Skeleskare at Lotherton Hall.

As we made our way to Lotherton Hall, the moon was bright in the sky and the mist hung low on the ground – the perfect eerie setting for Skeleskare – a live action Halloween event.

Our group arrived at the meeting point where we were given the option of a green or a red band – a green band means you’re up for the scare, a red band means stay away. I’m not going to lie, as we were taken into a tent for the scene to be set I kind of wished I’d chosen a red band…

As we made our way through the grounds of Lotherton, we were met by a Ghoulblaster  (legally different) who set the scene. A veil has torn between the living and the dead, us breathers had found ourselves trapped with the dead villagers in 17th Century Lutherington Village. The only way back to the land of the living is through the haunted wood being careful not to bring a demonic soul back with us. 

Simple!?

The first part of the experience is pretty chill, we meet some of the villagers and hear their gruesome tales – each one warns us to turn back. We don’t because we’re well hard (and don’t want to look scared). The next part of the trail takes us through the haunted woods. There are no lights, ahead you can see figures stepping back into the trees and hear chains rattling in the undergrowth. 

It was suitably tense. 

By now, Aoife was welded to my arm and I had to drag her along:
“If we move they’ll get us!”
“If we stand here, they’ll get us quicker!”
She moved. 

We approached each figure with caution, in the gloom it was hard to make out if it were real or fake. One slowly turned toward us as we walked past, so slowly that we barely noticed… until they stepped out in front of us, circled us and followed so close that you could feel the breath on your neck. 

This was the first time I’d ever heard Aoife scream and those screams continued as we made our way through the woods! 

The experience lasts about an hour and is really well done – definitely worth the £7 ticket price. 
If you don’t like jump scares, I’d recommend you choose the red band though it is worth noting that the ghouls are not allowed to touch you (nor you them) so there is no physical interaction. 

Skeleskare runs from 5:30-8:30pm throughout half term until Friday 3rd November. Booking is required and tickets are available here:  https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/events/lotherton/skeleskare-2/ 

Skeleskare is suitable for those aged 8+. If you have younger children, there is a spooky skeleton trail through the grounds  of Lotherton Hall during the day time. 

 

**Official press release**

This October half term, popular Yorkshire attraction Lotherton will be transformed into a spine-tingling spooktacular, with the scariest Halloween extravaganza; Skeleskare; The Return of The Lost Souls, set to thrill children aged 8-15. 

Yorkshire is set to experience a wave of terror this month, as the spectral citizens of ghostly 17th-century Lutherington Village cross the veil, clawing their way back to Earth to take up residence at Lotherton, just outside of Leeds. 

A sinister presence is lurking in the shadows and not all will make it out alive. Charon, the Ferryman to the Underworld, is on a mission, ruthlessly dispatching anyone who crosses his path to the deepest, darkest corners of the beyond. 

As the sun sets and darkness descends, bold adventurers are challenged to pay their coin to the Ferryman and join forces with the ghostly villagers to make their way back to the land of the living before the veil snaps shut. 

But tread carefully, the desperate souls will stop at nothing to claw their way back to the mortal realm, and their ticket back is taking the place of one already living. The dead are restless, horror lurks in the shadows and danger is around every corner. 

Set around the spooky woodland estate of Lotherton, this ghoulishly good walk-through scare event will take brave souls aged 8+ into the Underworld of 17th-century Lutherington Village and through the macabre haunted woodland, but who will make it out alive?

Live actors, spine-chilling scares, heart-stopping surprises and bone-rattling fun await those daring enough to enter the haunted grounds. Who will survive the ferocious fright night at Lotherton Hall? And who will become another lost soul, trapped in the shadows forever?