The Lure of Horror: How Halloween Is Not Just For Kids

LONDON - Sept. 16, 2015 - PRLog -- The month of October is now big business, with Halloween raking in more than £400 million a year for the shopping and leisure industry, as well as fuelling an increased demand for adult scare attractions.

One of the newest scare attractions to be launched in the UK this year is FearFest, a purpose-built zombie scare attraction for the over 16s,located beside a flooded quarry on the Gloucester/Wales border, near Chepstow.

“There is certainly a huge demand for our type of scare attraction in the adult fright market,” says Helen Gibbons, Event Director of FearFest.

“This is our first year and ticket sales have exceeded our expectations, with people willing to travel several hundred miles to experience FearFest – proving that people definitely have a thirst for this type of event.”

The scare attraction, which is being purpose built by set designers Drѐsd Ltd, who are based at Pinewood Studios, features live zombie actors, a 700m long night-time zip wire over a flooded quarry and six horror zones built around a disused railway line.

The FearFest attraction is one of hundreds of different scare attractions that are popping up all over the UK to meet the demand for adult-fright events and zombie related attractions.

One business that has capitalised on this increase is the UK’s number one online directory for scare events, Terror Attractions.

Established in 2011 by Paul Hornby, who has a background in scare attraction operations, the Terror Attraction team have braved the cold, covering thousands of miles collectively to encounter grizzly ghouls, scary clowns and flesh eating zombies.

“Adult scare events are big business - since our launch we’ve listed, promoted and supported more than 300 scare events on our website and social media platforms, with more and more being added every day,” says Paul.

So why is it that some adults just can’t seem to get enough of this type of scare attraction?

According to Michael Price, Evolutionary Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University, London, it is all down to our nature that has been shaped over millennia to be afraid.

“It really is a public celebration of what terrifies us the most, with community acknowledgement that we share the same fears,” explains Michael.

“Our interest in zombies is down to our fascination with dead bodies.  We know how to interact with people who are alive because we have certain expectations, but we’re not so sure how to interact with a walking ‘dead’ person.

“There is also a healthy fear and fascination surrounding bodies with disease, bacteria, blood and gore; it’s something that quite rightly demands our attention and is relevant to our wellbeing and survival,” says Michael.