'I get paid to scare people at Alton Towers every Halloween - here's why I love it'

Inside Alton Towers Scarefest - meet the man with the job of masterminding the theme park frights this Halloween

“I’m fascinated by the psychology of what makes guests scared and it’s always a challenge to come up with new ways in which we can scare them.”

Kieran Kimberley has a glint in his eye as his mind thinks about just how much pleasure he gets from scaring thousands of people every year at Halloween.

As entertainment and creative manager for Alton Towers, Kieran takes pride in frightening people - because after all, the spooky season is big business for the entertainment industry.

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Who doesn't want a job like that? Creating ghoulish stories and horror mazes and then watching as people leap off the floor or run for the exits as a result of your work.

It's a great job, and one you can't imagine your careers advisor would have ever have agreed was a sensible or realistic prospect!

I sat down with Kieran to find out exactly what it’s like to have a job that is centred around making people scream and jump out of their skin every year.

He explains: “I love conceptualising scare attractions. I’ve always enjoyed horror and immersive theatre, so marrying the two together as a job has been a lot of fun.

“My job varies from coming up with the ideas of the next terrifying scare attraction to choreographing dance routines for our live shows. Every day truly is different.

“I also lead a team of people to train and rehearse our actors and run the audition panel when we cast our performers.”

The creativity of the mazes at the Staffordshire resort has always been very imaginative and has benefitted from the unique setting with the Towers.

I have been a regular visitor to Halloween here for the last twenty years and I’ve seen everything from zombies in cornfields at midnight, to killer clowns, crazed rednecks, and mutants grabbing me by the feet in sewers.

I’ve walked through the ruins of the towers with just demon vampires and strobe lighting for company and I’ve seen possessed dolls come to life in the attic of the famous old building.

It’s brilliant fun, and definitely gets the heart racing, but I wanted to know just how much work goes into it.

I saw first hand once just how much effort goes into the make-up when I had a go at being a demonic monk in one of the scare mazes, the process of turning my face even more gruesome than it is already, took a good half an hour. You can see the results and watch the video here.

It’s a serious business and as the man responsible, Kieran has a very important job making sure the event is of the highest standard and entertaining everyone who visits. And that is a lot of people, last year alone there were roughly 350,000 visitors.

It’s not a two-minute job, though, Kieran told me: ”I’m always mentally preparing. I have a lot of ideas for potential future attractions and every year it’s an adventure to figure out what our next theme should be.

“Sometimes the Resort has certain themes they want the scare attractions to explore. For example, with COMPOUND, it was important to explore its connections with Nemesis Reborn this year.

“We’ll generally start designing up to 12 months before the next Scarefest, although some concepts go through various versions over a few years before they come to life.

“I will always start off with a small idea or backstory.

“From there, I think about the characters that you meet or the rooms you explore along the way.

“Each element is really important - I think about what they look like, sound like, smell like and how they fit in with the story we will tell to our guests.

“After that, I work with concept artists, set, lighting and costume designers. From there, it goes over to our scenic construction, costume production and audio-visual technical teams to build.

“I also work closely with a stage management team who look after the safety training and the attraction once it’s finished.

“Then, it’s time to hand over to our show captains who help with the rehearsal process. It’s always about telling a story from the moment you enter the attraction, where we aim to immerse guests in each particular world.”

It’s those worlds that are ever-changing at the theme park, last year saw a link up with YouTube phenomenon Daz Games for a really inventive and unique new approach to an interactive scare maze. So what is in store this year?

Kieren reveals all: “We have two brand new attractions - ‘COMPOUND’ for our thrills and fright seekers and ‘Amigos in The Afterlife’, to delight our family audiences. We also have returning favourites from previous years and an updated game in ‘Daz Games: Panic Reloaded’.”

The above-mentioned ‘Amigos in The Afterlife’ will give younger visitors a chance to join in on the fun, because as much as horror is a big USP at this time of year, Halloween was always a fun, friendly activity at the park before Scarefest was even conceived.

It’s a balance that Kieran and his team are only too aware of which is why they are pulling out all the stops for younger visitors.

He explains: “Refreshing our live shows was really important too, which includes the introduction of two new characters - Zombob and Vampurr - who will be joining the ‘Freaky Friends’ to entertain people of all ages in our event arena.

“In our family attractions, we don’t set out to scare younger visitors. We look to create magical yet spooky environments which make our guests curious to explore.

“A part of that will be to introduce a few fun ‘boo moments’ along the way. There are also activities to join in with, such as trick or treating, which help our younger guests find their bravery when facing some of the more eery characters.

So what’s the best thing about Scarefest this year? That’s a question he won’t be committing to answering, although there’s clearly a highlight.

He laughs: “I don’t think I can answer that – it’s too difficult! We have many different exciting experiences, so there’s something for everyone. There’s also the unique experience of our world-beating coasters in the dark.

"But, if you’re looking for something new this year, I’m really proud of COMPOUND!”

Possibly the biggest no-brainer the park bosses had was to decide to renew the life of Nemesis when the decision had to be made as to what to do with the old coaster. The big steel structures have a life span like everything else, which is why you see the iconic Corkscrew ride as an exhibit at the park's entrance, it simply had run its course.

With Nemesis, it was decided that a huge retrack and rebrand was the answer and what followed was a huge relaunch project that recently won top prizes in the UK Theme Park Awards.

The backstory of the ride has seen a number of projects over the years, from scare zones, a spin-off ride In Nemesis Sub Terra, themed food, and roaming actors around Forbidden Valley. It’s a brand within a brand and it has a huge cult presence.

In short, you have to get it right or the fan forums will hammer you for it. Kieran believes the resort has indeed got it right, stating: “The lore and backstory surrounding Nemesis and Forbidden Valley is so deep and rich it was easy to find new avenues to explore.

“The challenge comes, as it is a story people know a lot about, they think they know what to expect.

“It’s my job to find the elements of it that subvert the expectations, giving the audiences a new branch of the story whilst staying in the world of The Phalanx.”

One thing that is very clear to see is that this is a huge operation that doesn’t just start when the pumpkin lanterns are lit when October comes.

Kieran may have the job of inventing the storylines and the concepts, but it’s a massive job getting it all together.

“’I’m very lucky to work with a lot of experienced, knowledgeable and creative people. If we ever do come across something that’s not working the way we want it to, we work together to solve the problem,” Kieran admits.

“Sometimes it does take a few goes but we always make sure that scares work the best for our storytelling.

“We develop the concepts over months, sometimes years, to ensure we all the production elements work in harmony.”

Scarefest runs at Alton Towers Resort between October 11 to November 3.