Copyright northernirelandworld
The Hedges Hotel had advertised a ‘Haunting the Hedges’ Fright Night event for October 31 which was to be a “fully-immersive scare experience set across Gracehill House and The Hedges Estate – combining live actors, special effects, sound, lighting and a chilling true story about the Grey Lady who once haunted these grounds”. However, on Friday, October 24, the owners of the hotel near the world famous Dark Hedges, cancelled the event. Now though, the hotel has taken steps to ‘turn something difficult into something positive’ by opening up the site for members of the public to walk around the Halloween-themed estate – and they are using the event to raise funds for two local charities. The Hedges Hotel said: “After the difficult decision to cancel our Haunting the Hedges Fright Night event, we didn’t want all the hard work, creativity, and effort from our amazing team to go unseen. "So – as you all know we’ve decided to open up the site for a free one-off walk-through experience! Come along, explore the full set-up, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the lighting, props, and sets that our team worked so hard to create. "While the experience will be completely FREE, we’ll be inviting visitors to make voluntary donations on the night, with all proceeds split between two incredible local causes – Benvardin Animal Rescue Kennels and Mental Health NI. "Both organisations do such important work within our community from caring for vulnerable animals to supporting those struggling with mental health and we’d love to use this opportunity to give something back. "Let’s come together, enjoy the atmosphere, and help turn a setback into something meaningful. Your support truly means the world to us.” Anyone wishing to go along to the walk-through event which runs from 5.30-10.30pm on Friday, October 31, is asked to contact reception at the Hedges on 028 2044 0600 to book a space. "There will be no actors or ‘jump scares’ on the trail, just “lights, smoke, sound… eerie history and the legend of The Grey Lady brought to life through our themed walkthrough. Ideal family experience — spooky, fun, and totally free!”
