DVD Review : "Britannia Manor : The World's Most Famous Haunted House"

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The World's Most Famous Haunted House

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When was the last time you had a really good scare — for fun, I mean? Admit it. You love to be chased around by freshly unearthed ghouls and sundry creatures of the night, don't you? And you're willing to pay good money to see your friends frightened out of your wits, right? Horror is such a communal thing after all — best shared by friends and lovers.

Haunted House attractions put you in the middle of a horror movie — willingly, of course. And while some Haunted Houses are scarier than others, or more ghoulish than others, or more jaw-dropping—oops, just wet my pants—horrifying than others, one name stands out as the most elaborate, most engaging Haunted House ever done: Britannia Manor.

And it didn't cost a dime to get in! Not one cent. The purveyors of Haunted House attractions, STB Productions, recorded for posterity the goings-on at Britannia Manor during one Halloween. Their DVD, The World's Most Famous Haunted House: A Tribute to Britannia Manor, contains a short but highly informative interview with Richard Garriott, mastermind behind Britania Manor, a photo gallery of assorted medieval items of violent intent lying around his home, and extensive archive footage that includes actors and make-up artists preparing for a typical night's events of thrills and chills.

Rounding out the DVD is an actual, you-are-there, experience as you follow a party of lost souls making their way through the various creepy tableaux of Britannia Manor, and provides lots of logistical information for the students and designers of Haunted House attractions.

In the interview, game designer Richard Garriott talks about what prompted him to go to such great lengths to turn his home and surrounding grounds into an elaborate  role-playing adventure during Halloween, between 1988 and 1994. According to the Wikipedia entry on Britannia Manor,

The events were designed like a roleplaying game. Participants would go through Garriott's mountain property in adventuring parties, gathering clues to solve mysteries and quests, while facing different perils and pitfalls. The actors would touch, grab, and physically as well as verbally interact with the guests, who could not simply wander through like in most haunted houses. They would have to swing, crawl, climb, and row their way out.

It was not uncommon for parties to lose members in the course of the quest. Garriott spent a great deal of money annually around Halloween to pay for makeup, tools, construction materials, special effects, and costumes for his haunted house. The actors and techs were all volunteers, many donating hundreds of hours for the honor of being a part of the show, and a free t-shirt.

Free t-shirts will do it every time. I hope those lost party members were eventually found, too, and didn't lose any arms or legs.

What really stands out as you watch the archive footage and tour—taken from the 1994 Descent Into Madness adventure—is the elaborate and highly professional make-up, costuming, and staging of special effects.

While Garriott, dressed as Lord British from the Ultima computer roleplaying game which he created, entertained people waiting on the long lines to get in, hooded monks guided small parties of participants into the interactive environment.

The adventure begins with a descent through a sarcophagus as smoke swirls about, and entry into a dimly lit tomb where a dying monk implores participants to find the Avatar. A ghoul suddenly comes to life—oh, you know what I mean—and speeds up the monk's mortality while the participants race to escape and find the Avatar. Along the way, they meet the bizarre denizens of this Britannia Manor netherworld, who either assist the hapless participants in their quest, or scare the pants off them.

Each tableau of horror or terror they encounter contains actors that do a very good job of creeping them out, and the bloody icing on the cake is their encounter with Minos, who mercilessly belittles them, then sends them on their way. The pyrotechnics at this point are amazing. I wonder if anyone got their eyebrows singed?

Participants really do need to be in shape, as they must go through strenuous gyrations to make their way into and out of the various rooms containing demons, ghouls, and black-lighted flying banshees.

Sliding down long and tight tunnels in the darkness, taking a dip in a lagoon, and crawling through pitch black corridors to get away from monsters is a big part of the interactive adventure. Funhouse-styled rotating tunnels, just like the ones I've often up-chucked on at 'amusement' parks, provided even more shake and bake anxiety for the participants. After about forty minutes, the Avatar is finally found, and all join in the climactic battle as she fights the big demonic guy with really big horns.

Richard Garriott hopes to re-start the world's most elaborate Haunted House in 2008. Until then, for horrorheads interested in learning more about Britannia Manor and experiencing its exciting magic, this DVD is a worthwhile resource.

- Illoz Zoc