
• The Cellar Haunted House
• It's Curtains Maze 2
• Creepy Cottage

Address:

Tulleys Farm

Turners Hill

Crawley

West Sussex

RH10 4PE

Tel: 01342 718472

Haunted Houses: Cortijo Jurado

Hey there little monsters!
My name's Erinia and I'm new here~ hope you find my posts interesting or at least, entertaining!

Today I'm going to write about the most famous haunted house in my town (Málaga, Spain). It's called "Cortijo Jurado" and the legends about it started around 1850. Mysterious figures walking around, lights in rooms that appear and disappear, objects moving for apparently no reason, strange noises...Many stories surround this creepy house, in which terrible crimes and tortures were supossed to have happened a long time ago.

This house belonged to one of the richest, most famous families in the city, and because of that and their big influence, even now, lots of stuff has been covered, and even corridors in the house and rooms have been locked. Even so, lots of people and experts from all over the world have come to investigate and many curious people have gone through what they call "supernatural experiences" there.

Mainly, the legends about this house are about terrible tortures and murders of little girls through some "satanic rituals" and very cruel and bloody methods. At the time the house was inhabited by this very rich family, lots of young girls disappeared and some neighbours talked about screams and strange noises at night.

Probably, nowadays, the most famous story is that of a group of 5 young people who entered the house and conducted a ouija board session there. According to this story, they contacted a little girl called "Elena" -so were the letters indicated on the ouija table. The girl was said to be 12 years old and she had been murdered there. The next words who followed "murder" were "lots of pain" "kidnap" and when the young people there asked if she was alone and where she was buried, she replied "not alone" "girls" "patio" "4(metres)". The story goes on with the young people running away totally scared and, on the way, witnessing a light that was pointing to a place on the patio.

In addition to that, in my personal experience, some friends of mine went into the house a few years ago, knowing very little about it, and they all said that they had heard an inner voice telling them to "come". The one who waited in the car asked them where the torch was when they came back. Then one of them replied that they had left it in the car. Indeed, they hadn't taken it, but the guy in the car saw a light moving on the second floor, where they were at that very time.

Scary, isn't it? I know lots of stories about this house and frankly, they're all quite spooky!

Here you have some of the most famous pictures of the house. I can't verify their authenticity but well, you can see a strange figure on a couple of them and a weird glow on another picture, and just adding a bigger and clearer shot of the house so you can see it better.

Maybe one day I will dare to go inside and tell my own story but until then, that's all!

Halloween: Halloween Fright Nights at Warner Bros. Movie World

So far we've covered places in the US and UK to go to for the Halloween season, but this time, we thought we'd feature something for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere; specifically Australia. Warner Bros. Movie World in Queensland has held Halloween Fright Nights (previously called Halloween Family Fun Night, until 2009) every year since 2006, with great success.

"This October ‘Fright Nights’ at Movie World will be the scariest yet… your favourite theme park will be transformed into a playground of nightmares when two of the world’s most popular horror film franchises; SAW and A Nightmare on Elm Street, will come back to life. For the first time in Movie World history, these two iconic movies will be recreated as mazes for the return of the highly acclaimed 2009 Fright Nights. In 2010, Fright Nights at Movie World will up the ante on all previous horror experiences and totally blow your mind… every waking moment will be filled with unexpected fear and even shadows in the darkness will play on your subconscious – “Was that Freddy lurking in the dark, or… did you just see Billy the Puppet hiding around the corner…?”

Fright Nights will be held at Warner Bros. Movie World on the 8th, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 29th, 30th and 31st of October 2010 from 6:00pm - 11:00pm. SUPERMAN ESCAPE, BATWING Spaceshot, LETHAL WEAPON and Wild West Falls will operate from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. All other attractions operate until 11:00pm."

Whilst the Saw and Friday the 13th themed mazes are somewhat reminiscent of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights (Hollywood), attractions like the Zombie Motor Cross Live Show and the Live Freak Show, plus the multitude of rides make Fright Nights a very different experience!

Official Website

Halloween: Halloween Horror Nights

Photo: Chris Watkins

Universal Studios, in both Hollywood and Orlando, run Halloween Horror Nights regularly, with 2010 being the 20th year at Orlando! (Hollywood's HHN started later and went on hiatus for a few years). Both locations have scare zones, live shows and houses, with Hollywood also including rides, making scary spectacles for all!

Photo: Jab2980

If you prefer branded horror (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Saw etc.) then probably you'd enjoy Hollywood's offerings this year, as Orlando only seem to have original characters this year. However, if you just want some shocks, scares and frights on Halloween and don't really care who it comes from, then Orlando will be just as fun for you!

HHN Website: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/

Have you been to HHN? Let us know!

More pictures, videos and info after the jump:

Shopping: Creepy Collection

Horror shopping and decorations again! However, whilst the previous entry was dedicated to budget Halloween decor, this time we're going to the other end of the spectrum and looking at a store that's for fit for professional haunters and those of you who've been amassing your weath during your long years as members of the undead! Established in 2003, Creepy Collection has been specialising in anamatronics and props, aimed at ghost houses and Halloween/horror-themed events for 7 years.

As you would expect from a high-end, large-scale vendor, the items supplied do not come cheaply, with prices ranging from a hundred dollars to a few thousand. However, Creepy Collection do offer a huge selection of products, even providing fully made rooms of props for convenience and some of the cheaper "economy" props could even make an affordable, one-off addition to a private house. Even if the costs on the site run a little too high for your means, it's still worth having a look just to see all the ghoulish treats on offer!

Website: http://creepycollection.com/

Theme Parks & Haunted Houses: Kunz Geister-Schloss

The delightfully cheesy and colourful picture above features Munich, Germany's Kunz Geister-Schloss (Kunz Haunted Castle). I've watched a few videos of it, which look absolutely amazing! You walk through parts of it and sit in a ghost train for others, whilst the "castle" does its best to scare you with a combination of animatronics, actors, props, lighting and sound. Next time I 'm in Germany, I need to visit this place!

Website (in German): http://geisterschloss.com/geisterbahn.html

Ghostly videos after the jump.