A freak show, the legend of the Pendle Witches and a mix of theatre, horror movies and theme-park haunted house effects will combine from next month for screams, shrieks and shocks in the dark.

Wiganer Mark Talbot, 23, and housemate Avon Taylor are gearing up to scare visitors witless in Hex In The Harvest, a horror attraction which will be resident in a maze cut into a cornfield near Preston.

The University of Central Lancashire graduates, currently working as debt collectors, first tried their hand at spooky acting in Ghost Encounter Live in Eccleston, near Chorley.

Mark, who now lives in Preston, said: "Last year, the show was at Bygone Times. I go there often and saw the audition notice.
"I brought it back for myself and my friend Avon. We went along to the audition and we got the jobs. I was a crazy grave digger and Avon was a charred priest."

This year, the scream factor is stepped up a gear as AtmosFEAR! Scare Attractions brings Hex in the Harvest to a farm at Clayton-le-Dale, near Blackburn.

Mark, who studied contemporary music at university, said: "People should expect to be scared. It's intense – being chased by Satanic characters around this maize field."

The attraction is the idea of AtmosFEAR! team Jason Karl and Paul Howse.
Jason, former co-presenter of Most Haunted, said: "Hex in the Harvest is the UK's first outdoor scare attraction.

"It's a little like being in a horror film where you are the victim. These type of shows are traditionally associated with the Halloween season in Britain but in America they operate all year round."

Avon, who had no acting experience, is responsible for controlling Silas Crane – a 10ft puppet they shipped in for the show.

The 24-year-old philosophy graduate, who is originally from Northampton, said: "For 40 minutes, you're wondering whether something is going to jump out and where they are going to come from."

Hex in the Harvest is open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from August 14 to September 13 at Hawkshaw Farm, Longsight Road, Clayton-le-Dale. Tickets £10.50, call 08444 771000.