Seaton was host to four nights of terror this week as Scarefest made it’s return in time for Hallowe’en. 

Nicola Whiting has been transforming her home into a spooky scare house for the past two years — inviting visitors from far-and-wide to come and  take part in the interactive walk-through display. 

She started Seaton Scarefest as a way for the local community to get together, do something fun and raise money for the RNLI and Downderry Village Hall. 

Nicola said: “It was my brainchild (I’m a massive fan of Hallowe’en) but it has definitely been a group effort in both making props and having enough ‘scare actors’ to make the haunt interactive and fun.”

Many of the props are handmade by Nicola and others including the ‘reapers’ which stood at the front entrance of her house.  

She continued: “Some of the things we have are normally only found in big American haunts, especially the animatronics, video effects and specialist sound recordings — our visitors have truly enjoyed themselves and we’ve been blown away by how far people have travelled (sometime on multiple nights, so they can bring back friends).”

Last year’s theme was ‘CarnEvil’ and had a huge scare factor — it was said that people ran away screaming when they saw the clowns at the front door. 

This year’s theme consisted of multiple zones with different decorations in each one. 

“This year the front of house is a SciFi zone with interactive Daleks, Mars Attacks Alien and places to chill and chat.”

The walk-through then took visitors to the ‘Insanitarium’ where they were greeted by nurse Amy, who explains the incident, what happened and how the visitors needed to be on the lookout for ‘escapees’. 

Once through that area, visitors could travel through ‘Dead Man’s Cove’ with interactive pirates, plenty of skeletons and games where children and adults could play for sweet treats and Hallowe’en surprises. 

“We’re really grateful to everyone who has supported the haunt, both in making it happen and in visiting and are already planning themes for 2024!”

Last year, Scarefest raised almost £1,000 for charity. 

Nicola added: “#SeatonScarefest gets bigger and bolder each year and we’re excited to see so many visitors having a rip-roaring good time — then coming back with friends and neighbours!

“We’re hugely grateful to our fundraising volunteers, helpers and scare actors who’ve made it such a “screaming success” — it’s a privilege to raise funds for and be part of such a fantastic community.”