Cady Crowley

As Halloween approaches, St Andrews gets ready to celebrate once more with Kinkell’s House of Horror team, under this year’s theme of Dreamland. Tickets have already been sold out for this 18+ event, so we spoke to the Dreamland team a bit on what makes this year’s House so special, and how to make the most of our trip!

1. The House of Horror: Dreamland event sold out quite quickly; what makes House of Horror so unique and popular?

Well, for one, who doesn’t love Halloween? I think what makes us so unique, though, is we’re offering a much more immersive experience than you’d get at the Union or at the Rule – we’ve got actors, dancers, rides, games and more – and that definitely appeals to people. It’s more than just another night out in costume. Another thing we’ve been really focusing on is widening accessibility to everyone at the university – Halloween isn’t about ‘VIP tickets’, and cost shouldn’t be a barrier. That’s why my personal mission this year has been to lower cost to be as affordable as possible (while still giving us a great donation margin for our charity, Impact Arts) as well as market House of Horror to people that may not typically go to Kinkell events like these. In my mind, that’s how we’ve been so popular this year… People are really responding to our efforts!

2. How did this year’s team decide on the theme of Dreamland?

The idea comes from our brilliant creative directors, Ruby Redstone and Julia Westerman. They actually heard about the real Dreamland in Coney Island from a podcast and fell in love with the craziness and extravagance of it all. And, of course, carnivals hold a sense of nostalgia for all of us which ties in nicely with Halloween. We’re really excited to play up the ideas of game stalls and all-you-can-eat candy and we’ve put a lot of thought into that for the event.

3. Could you describe what the event might look like come Tuesday night?

I don’t want to give too much away… Although, all I can say is get ready to be transported back to a crazy, spooky turn-of-the-century circus! I’ve seen some of what the creative team has been busy making and wow… It’ll be impressive, to say the least.

4. How should people dress for the night? Would this be a sweater-weather event?

My favourite thing about House of Horror is that we don’t have a dress code. It’s Halloween and we encourage creativity. However, fancy dress is definitely encouraged! Don’t worry about sweater weather – it may be cold outside, but I can promise you that inside Kinkell Byre you will be nice and toasty!

5. The event seems to run on a token-basis. How many tokens would you recommend buying beforehand, and can you purchase anything on-site?

I’d say Dreamland is half token based. On one hand we are offering lots on the token side: candy floss, game stalls, glow sticks, and my favourite – alcoholic slushies, however, there is plenty still on the traditional cash system including other food vendors like Dinky Donuts, the Cheesy Toast Shack and Dervish, as well as everything else at the bar. I would recommend at least five or six tokens so you can fully immerse yourselves in our token offerings, however! Just a little hint, too… We’ll have pina colada flavoured candy floss there, and I’m so excited I can’t keep it to myself. If you haven’t prepaid for tokens, you can purchase them at wristband collections or on site though too!

6. What tips would you give for making the most out of our Dreamland experience?

Go all out. Do the latex make-up, put the effort into your costume, and take advantage of everything that is on offer – from the game stalls to even Dervish. Also, come ready to eat a lot of candy, have a blast, and dance to Thriller!

To find out more about the event, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/175059806385136/ 

Happy Halloween!