Mr and Mrs Halloween return to Wicksteed Park with spooky family friendly interactive walkthrough attraction

Husband-and-wife team Steve and Kat Richardson, known as Mr and Mrs Halloween due to their vast spooky collection, will return to the Kettering park, for a second year with an even spookier experience.

Halloween Haunt: Chapter II will run at the park for October weekends from October 11 and throughout half-term alongside other attractions.

Steve said: “Since March, we’ve spent all our spare time building and creating, to bring an October full of fun and spookiness for all to enjoy at Halloween.

“As far as we are aware, this is the only family friendly interactive Halloween walkthrough in the UK. There are plenty of scary 18+ events available, but our display is the only one that you can bring your whole family to."

Kat added: “This year’s display has been more of a challenge due to the amount of detail that has gone into each scene. We have built and designed a lot of our own props which include a possessed table, an ‘all seeing eye’ spell book, hand-built trees and a full-size man in an electric chair.”

The Richardsons, who fittingly live in the original Cemetery House in Rushden, run Halloween House Entertainment.

They are believed to have the country’s largest hoard of collectibles, props, and animatronics, totalling around 2,000 items, which they have amassed over more than ten years.

Steve and Kat originally created a Halloween attraction in their garden each year, to raise money for charity, but its popularity and the increasing number of people attending meant they had to look for somewhere bigger.

This year’s Chapter II will be a 200ft interactive walkthrough featuring wicked witches, scary scarecrows, creepy ghosts and a condemned zombie laboratory as well as favourites from last year, such as a 10-foot animatronic reaper, vampires, werewolves and spiders.

Eleven mirrors dating back almost 40 years have also been brought back to life after being discovered in a storeroom at the park, and will form part of the indoor attraction.

Steve added: “The mirrors are amazing and will show the fun park visitors had with them back in the 1980s to a whole new generation of youngsters.”

As well as the main walkthrough, Halloween Haunt will also feature a mini walkthrough for the younger members of the family with an I-spy game and is fully wheelchair accessible.

Wicksteed Park director Kelly Richardson said: “We are delighted that we have been able to provide the ideal indoor space to allow Steve and Kat to show off their collection and create something really amazing.”

Park attractions open during half-term will include Astroslide, Treetop Walk, Rockin’ Tug, Clown Coaster, Meerkat Manor, Wicky’s Farmyard, Pig ‘N’ Putt, Roundabout, Lighthouse, Carousel, Sway Rider, and Wicksteed Park Railway.

On October 31 only, two special Zombie Trains will depart the railway station at 5.10pm and 5.30pm. Limited spaces to this free spooktacular upgraded service, featuring live actors and sudden movements, are available online.

Admission to Halloween Haunt is £6 per person. Wristbands for half-term, including entry to Halloween Haunt, are £15 online or £16 on the day.

For more information go to https://wicksteedpark.org/events/halloween-half-term-and-weekends/.