Horror Camp Live 2015 Review

The new season has begun at Camp Mass Acre! Following my visit to the infamous horror experience last year, I was buzzing with excitement. Is it worse when you know what’s coming? Or does nothing match the fear of having no clue what lies ahead? Judging by the disposition of a few members of our group, I’d go with the latter. As we converged in the Hawkshaw Farm car park, there was a palpable abundance of nervous energy, and it was infectious.

Before we get started, I just want to point out that I won’t be revealing any specific details about what happened to us on our challenges. I would class that as spoiler-free, but others may disagree. If you don’t want to know anything about the event, I suggest you stop reading now.

We trudged into the field, where our modest tents were arranged around a rather splendid roaring fire. Abraham Cleaver and Mrs Dybuk were the first characters we met, and they were in the middle of a row over land ownership. I honestly can’t praise these two enough; they’re funny, good at improvising, and work tirelessly throughout the evening to ensure the elements of comedy and horror are well balanced. And Abe’s toilet patrol never gets old.

Our challenges this year were completely different to last year, and after having heard what some of the others went through, I think our team got off easy. The gaps between tasks did drag a little bit, and I would have liked the tasks themselves to incorporate some nastier/scarier elements. We had to proceed through a couple of existing mazes to get to some of our tasks, and it would’ve been great to see some scareactors in there, making the journey more frightening. Overall it was pretty light on the scares. However, when it comes to making you feel uncomfortable, the team have got that down to a fine art.

The ‘Automata’ character was back, once again taking victims inside Manormortis for horrific one-to-one encounters, and I was pleased to see more people being picked on to do this. Having already had the privilege last year, I graciously offered up my friend in my place, who was less than thrilled.

As the evening drew to a close and we retreated to our tent, I was absolutely exhausted. This being the end of May (and in England) it was chilly, and the rain wasn’t letting up. The previously resplendent fire was now a soggy pile of ash. Despite the cold, damp conditions, I quickly settled down and snuggled up in my sleeping bag, to the point where I was on the brink of a deep sleep (something I was unable to achieve last year). I hadn’t forgotten that they were coming for us, but to be honest, I had zero adrenaline and couldn’t muster any emotion on the subject.

At that point, I heard a voice in the tent next to us:

“Yes, it’s BB2 7JA. We’re at that horror camp thing, on a farm. Please come and get us!”

I wondered how many other people were plotting their early escape.

Just as I was drifting off, the happenings began. I’d forgotten just how surreal it is to come under attack when you feel safe and sealed up inside your tent. I was tired and grumpy, so their shenanigans were initially met with shouts of “NO! Go away!! LEAVE US ALONE!” as opposed to screams of terror. However, the ludicrousness of it all soon transformed the situation into a funny one, and before we knew it we were cracking up and enjoying every minute.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Horror Camp Live will do nothing for you if you’re going to take a back-seat. The more you get involved, the more fun you’ll have. Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie, a scare fan, or someone who just want to try something a little bit different, you can’t go wrong with this experience. Expect the unexpected, don’t stand on ceremony, and please… try to resist the urge to call for rescue.