This week saw a field just outside of Canary Wharf in London become the home of a Curse at Alton Manor pop-up dolls house which gave us all hints and clues as to what we can expect from the upcoming dark ride.
This giant haunted doll house was quite the sight in front of a beautiful backdrop of the London high rises and once inside there were clues aplenty about what we can expect to see when the ride reopens.
First and foremost there were letters and numbers dotted around the pop-up that when put together spelt March 18, the official opening date of the ride which was confirmed by the park the very next day.
There was also a wide range of references to Emily Alton and her childhood which will be the main focus of the new rides storyline including her relationship with her parents.
The pop-up hinted at a once beloved relationship between daughter and parents before an evil entity or creature took over Emily and changed the course of history.
A certain dining room scene in the pop-up had a woman’s head underneath a serving platter hinting at Emily’s first victim potentially or this could even be Emily’s mother with scrawlings across the wall regarding her parents and an invitation for us all to come ‘play with me’.
A spiral graphic on the wall indicated that the broken trommel tunnel which has been standing broken for years at Alton Towers Resort will return and certain creature markings around the pop-up indicated that a creature will be returning in some shape or form.
A picture hanging on the wall showed Emily Alton standing in the banquet hall scene from Duel and this scene was also included in a trailer for the ride meaning this particular dining room scene is quite integral to the storyline (referencing back to the head under the serving platter).
The ride is set to feature special effects including projection mapping and mirrors that will play tricks on guests as they navigate the manor.
In the attic of this pop-up house lay numerous props from The Attic scare maze (in addition to a fireplace you have to walk through downstairs) and even a duck which many believe will see the return of the giant duck from the old Flume ride that has been kept at the park in its exact same location up until this week when it was conveniently removed. Could the duck play a role in the story (one of Emily’s old toys perhaps?)
The clock piece above the fireplace showed a time of 23:59pm and writing on the walls said ‘Wait Until Midnight’ relating to a certain event that took place at this particular time, a murder would be my first guess as this creature has possessed Emily.
Other words scrolled around the walls included ‘Pain’, ‘Sadness’, ‘Liar’, ‘Evil’, ‘Demon in my head’, and more.
Burned frames and photos awaited us in the last room which seemed to indicate the future (after the tragic event) with the house seemingly resembling Past, Present and Future of the events that transpire within the story.
The house in my own theory was set up in a way that depicted the past, present and future. The left side of the house was set one minute before midnight with postcards, music, and family portraits and despite its creepiness, all was well in this family dynamic. The back of the house had all the weird markings, Emily questioning her own sanity, a creature or entity taking over and a message that said ‘Wait Until Midnight’ as though some entity was planning something deadly at midnight and then finally the right side of the house looked to be the future with everything burned and a head under the platter indicating a murder.
The head under the platter could also refer to the flying heads that have been a key feature inside the Haunted House and Duel.
All that we know is that midnight is a very key time period relating to this particular story and I’m excited to find out what happens at this particular time.
It’s an exciting time to be a horror fan with Thorpe Park concocting their own Ghost Train revival and with Curse at Alton Manor opening March 18th there won’t be too long to wait to see just what Emily has been up to.
