I visit Haw Par Villa's Halloween event, where I had to use my brain while feeling scared

While Haw Par Villa is meant to be a theme park, the place has always given me the heebie-jeebies.

And I'm not alone because I know many find the sculptures and dioramas there pretty uncanny. 

This makes the idea of a Halloween event at the park both terrifying and thrilling. 

Just in time for spooky season, Haw Ror Villa 4! – The Last Journey, Haw Par Villa's signature Halloween festival, will be back. 

I had wanted to attend Haw Ror Villa 3! last year but unfortunately, I was too late and tickets were sold out. 

Thankfully, this year, the event will span 13 nights across October and early November — unlike last year, where it was just four nights — so there are more date options for guests to visit the experience. 

This is the last year that Journeys Pt Ltd, the company that manages Haw Par Villa, will be running the Haw Ror Villa event. So if you're on the fence about attending, it may be your last opportunity to do so. 

3 scare zones 

Just like its previous editions, Haw Par Villa's version of Halloween will not be similar to popular American celebrations of horror.

Instead, the curatorial team behind the event has focused on authenticity, weaving in the actual history of the 88-year-old cultural park. 

The ghosts, spirits and other horrors are also inspired by Asian cultures – Chinese, Indian and Malay – or are based on figures found inside Hell's Museum at Haw Par Villa.

Last year, the theme park had just two scare zones and this time around, it has been bumped up to three — Infiltrating The Heart of The Sanctum, The Villa Has Eyes II and The Forbidden Ritual: The Search for Hellbound Totems.

During the media event on Thursday (Sept 25), I only got to experience parts of each zone to get a taster of what guests would experience when they attend Haw Ror Villa 4!. 

And I must say, it was pretty thrilling. 

Infiltrating The Heart of The Sanctum

Zone one, which is Infiltrating The Heart of The Sanctum, is essentially a scare house that has ghosts inspired by Asian folklore lurking in every corner. 

Guests turn into avid urban explorers who have received an email from a fellow explorer who has gone missing. The email reports a disturbing development of an ancient cult of unknown origin infiltrating Haw Par Villa, setting up a fully fledged headquarters in an abandoned building in the park. 

Inside the scare house, I encountered ghosts like mohini, pocong, hungry ghost and pontianak. 

I have to hand it to the scare actors — their acting was eerily good and for awhile, I was almost convinced that these were real entities. 

The Villa Has Eyes II

Zone two, which is called The Villa Has Eyes II, is an interactive guided tour where guests play the role of a rookie detective. 

If you attended Haw Ror Villa 3! last year, you would already have experienced the first edition of The Villa Has Eyes, where you had to help solve the 80-year-old cold case murder of Lim Ah Leong, who was a business partner of the founders of Haw Par Villa and Tiger Balm, the Aw brothers. 

This time around, guests learn that the daughter of one of the suspects in last year's murder case has revealed that her mother was a member of an ancient cult — the one haunting Haw Par Villa today.

The cult leader lurks somewhere in the Aw family household and guests are brought on a journey around Haw Par Villa with a "lead detective" to solve the mystery and reveal who the cult leader is. 

While I didn't find zone two as scary as zone one, I thought it was a unique and interesting experience that was different from the usual Halloween events, which typically focus on haunted houses and jump scares. 

Here, I had to use my brain to solve the mystery, which was pretty fun and stimulating. 

I also appreciated how our "lead detective" shared interesting tidbits about the history of Haw Par Villa and fun facts about the various monuments as she guided us through the park. 

The Forbidden Ritual: The Search for Hellbound Totems

The third and final zone, The Forbidden Ritual: The Search for Hellbound Totems, is an escape room of sorts where guests' wits and puzzle-hunting skills will be tested. 

Here, guests play the role of a bereaved husband whose life was turned upside down upon receiving a letter promising him a way to descend into hell to see his deceased wife. 

Similar to zones one and two, the ancient cult is behind this and they require guests to "perform a forbidden ritual" to open a portal to the 10 Courts of Hell.

I found this zone the most terrifying out of the three as we not only had to explore the grounds of Haw Par Villa on our own, but also had to enter the park's infamous 10 Courts of Hell, which has given me nightmares since I was a kid. 

To make the experience even more frightening, various "ghosts" are hidden in different parts of the park, patiently waiting to jump at you when you least expect them to. 

Final thoughts 

While I didn't get to experience Haw Ror Villa 4! in its entirety, the small taster was enough to scare me. 

I must say, it's quite a different and refreshing take on the usual Halloween events many of us are familiar with and I quite enjoyed having to use my brain to complete the various zones. 

If you're looking for a more stimulating Halloween experience, this is one you should consider. 

Ticketing and dates 

The event will be on Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 Oct and Nov 1. 

Tickets cost $55 for adults and $40 for children seven to 12 years old. 

If you're coming in a group of four, you can get a bundle deal of $200 for four tickets. 

Tickets are available at Hell's Museum's website. 

Singaporeans can also purchase tickets with their SG Culture Pass credits on ticketing platform Pelago. Adult tickets cost $55 while a pair of tickets cost $100. 

Address: Haw Par Villa, 262 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 118628
Opening hours: 6pm to 12am 

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melissateo@asiaone.com