Key Information
The UK’s first Vekoma Mad House attraction, The Haunting is very similar to Hex: The Legend of the Towers at nearby Alton Towers. As at its rival park, Drayton Manor’s version features a backstory designed to set the scene for the ride itself. Riders queue through a mock vicarage, with mist effects adding to the atmosphere in the building’s garden. TV screens housed in a truck’s trailer explain that an unexplained, mysterious series of events is taking place at Drayton Manor – and guests are challenged to enter the vicarage to discover the cause.
After a short walkthrough inside the building, which includes a number of special effects, a second pre-show area hosts a lecture from a vampire. Finally, guests enter the Mad House ride itself, being seated on two rows of benches facing each other. The ride is designed to disorient guests, with loud music, tilting chairs and a room that seems to rotate 360 degrees. Are riders upside down, or is it just an illusion?