'You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll scream' says the new Spookers owner Bill Geradts as the Herald takes on the new and improved experience. Video / Carson Bluck / Nick Dobbie
Spookers is back with a vengeance - and an array of new scare-inducing attractions to have you shaking in your boots.
The iconic Auckland institution, known for leaving even its most fearless victims with a hefty dose of goosebumps, had a brief hiatus while it worked on making its experienceeven more scream-worthy. Now, Spookers is back, reopening last night for a night of sinister scares.
The horror theme park first opened in 2005 as a haunted house tour of the former Kingseat Psychiatric hospital.
With rumours of the premises being haunted, horror-heads rolled in for the fright of their lives.
“Horror is a whole genre unto itself in New Zealand and it doesn’t get enough love. Spookers is the shrine to horrific terror in New Zealand and it’s great to have it continue and to blossom.”
Running the famed establishment comes with its unique challenges, admits the owner, who would have to answer some difficult questions if his browser searches and email history were inspected.
“It’s a fun horrifying experience - and running it has been the same.
“I get emails with ‘do you want these spare corpses?’ or ‘I have a spare coffin - would you like one?’, so it’s been a brand new experience for me but a fun one.”
“It’s a fun horrifying experience - and running it has been the same”. Photo / Spookers
The new and improved Spookers offers even more exciting - and horrific - experiences to make your blood curdle. One of the main additions is the HELLevator, which has been much talked about on social media and was raved about by the new owner.
“The thing I’m the most excited about is the HELLevator - an elevator to hell that we got added in”, says Geradts. “We’ve got fresh corpses, we’ve got fresh blood, we’ve got a giant spider on the side of the building. We’ve got new monsters, there’s a witch upstairs that screams at people coming in.
“If you’ve been to Spookers before, this is exactly the same as it was - but more.”
While searching for blood, body parts and corpses might seem like a bit of a tricky task, Geradts doesn’t have to look far for horror-inducing props.
Every bone in your body is telling you you’re in unsurmountable danger. Photo / Spookers
“Virtually, a lot of the new stuff that’s in Spookers is locally made.
“We’ve got a company in Christchurch that’s done the spider monster and the HELLevator. There’s stuff in Wellington where we’ve got some fresh corpses from and bodies and there’s a lot of blood and guts that we make in Christchurch and here (Auckland).
“We really try to do things in-house or locally. Particularly, of late, it’s a lot easier to do and it’s better to support it.”
The name speaks for itself - Spookers is going to scare the socks off of you.
“I am both terrified and enraptured”, is how the new owner Geradts described a year running the horror establishment - and that’s exactly how visitors of the new Spookers are going to feel too.
Spookers invited Megan Watts to review the re-vamped attraction.
While I talked a big game before entering the house of horrors, I was absolutely terrified to visit the new Spookers.
Horror movies give me nightmares and even the walk to the toilet in the middle of the night gives me the heeby-jeebies - so this was going to be one for the books.
The crazy thing about walking around haunted houses is that you know it’s not real. The blood is makeup. The spookers are actors. There’s a safety briefing beforehand. It is clear as day that you are in no actual harm. Everything around you is a facade. However, while walking around Spookers for 15 minutes, every bone in your body is telling you you’re in unsurmountable danger.
The actors really brought the horror to life. Completely immersed in their characters, from their elaborate costumes to their detailed prosthetics - which can sometimes take four hours to put on - they were the stuff nightmares are made of.
Personally, it was the sounds that really had the hairs on my back standing up. The wailing, whispering, clicking and growling was something out of an episode of The Last of Us and really made you feel like you were the protagonist in a slasher film. Nothing quite puts the fear of god in you like a light cackle in your ear and the realisation that something quite spine-chilling is standing behind you.
This experience was truthfully terrifying and definitely provided its victims with a fear-induced adrenaline rush but is not for the faint of heart. Don’t think you’re walking into a pantomime experience with a few jump scares, the new and improved Spookers is horrendously horrifying - but that’s exactly what it wants to be.
Whether it’s the adrenaline boost you get from running for your life or the giggles induced from your friends’ sheer looks of terror, horror has a special place in the entertainment industry and its Auckland hub takes it to a new level.
You will be absolutely petrified, but the sigh of relief after getting through 15 minutes of gasps and screams will be well worth it. From this scaredy-cat to you, go visit Spookers for a good scare, a good laugh and a good time.
Megan Watts is a Lifestyle and Entertainment digital producer for the New Zealand Herald whose passions include honest journalism, star sign columns and doing things for the plot.
