Have a frighteningly good time at Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest

The demonstration in Hong Kong may currently be in the news, but there’s something else brewing outside the city central.

Specifically, in Ocean Park, where Asia’s largest Halloween celebration comes to life this month. And in the interest of full disclosure, you should know this writer has never dared to watch The Ring (even the Hollywood version) and her last haunted house ride was back in secondary school. So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I entered the grounds to partake in its 14th edition.

This year’s theme is a film world gone wrong, featuring nine scare-tastic experiences at seven haunted attractions, including two attractions that morph from family-friendly (before 5pm) to far-from-friendly (after 5pm). That magic hour is also when ghouls start appearing around the park, along with a music and lighting change for full effect.

But, having discovered a newfound appreciation for a good spine-tingling, soul-awakening scare, we can safely say that whether you’re looking to get scared out of your wits or just have it seem like you did, Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest will definitely hit the spot, with something for everybody.

IF YOU’RE THERE FOR THE PHOTO OPS

Ocean Park demonstrates why it was Asia’s first-ever winner of the Applause Award in 2012, the most prestigious international accolade in the theme park industry, by incorporating our current obsession with selfies and Instagram-worthy pictures galore in its Halloween attractions.

First up, join the Doraemon Halloween Party (Hello Kitty is just too mainstream). Start off your adventure slow with a visit to Whiskers Harbour, which has been transformed into a Doraemon-themed Halloween kingdom. Statues featuring Doraemon and friends in various costumes — a pumpkin, a devil — are dotted around the area, so you’ll be stopping for photos. It all culminates in a visit to Doraemon’s House of Gadgets, housing his favourite gadgets such as the Time Machine, Anywhere Door, Mirror Maze and more.

Scare level: 1

We’re enamoured with Japanese culture and its cuisine. A haunted attraction dedicated to it called Eerie Nippon Journey? You can bet your Teppei reservation we’ll be there. It starts with a walk through a garden harking back to the Edo period, before entering a house filled with all manners of Japanese spirits and legends, as well as — our favourite horror objects of them all — demonised versions of chirashi bowls, sashimi platters and the like. You’ll never look at your donburi in the same way again. To ensure you end your Japanese sojourn on the right note, the enma-daio (King of Hell) has “reserved” a place in “hell” for you to take a memento shot.

Scare-level: 2

Next, make your way to Phantom Studios, where a director will guide you and your castmates through an audition for a sci-fi horror movie, from hair and makeup all the way to how to strike adequately horror-struck poses and a set complete with collapsing furniture. The end result is a trailer that you can even download via QR code. As one of the park’s two Transforming Attractions, the set transforms into Horror-wood Studios, a far scarier experience that you can film for posterity by renting a selfie video camera.

Scare-level: 2 (Phantom Studios) and 4 (Horror-wood Studios)

There are also 10 spectacular shows catering for children and the elderly alike to keep you entertained in between attractions. These include Scaremonies, a talent show set in hell where ghosts and devils show off their talent on stage; and Space Love spoofs, a parody of hit Korean TV show My Love From The Star.

IF YOU’RE THERE FOR THE BRAGGING RIGHTS

You may have attended every major Halloween fest here in Singapore, but Ocean Park ramps up the fear factor. Starting with H14, a limited-admission attraction that requires prior online registration (restricted to those 16 and above). It combines a haunted house with an escape room concept and is rightly touted as the scariest haunted house in the 14 years of Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest. In teams of one to six, you’ll embark on a customised journey — with adjustments made depending on your reaction — where you have to complete a series of tasks to advance within a locked chamber. (No kidding, the sound of the game master yelling my name and delegating my task to me is still reverberating in my head.)

Scare-level: 5

If you’re still feeling brave, go forth towards Rigor Mortis LIVE. Juno Mak’s directorial debut of the same name won Best Visual Effects at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and the multi-hyphenate and his production team have come on board to bring the set to life at this visual-effects-heavy attraction. Whether you watched the movie or not, you’ll be able to relate to the public estate housing set-up and be sufficiently creeped out by the ghostly twin sisters, masked vampire and zombies inhabiting an otherwise everyday setting.

Scare-level: 5

The best thing to me about the Halloween Fest here is how it ditches Western horror tropes for Asian elements. In Chinese Mad-icine Hall, you’ll have to escape a mad doctor’s clutches by navigating a mortuary maze filled with cadavers, acupuncture tables and human organs galore. Just a typical day in Asian horror flick land, in other words.

Scare-level: 4

To end off fright night, you have to try Cafe Ocean’s Freaky Chinese Folklore Set Menu, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It starts off with chicken salad served in a cucumber “coffin” and ends with the piece de resistance, dessert served in a Chinese Incense Stick Bowl. For more superstitious folks, Tuxedos Restaurant’s Trick or Treat Set Menu is a much, much milder offering, where you get the likes of chicken salad served in a cute jack o’ lantern and the dessert featuring a monster family.

And here’s a tip: The ubiquitous snaking lines at theme parks can be scarier than any haunted house. Skip the queues with Halloween Fest Schedule Pass, a smartphone app that lets you make advance reservations on a first-come-first-served daily basis for you and four friends. The pass is for attractions such as Rigor Mortis LIVE, Chinese Mad-icine Hall and Eerie Nippon Journey.

Ocean Park Halloween Fest runs from Oct 2 to 31. Visit http://halloween.oceanpark.com.hk for more information and updates. All activities and attractions are ongoing as of press time.