It's all fright at Horror Crypt

The Horror Crypt at Ocean Boulevard, South Shore, relaunches this weekend after being taken over by Kurt Walsh.

Kurt, a former performer at the Pasaje Del Terror, has invested around £15,000 in the attraction to turn it in to what he believes is the UK’s first horror museum.

The haunted house-style walkthrough attraction has been run by the odditorium Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, but Kurt has revamped it thanks for a £10,000 Arts Council grant as well as personal investment.

“We’ve turned it into a chamber of terrors-type place, like the old Louis Tussauds used to have,” he said. “It had a bit of a ghost train vibe, but we’ve recreated it with iconic film characters and making it more of a tribute to the horror film genre.

“When I was working at the Pasaje Del Terror, a lot of people visiting were into the idea of visiting a horror attraction, but not wanting to be jumped out at by live actors - and that’s the direction a lot of horror attractions have gone down now.

“But rather than copy that, we have gone the other way with figures and animatronics.

“Not much has been changed there in a long time; the last new thing was about 20 years ago.”

Among the sights within, there’s a ‘not to be missed’ animatronic figure in an electric chair, as well as the scenes from classic films, and genuine props from movies such as Hostel, Dog Soldiers and Arachnophobia, and a section on real life murderers and execution.

A life-long horror fan, he hopes to host special events at the attraction, such as film screenings and special effects workshops, and says there will be special events planned throughout the year, as well as during the autumn run up to Halloween.

“I’ve loved the horror genre since I was a little kid,” Kurt said. “I think someone left a scary film on when I was a kid, but I was too scared to turn it off.

“Setting up my own version of The Horror Crypt is a labour of love and a dream come true.”

In 2012 The Horror Crypt was used by Hollywood film director - and 2015 Illuminations Switch-On star - Tim Burton as the location for rock band The Killers’ music video Here With Me, featuring actress Winona Ryder.