A ghostly horror story - described as the most talked-about chiller since The Woman in Black - is to have a one-night-only run in Newcastle this weekend.
In a pre-Halloween 'treat', the award-winning play The Haunting of Blaine Manor is out to send a shiver or several down the spines of the audience at Tyne Theatre & Opera House on Saturday night.
The 1867 theatre, already said to have a resident ghost and a few spooky tales of its own to tell, is all set to prove the ideal setting for the atmospheric story which sees an American parapsychologist, famous for discrediting hauntings and exposing fake mediums, attend a seance at England's most haunted building: Blaine Manor.
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And, as you might imagine, his arrival there awakens something horrific within its walls.
There are currently some tickets still available for the play, written and directed by Joe O’Byrne, which is set in 1953 and has all the trademark elements of a classic ghost story, including a raging storm which has closed the manor house off from the outside world and a nod to scary old black and white films.
O’Byrne said: "I’ve always wanted to do a haunted house story - not just a ghost story though, I wanted it to be a period piece."
It's influenced by the dark worlds created by likes of writers M R James and Edgar Allen Poe, with a touch of both Hammer Horror films and the Hollywood Golden Age peopled by the likes of Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Bette Davis.
O’Byrne added: "Yes, there is fear here, my original sound designer left the production due to having nightmares around the script - true story!"
And he urged: "Join us for a night of terror you will never forget."
A theatre spoksman said: "The celebrated chiller and most talked-about haunter since The Woman in Black is coming to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House, a beautiful - and haunted - theatre."
The Newcastle theatre is said to be haunted by the ghost of a stage hand who was killed by ‘the thunder roller’ - the sound effect-machinery which was originally used to create the sound of thunder.
He is nicknamed Bobby as the spokesman added: "Will Bobby put in an appearance the night of the show?"
To find out, seats can be booked here.
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