Halloween

We have had the most beautiful autumn. September and October have been warm, sunny, simply delightful. For most of the last 2 months, preparations have been underway for one big event -- Halloween at Blickling.

Halloween falls on the last open weekend for the House -- the gardens continue to be open 4 days a week all year around, but the house closes to the public for most of the winter. Just at the point you would expect everyone to be winding down, or at least preparing for the big winter clean, the focus is on getting ready for a big party with 600 paying guests. Outside the entrance, a 22 foot wide bat; inside, a huge spider with glowing red eyes sits across the staircase in the Great Hall. Monks in black habits jump out from dark corners, a gory 2nd Earl (who died after losing a duel) moans and complains about his injuries, two witches in a cavern stir their cauldron, line dancing skeletons encourage visitors to join in to music provided by a group of drummers in costume.

Having finished the tour of the house, visitors then go to hear a ghost story -- actually a very educational tale of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII and the torture and execution preferences of Tudor England. Anne's ghostly connection with Blickling is emphasized, of course, but some of the adults felt there was too much gruesome detail. The children didn't complain. I got to play the Good Fairy, helping children make a wish after the story was finished. None of them looked traumatized, unless it was my purple wig and wings upsetting them.

In the gardens, the floodlights were coloured to give an eery glow and the mist rose from the lake forming the perfect spooky atmosphere. The child catcher was out with his net, a spider descended on the unwary as they walked past the yew hedge, and two vampires took it in turns to jump out of a coffin. One person fell over trying to get away, but we didn't complete an accident form. Shrieks and laughter could be heard all over the gardens.

The best thing about this event was seeing the whole house being used, not just static displays of stuff, but the space being occupied by staff and volunteers enjoying themselves with the visitors. Breaking away from the habit of showing the house in a formal and rigid fashion will take more work, but Halloween has shown me it can be done.