THE city's first immersive scare experience will start next week, created by Colchester’s Castle Park Theatre group and the council.

The city’s first-ever ‘Beware the Sacre’ will be held at Colchester Town Hall from next Friday, offering the community a ‘spine-chilling’, immersive scare event.

Set up by Castle Park Theatre, the group has collaborated with Colchester Council to present an experience "designed to transport thrill-seekers into the depths of the city’s sinister past".

Despite performing ghost story shows, and its annual show at the Old Library between Christmas and New Year, this is the first Halloween event Castle Park Theatre has organised.

Artistic director, Neil D’arcy Jones said: “It's Colchester's first immersive city centre scare event which utilises the spookiness of the building with our own unique approach to telling the stories of Colchester's past.”

"We work with the council with Shakespeare in the Park every summer so they like what we do, and of course we are local and use professionally based creatives to make our work, so that was part of the attraction as well.”

Throughout Beware the Scare, visitors will be led through maze-like corridors and deserted rooms to explore parts of the building that have been closed to the public for years.

In these spaces, special effects and a team of actors from Castle Park Theatre will bring ‘the darkest corners of Colchester's history to life’.

Councillor Alison Jay said: “‘Beware the Scare’ is unlike any other Halloween event the city has seen.”

“This is more than just a scare event—it’s a unique opportunity to experience history in a way that is both thrilling and insightful, offering a deeper appreciation of the city’s dark past.

“Colchester is definitely the place to be for anyone looking for new and super scary ways to celebrate Halloween this October.”

The event is suitable for those aged 16 years and over, running from October 25 to November 2.

 “We're not scaring Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - even ghosts have to have days off," Neil added.

“We're hoping this will be an annual event so we will look at creating a similar experience for young Halloween lovers.

“The building of the Town Hall is perfect for it and there's loads more rooms to explore for future years.”

Tickets are available online, ranging from £20 – £25.

For more information, visit TicketSearch Online.