In an unassuming dwelling located at 37 Gay Street, Bath, reside the curious occupants of Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein – by day a museum, by night a lightning-powered scare house. On select dates throughout the Halloween season, a gloom descends upon the home, the lights are cut, and creatures crawl forth across its many stories and rooms. Marshalling an impressive array of characters and environments, this seasonal After Dark event left us buzzing with residual electricity.
The moment one enters here, you are hit by the high emotion and engagement of the cast members. After an ominous undead gentleman took our names, we were ushered into the house itself, only to be met by the screaming of a ghostly woman urging us to proceed no further. This cast was very hands-on! Sometimes, creatures would grab you by the shoulders and reposition you, at others, unseen hands grasped from beneath the sets, with you having no idea where the fiend was.
Upon entry into the main “Frankenstein” room, we were suddenly attacked by what we interpreted as the monster himself, who corralled one of us towards a waiting bed and boxed us in – it was almost like the monster might start trying to reanimate us already very jumpy humans! This cast had a particular talent for disappearing amongst the diaphanous draperies that hung around the place and then blink into existence again before us.
Others excelled at making themselves known. A clown who appeared behind us followed us into a crawlthrough passageway, whilst a doll-girl in the playroom groped on all fours towards us, clutching our ankles in a totally macabre manner.
We were very impressed by some of the costumes and makeup here, and particularly so in the main Frankenstein room. Here, the monster (or was it Frankenstein the Doctor himself?!) wore a galvanised apron and a grille-mouthed mask that was quite frightful to look upon. At another point, we stumbled onto the front lines of the First World War, and a soldier dressed in period-accurate fatigues screamed forward, face and eyes a mess of wounds likely acquired through gassing.
Other costumes were more simple and ghostly, with pallid makeup. And we must say the clown was convincingly rendered, almost creature-like, with a mask/prosthetic face that evoked a monstrous quality.
This haunt is located fairly centrally in Bath, so you’ll have no trouble finding it. We suggest that you arrive on foot as parking nearby is limited and being a most walkable city this makes sense. We had some lovely conversations with staff who were kind, helpful, and eager to show us what they’ve created. What’s particularly impressive is that as a museum in the day the space must transform into a scare attraction every night, and that alteration is convincing and can’t be an easy job.
All information is readily available upon their website, with good directions to the location, FAQs, and contact details.
Before you enter, the door swings open to reveal a small pre-haunt area with low chandelier lighting and a fully-realised character reminiscent of the undead ready to take your ticket. You enter and exit the way you came, so you get to experience the full run of the house from the attic to basement. This was a particularly good feature of this haunt, for one could revisit rooms as many times as you like whilst following the route.
Within, this is more an experience driven by setting than storyline, as each location is unique, but not connected to an overarching narrative.
We felt there were some pretty impressive special effects here, including motion activated sound and light sensors, and distinct soundscapes for each room. Within the Resurrection Room, a glass chamber with a hybrid creature filled with billowing smoke as we approached, another example of the diverse effects showcased.
Light was low throughout and scenic design utilised the already existing structures well by draping them with various materials and so creating mini-mazes for us to traverse. There are some fantastic set pieces here, including a skeleton encased in glass you have to crawl over. In fact, many of the crawl-areas were actually padded, which is fantastic for giving your knees a little respite – especially with the amount of clambering we do!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 8
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 10
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7.75
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6.75
There were some terrific jump scares here, with people appearing from behind the doors on the various stories of the house, shouting maniacally. But, there was also a lot of menace – think the clown who got ever closer behind you, only to suddenly airhorn you into disorientation. Top scares, however, must go to the incredibly physical Frankenstein’s Monster who threw himself towards us, chasing us around, and seemed like he might pick you up with his great stature. The fear here is partly of the unknown, how you don’t know whether actors will get physical with you, which leaves you perpetually on edge.
This experience has a variable length, depending on how long you linger in each of the rooms and whether you choose to go back again for a repeat. We think that it takes around 22 minutes if you’re travelling with purpose, resulting in a reasonably priced minute per pound ratio.
The house also includes two bars and, in the attic, a screening room of black and white horror film segments. Whilst no live stage shows or similar, that’s simply not the nature of this haunt, and at just over 15 pounds per person, this experience is well worth the shocks it delivers.
37 Gray Street, Bath, United Kingdom BA1 2NT