We got chased around by ghouls and a mad doctor at Singapore Discovery Centre's Harrowing Halloween haunted house

Last Halloween was an absolute bummer thanks to the pandemic but this year is looking a little different.

Fans of the spine-chilling holiday will be glad to know that there is a slew of Halloween-themed events coming up. And one you should definitely add to your calendar is Harrowing Halloween.

Organised by Singapore Discovery Centre, the event promises a wide range of adrenaline-pumping activities and will be happening on Oct 29, 30, 31 and Nov 3, 5, 6, 12, 13.

Attendees will get to enjoy an unlimited number of entries into the haunted house, one movie ticket to watch a horror flick at iWerks Theatre and one welcome drink. You can purchase your tickets online.

Curious to know what Harrowing Halloween will be like? Here's a preview of all the activities you can look forward to.

Get chased by ghosts at Get Out! Haunted House

The indisputable highlight of Harrowing Halloween would be the Get Out! Haunted House, especially since the annual Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) event at Universal Studios Singapore won't be happening for the second year in a row.

Fun fact — the haunted house is a ground-up initiative let by students from Singapore Polytechnic's School of Architecture and the Built Environment. Considering that, the set-up was pretty impressive!

We were honestly expecting the haunted house to be on the smaller side but it was more complex than we thought. The entire attraction consists of nine different scare zones — including a spooky doctor's office and a trippy mirror maze — and takes about five minutes to complete.

Personally, while I did enjoy the experience, I felt like it could be scarier — but that's because I am a frequent attendee of the annual HHN, so nothing really scares me anymore.

However, the faint of heart would still probably find this quite terrifying, especially since some of the ghouls here have the tendency to chase you around the haunted house.

Visitors who have been to HHN may also spot some similarities between the haunted houses, such as the light tunnel and the patient's room. It's not an exact replica, but it does bring back some memories.

One piece of good news is that ticket holders get unlimited entry to the haunted house so you can get scared as many times as you want.

However, brace yourselves for the long queues — while we were there, it stretched on for about half an hour and in all honesty, we found the snaking queue scarier than any of the ghouls.

Learn some eerie facts at After Dark Tour

For history buffs who are keen on learning about the darker side of Singapore's history, the After Dark Tour will be perfect for you.

This is held at the Permanent Exhibits Gallery. Here, visitors can learn about the different paranormal rituals from different cultural groups. Your guide will also tell you about lesser-known stories of buildings in Singapore with a sinister past — some of these tales certainly gave us the chills.

We personally found the tour extremely intriguing and we did pick up a few interesting facts along the way.

While it does sounds like a regular heritage tour, the team at Singapore Discovery Centre did their best to set the mood with a variety of eerie props and blood-curdling background music.

As the tour is also held in the dark, we were given little lamps to carry while we felt our way through the exhibit. I personally thought that this was a nice, interactive touch.

Admission is free for both ticket holders and non-ticket holders, but do note that pre-registration for the exhibit is required. You can do so at the ticketing counter. Slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Watch a horror flick

The horror flick wasn't available when we went down but it is included in your ticket, so don't let it go to waste!

Just for Halloween, psychological thriller Escape Room 2: Tournament of Champions will be screened at the iWerks Theatre.

In the show, six people unwittingly find themselves locked in a series of escape rooms. As they slowly uncover what they have in common, they discover they've all played the game before.

The show will run from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, which still gives you enough time to explore the rest of the activities.

Get your hands dirty with some crafts

At Singapore Discovery Centre's Play Ground, you'll find a craft station where you can make your very own lucky charms with stamps.

We had a lot of fun with these and can foresee both kids and adults enjoying themselves here — just be careful to not get any ink on your clothes.

Take a breather at the Chill Out! Zone

If you need to take a breather from all the scary activities, head over to the concourse where you'll find a variety of activity booths.

Here, you can get temporary tattoos and glow sticks to up your costume game.

Visitors can also try their hand at a game of Witch Hat Ring Toss and stand a chance to win some attractive prizes. Sadly, we only managed to get one ring onto the hats.

Admission:
$16 (Singapore Discovery Centre members and SP students)
$20 (non-members)

Date: Oct 29, 30, 31; Nov 3, 5, 6, 12, 13

Time: 7pm to 11pm

Address: 510 Upper Jurong Rd, Singapore 638365

ALSO READ: Halloween to-do: Go to hell! (at Haw Par Villa lah)

melissateo@asiaone.com

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